Iditarod (Saturday)

We had a fabulous weekend experiencing the Iditarod. On Saturday, we got up super early to get downtown so we could grab a good spot. We ran into this little lady on the way. I felt as though she was making a statement by snacking on the natural vegetation growing in the McDonald's parking lot.

Saturday is the "false start" of the Iditarod. Downtown Anchorage shuts down and they load snow into the streets for the dog sled teams. The streets are lined with Alaskans, as well as spectators from all over the world. It is truly the biggest event of the year here. All 63 teams do the "false start" and it gives a boost of excitement to the whole event-and to the dogs! Watching them unload in the morning was so fun. They were so excited they could hardly stand it.

Despite the fact that it was 1 degree when we arrived Saturday morning, it was a gorgeous, sunny day, and warmed up after a couple of hours.

You will notice in these photos that there are multiple mushers and even two sleds per team. This is all part of the show on Saturday. People win or bid to get to ride on the sleds, but in the actual race, it is just the one musher and his or her dogs.

We discovered a new (to us) diner, The White Spot, and took refuge from the cold. Will definitely be returning.

"The Running of the Reindeer" took place on Saturday afternoon. It was a phenomenon I knew nothing about before I arrived in Anchorage. It is obviously a play on the Running of the Bulls, but much more humorous and much less frightening.

People pay to enter the run and dress up in crazy costumes. Patrick even found a couple of Sooner football players in the crowd! And we even managed to capture a runner taking a spill into the snow.

We spent the afternoon at Midnight Sun-one of our favorite Alaskan breweries and ended the evening with dinner at the Taproot and a dance party at Mad Myrna's. Such a great Saturday!