The Musher

In the spirit of the Iditarod, we went downtown this year as part of the Fur Rondy celebration and went on a dogsled ride. It was simply around an open field--but with all the recent exposure to dog mushing, David was more than thrilled. He instantly made friends with the dogs. And the 30 or so people standing in line with us were fast friends, too. That's what's so fun about David--you don't have to be standing next to him in line to make friends or be charmed by him. David keeps everyone laughing.

Like when he kept insisting on licking the snow. The entire group of people was trying to convince him to not do face plants into the yellow snow--particularly since we were surrounded by dogs. After his third attempt, I wouldn't let go of his hand while we waited the last 15 minutes or so before our turn. 

Before that last trick, David had fun finding the holes people had made with their boots when they were in the wide open spaces. The snow off the beaten path was loosely packed and very deep--so adults quickly sank to their knees or thighs if they attempted to cross the field. David found those holes to be the perfect place to use as a fort, and moved from hole to hole in the spirit of adventure. It kept him entertained for a good 30 minutes--which worked splendidly, since we waited a whole hour for our turn. And it kept the rest of us entertained watching him pop up and disappear like a little mole.

As our turn approached, I asked the college age guy directly behind us in line if he would please take our picture in the sled. He agreed, and he took a few good shots of us.

Then the musher yelled "gee" and "haw" and we were off! With my really nice camera in the hands of a complete stranger. I was uneasy as we got further and further away from my camera; but then I realized that even if this guy decided to try something fast, I knew the other people in line with us wouldn't let him get away with it. They had spent the last hour being charmed and entertained by David--and I was convinced that our camera was in good hands, between the whole crowd of David's new friends it would be well taken care of while we were busy dog mushing.

Can you see us in the distance?

And coming in to the home stretch.

I recently mentioned to a cousin how much I am enjoying the culture that Anchorage has to offer. She replied, "Oh, so they have a great orchestra?" "No. Yes. Well, maybe." 

What I really meant is that I enjoy the span of cultural experiences here in town--from dog sledding and ice sculptures to being with a room full of Irish last night to celebrate St. Patrick in song, prose, and dance to the Japanese drummers we hear each summer on the lawn of the library and the authentic Polynesian luau we look forward to attending next month. And yes, the Performing Arts Center usually has a pretty good schedule, too. I have recently said that if I could take the Anchorage community and place it closer to our extended family, I would never leave.

Except maybe the inordinate amounts of snow.

And the short summer months.

And the moose.

But everything else, I would keep it the very same.