Friday was the start of the three day dog sled race (The Open World Championship) that is one of the highlights of our annual Fur Rendezvous. I've taken the children to see the teams race for the past few years. We have our favorite viewing spot which is downtown, just a few minutes from the start of the race. There is a very steep hill at this spot and it's interesting to see the teams race down the hill and, if you're still there when they do the return loop, to see them go up the hill after having run 20+ miles. They do an incredible job, but occasionally a dog slips and then the team gets tangled. Fortunately the mushers are all very adept at getting their team back on course.
We didn't make it to see the race Friday because the children were on the other end of town checking out a homeschool group, so we went on Saturday. Mark and I took the older four--yes, Lincoln got to come! We bundled him up like a big blue marshmallow because it was below freezing. He enjoyed the entire experience. I wouldn't say the dogs were the highlight for him, although he watched them run he was just as interested in the other spectators and what his siblings were doing.
What were his siblings doing? Part of their ritual when we attend the race at this location is to climb the snow banks and play in the snow. They made snow angels and trails and Viva climbed a tree. She got stuck because snow boots are not the ideal foot gear for tree climbing. (Neither is a pink snow suit. Who knew trees were so dirty? Blue jeans do a much better job of hiding the dirt.)
Viva likes to go to the sled dog races because she likes to get a hot dog. The boys opted for chips instead. We did not stay for the return trip of the dogs because Lincoln was turning into an ice cube. Next week we attend the unofficial start of the Iditarod Race where the boys want to add a bootie or two to their collection.
B, J, & V checking out the snow banks.
They were not impressive this year like they were last year.
Lincoln, AKA The Big Blue Marshmallow
B making snow angels.
J was hoping to find enough chunks of snow to build a fort, but there just weren't many chunks to be found. The snow was fluffy and did not compact well, so no snowmen and no forts.
Viva is our tree climber. You can see how her boot got stuck.
Lincoln had a hard time walking in his snow boots in the areas where the snow was trampled down, but the snow was too deep for him in the untrampled areas.
B was eager to race the teams when they came by.
Finally the teams started running!
The dogs love running and I'm sure it's hard to pace them.
Let's go! Let's go! Let's go!
Check out how they run--three feet in the air at one time. How do they do that?!
One beautiful, eager team after another raced down the street.
There were only 14 teams this year. 24 ran last year.
(Check out the incline on this hill!)
The top teams ran 24.8 miles in under 80 minutes while pulling a sled.
(The fastest a man has run a marathon (26.2 miles) is still over 123 minutes.)
These dogs are small, sleek running machines.
The last team ran by and it was past time to get the toddler out of the cold.
Lincoln's nose was so red! He would not let me put the scarf over it.
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