Iditarod

I dislike the cold and hate the snow - but I like the Iditarod! There is so much that is interesting about it from the logisitics to the human stories. We have spent time reading bunches of books like "The Great Serum Race" and "Iditarod: The Great Race to Nome" and others, as well as watching "Balto" - the disney version. We watched Steven Rinella in the Alaskan wilderness on The Wild Within and other shows about Alaska. Since it's a least an 11 day race (the 'official' start being today from Willow, AK) we have plenty of time to keep reading and doing other activities. There is so much to talk about - mileage, speeds, weather, topography, and of course, the dogs.

We are using part of our dining room wall to add things that are interesting, like the Balto statue that we will visit in Central Park this Spring. We have our map, mileage and the mushers we are each rooting for! We purchased GPS coverage for the event and we can track their every move throughout the entire race. We also got access to watch the mushers leave downtown Anchorage live.

It is fun to get excited about something so big, and so far away. It is great to think about something other than what is right in front of you. It gives us something to talk about all together as questions come up about everything from what the mushers are going to eat and wear, to how you raise a kennel of dogs for a race like this. We have read rules and visited the mushers/kennels personal websites. We are going to look into the sleds and whatever else comes up this week.

Special thanks to Jennifer, Ethan & Emily, from Toadhaven Homeschool, who inspire us to "Observe, Explore, & Experience" (I told you I might make it our motto!) Can't wait to try another project.