March...might be my favorite month here

No joke, March might be one of my favorite months here.  On the East Coast, March is synonymous with sloppy melting snow and my emotional need for winter to end.  Here, March means blue sky sunny days and the best skiing all year.  We made another trip back to Anchorage after the Iditarod this month to ski.  The Air Force base in Anchorage has a small ski hill that is both inexpensive and perfect for the kids.

They have a little terrain park where the kids can do little jumps over missiles and other defunct military equipment.  The kids will try to jump anything!  Kate has taken to riding the ski lift alone and or jumping on with other kids.  Making friends is effortless for her. From the top of the hill you can see Denali when it's clear.

Skiing Hillburg at Elmendorf AFB with Mt. McKinley in the background

There is also a tubing hill adjacent to the ski hill on base that is good times as well.

On Sundays, there is a tow rope hill in Homer that is open and has been a blast.  Like all of the clubs in Homer...Nordic ski club, Cycling Club, Yacht Club, Snowmads (snow machines), Kachemak Running Club etc., The Kachemak Ski Club is a small group of extremely friendly people who volunteer to make it happen for the love of the outdoors.  

You have to hike in a bit to get to the hill, so we are usually hot and sweaty before we even ski.  This is in stark contrast to skiing in Anchorage where it is significantly colder than Homer.  Every week, we improved our technique of getting to the hill.

Week 1:  Post hole through the snow in ski boot carrying skis.  This was relatively awful and we were so glad James was with my parents on this day.

Week 2:  Snow shoe in carrying skis and boots

Week 3:  Ski or snow shoe in combo pulling ski boots and other gear on a sled.  Ideal.

Apparently the club purchased a new and improved tow rope this year, but it will still tear up your gloves pretty quickly.  There is a box of loaner gloves you can borrow, or many of us opt for crab fisherman gloves. 

Kate ready for take off

There is one tiny bump on the hill so the kids can get in a little jump.  Hysterical

Our next door neighbor, and Kate's good friend, skis as well, so the girls just do their thing all day on the hill.

James, Thea, & Kate skiing the thin snow covering

When we need a break, there is a super cool little clubhouse.  There is usually someone grilling and lots of people bring baked goods to share.  There is a wood stove inside that we've yet to see in use because it's so "hot" skiing in March.  The kids always opt for Gatorade over hot cocoa and make slushies with the snow.

I think it's possible that James was the youngest skier on the hill this year.  He holds on to our legs to get up the tow rope, but he was not the youngest on site.  Check out this little one asleep in the sled while her family skied.

Although I Nordic ski a couple times a week, the kids only skied once in January with Junior Nordic because there was no snow for most of January and February.  We forced the kids on a family ski in March, but they are too accustomed to zooming downhill and Nordic skiing is a lot of work.  Kate and Brain actually got in a pretty good ski and James plodded along (happily, thank goodness) with me for maybe 2.5 kilometers.

Kids working hard at Rogers Loop trail

At the end of March we participated in Homer's Sea to Ski Triathalon as a team.  Another Coast Guard spouse ran, Brian biked, and I skied.  I have never skied for time and it was exhausting.  I bought some used skate skis this year, and I had been out on them twice before using them in the race.  They were faster on the straight aways, but much slower going up hill than my classic skis?  I definitely need more lessons.  It was a lot of fun though and it's always amazing to see the athletes in this town who can pull off all three legs of the race no problem.

Brian after finishing the 7 mile ride uphill

We were truly sad to see the snow melt since last year's snow melt uncovered dead grass and stinky mud.  This year, however, our spring was relatively early, dry, and full of more family adventures.

Here's to hoping next March is just as beautiful...

Brian joined the ladies one Friday morning while kids were in school to ski the McNeil trails and play photographer for us.

Iditarod

The lack of snow this winter not only ticked off the Kachemak Nordic Ski Club in Homer, but closed Alyeska mountain resort outside of Anchorage mid season.  There was also talk of changing the Iditarod trail route and having the official start in Fairbanks.  Luckily, it started to snow a bit the last week of February. The kids were ecstatic and I loved the morning skis as well.  My parents came for a visit and the ship came home just as we readied to flip the calendar to March.
Not only had we been planning to attend the ceremonial start of the Iditarod, but we billed the weekend as a birthday extravaganza for Kate in lieu of a party.  We planned to take her friend as well as my parents for a memorable weekend.  Four days before leaving, Kate caught a flu bug and although it only lasted a day, she did not eat for several days following.  She laid on the couch and we kept thinking one more day and she'll be fine.  Eventually, we had to cancel on the friend, but Brian drove with Kate to Anchorage with movies to watch and Gatorade to sip while I drove with James and my parents.
After checking in to the hotel, we walked across the street to see the snow sculptures.  They were sagging a bit as it was sunny and high 30s all weekend.  After 200 yards of walking, Kate was done and ready for bed.

After putting the kids to bed, we left the grandparents (both asleep in chairs) in charge and went out for dinner in town.  It was great to take advantage of the restaurants in Anchorage sans kids as we usually run them pretty hard with shopping and errands not to mention skiing.  There are no car dealerships, dry cleaners, reasonably priced sporting goods stores, or children's clothing stores in Homer, so you can imagine how overwhelming it is to hit Anchorage for 2 days.  Anyway, back to the Iditarod...There were city workers and volunteers working throughout the night trucking in snow and spreading it out for the sled dog teams to depart the following morning.

Snow trail

Musher Jason Mackey was staying in our hotel and all his dogs were in the parking lot. This is by no means unusual.  The mushers are famous here and yet totally accessible and staying at the Comfort Inn.They do it for the love of the dogs and adventure.  It's most certainly not for the money.  

The next morning, I was chomping at the bit to walk around and talk to mushers and pet dogs but again Kate was not well, and 45 minutes before race time told us she didn't think she could do it.  I obviously began to worry at this point, but Brian and I agreed we'd drive her the two blocks, carry her to the start to see a few teams take off, and then head to the ER as I was sure she was very close to needing some fluids via IV.  We found the perfect viewing spot right at the start thanks to some ostentatious 80s architecture.

Kate was able to sit and still watch the teams depart.

Kate didn't have to stand and could actually see over the crowd from her little circle seat.  The fresh air did her well as she quickly asked for a bottle of water and some Doritos. Weird I know, but I would have let her eat anything at this point as it had been four days of little to no food and drink.  Her desire to eat and drink allowed us to skip the hospital and stay put to watch more teams depart.  There were 70 teams entered this year with one leaving every 2 minutes.

If you notice there is someone riding in the sled below.  These seats are auctioned off to help the mushers pay for the race.  The going price for an Iditarider this year was anywhere from $500 - $7,500.  Although top name mushers in prior years have earned as much as $25,000, the average price seems to be about $1,800.  For your money, you are announced at the start with a mini bio and then you ride 11 miles through Anchorage with your musher and dog team.  The official race begins in Willow, just over an hour north of Anchorage, the following day.

Sled with Iditarider bundled up onboard and musher on back

After watching over half of the teams depart, we decided to put the kids in the car to give Kate a rest.  We drove to the other end of town to try and see some of the teams in a more intimate setting.  I almost wish we would have done this earlier as it was cool to see the dogs really in their element, running on Nordic ski trails. The mushers were giving high fives to those along the route and the mood was very relaxed as their time doesn't actually count.  The clock will start in Willow and finish 10 days to 2 weeks later in Nome. 

Photo of dogs on the bridge taken from my car

After a little car time/rest, I took the kids back to town for the Eskimo blanket toss located next to the carnival and fur trade.  

I do love that there is one carnival in the state of Alaska.  It travels by Alaska Marine Highway and occasionally by truck to hit all the festivals.   A carnival is dirt ass no matter which way you swing it, but I have to admit riding the Matterhorn at 36 degrees seems better than 85.  You don't have to worry about all the carnival smells and your legs sticking to the ride seats.  We skipped it all, but the kids know the fair is coming to Homer in May on its way to Kodiak Island for the Crab Festival.  

The whole week leading up to the Iditarod is known as the Fur Rondy (for Rendez-vous).  There are all kinds of parades and assorted events.  The biggest fur sale is reserved for race day though.  I was so excited to see the race that I didn't think about the fun furs I would see on the street.  People wear some crazy stuff here. The wolf is only one of many furs I attempted to photograph this weekend.     

Wolf fur

The blanket toss was originally designed for hunters to see over the horizon, but later became a way to celebrate the end of whale hunting season for Inupiat Eskimos.  The blanket is made of seal (sometimes walrus) skin with a rope around the edges for handles.  You could never tell from these photos that Kate is only hours into her flu recovery.

The Blanket Toss is an event in the Eskimo-Indian Olympics and the Arctic Games along with the Knuckle Hop, Ear Pull, and High Kick.  Athletes are judged on height and style and probably something else.  I'll admit I'm no expert, but I intend to learn more.  For the time being lets just say the kids loved getting air. The kids landed on their bottoms, but really it's a balance game as you're supposed to land on your feet.  

Bman landing his first jump 

Next, Brian took the kids to a movie on Iditarod history with rare footage of the teams along the 1,000 mile trail.  This was another great restful, low key activity for Kate.  Although I heard the movie was great, I ducked out and registered myself for the Running of the Reindeer later that afternoon.  I really didn't know much about the race, but as it was only a couple of blocks long and you only live once, so it seemed like a good idea.

Strangely enough the streets were more packed for the Running of the Reindeer than for the Iditarod start.  I imagine it's actually the same number of people but now they are packing themselves in 5 blocks.  There were several heats of runners and the paper the next day said 3,000 people registered.  All the money raised went to Toys for Tots and unbeknownst to me outlandish costumes and heavy drinking are encouraged. Next year I will do better.  For now, I'm happy to have avoided antlers in the keister.

It was a full day and the kids deserved a movie in bed.  We left Grandma and Grandpa in the chairs again and headed out for another dinner.

By Sunday morning Kate was convinced we she was up for our planned trip to the science center with her friend, and appeared ravenous at her birthday dinner eating a burger and milkshake before opening presents.

Happy 9th Birthday Kate!

After an early dinner, we left the diner for Alyeska.  The kids went for a quick evening swim and then to bed.  Monday was free military ski day so we suited up for some free lift tickets.

Since the lessons were free too, we all took a lesson and had a great day of skiing before saying goodbye to my parents and making the drive back to Homer.

Kate in the terrain park

Like everyone else in the state, we continued to follow the Iditarod throughout the first couple weeks of March.  We were surprised to see so many favorites drop out early as the conditions were rough due to the lack of snow.

2013 Iditarod
(bare tundra near Unalakleet checkpoint)

The sleds and mushers were apparently very beat up from mushing on rocks, felled trees, and bushes instead of snow.  Within the first few days there were several stories of musher injuries and broken sleds.  Despite the 20 or so mushers that scratched from this year's race, a new record of 8 days 14 hours was set by Dallas Seavey.  The end of the race was exciting as the musher who left the last checkpoint in first place, and was all but guaranteed a win, withdrew because of the severe wind/weather conditions.  The musher in third passed the second place musher and won the race at 4am without realizing he was the first to cross the finish line.  He beat Aliy Zirkle by 2 minutes as she finished in second for the third year in a row!

More people summit Mt. Everest each year than have ever completed the Iditarod. Amazing.  If possible, we would like to see the Last Great Race On Earth again next March.  Well, it's possible Bird doesn't care about it, but we're bringing him anyway.

Balmy Winter

We returned from Hawaii to find little snow in Anchorage and no snow in Homer.  People here wait all year to ski.  They roller ski in the off season to prepare.  I have even seen people Nordic skiing the hard packed sand at low tide.  When there is no snow, and the East Coast is whining about how much they have, people don't know what to do with themselves.
In late January, the ship departed for a five week trip to the Seattle area for training.  I stopped waiting for snow and just embraced the 40+ degree weather.  For several weeks at least, we were consistently 30 degrees warmer than my family in Michigan. Realizing they had the coldest, snowiest, longest winter on record in forever, I felt lucky to be here even if we couldn't ski.  You wouldn't believe the stuff we did in January!

James fine tuning his hula hooping skills at the coffee shop

Kate picnicking with friends

We also started going back to the beach for regular walks in January and February.

 The following sequence is pretty cool.  The kids are just running around, but the eagle, he no like.

They made it to the rock and are really proud of themselves.  Note: Mr. Eagle is now on a smaller rock behind them.

Most of the Nordic ski clubs around the state hold a Ski for Women on Superbowl Sunday.  There is usually some theme and costumes are involved. Since the ship was out and fantasy football was over, and obviously the Lions weren't playing, I didn't care about the game.  Kate and I signed up for the ski event which turned out to be a running event due to lack of snow.  It was held at the high school track and there were a few other silly events as well.

Kate leading the girls team in the 2x4x4 walk

In early February Homer holds its Winter Carnival.  We missed this while in California last year.  Kate was supposed to march with the Girl Scouts, but at the last minute the group kind of fell apart.  Since everyone works last minutes and it's a small town, Kate had a few other options.  She joined some friends helping to support a non-profit family services organization called Sprout.  James decided to ride in the Junior Nordic float.  Since there wasn't any snow, the Junior Nordic was cancelled and the coaches opted to build floasts instead.  Some of the coaches skied alongside the float as the street was a bit icy.

James wearing his Batman mask on the Junior Nordic float

Kate and buddies on the Sprout wagon

I'm thinking next year we need to get a team together for the outhouse races.

I think the moose population is down a bit this year, but there is still a mama and junevenile that we see pretty often on our street.

Moose on his elbows (?) eating grass

Taking photos of moose from the car waiting for them to cross the road.

C'mon snow, we're waiting for you....