Icewind's Ramblings

I wrote about the Iron Dog snow machine race earlier this week and wanted to report that the 2000 mile race is over now with the following results as reported in The Anchorage Daily News: Marc McKenna of Anchorage and Eric Quam of Eagle River roared across the Fairbanks finish line early this afternoon to win the 25th Tesoro Iron Dog snowmachine race, one of the most rough-and-tumble affairs in recent years. This Iron Dog was a race that completely changed in the second half of the 2,000-mile run from Big Lake to Nome to Fairbanks , and again reminded both riders and fans why it is both the longest and toughest snowmachine race in the world. The second-half run on the frozen Yukon and Tanana rivers from Kaltag to the finish line proved far more difficult than most anticipated and bounced some top contenders from the race. . . . But the Iron Dog can be a race of attrition and that was seldom more apparent. Minnick and Olstad ran into problems on the river an...

Youth looks ahead, old age looks back, and middle age looks tired. Happy Valentine’s Day Ice

Alaska has been in an Arctic chill the last few weeks with high pressure bringing us clear skies over most of the state which means there is no cloud cover at night to hold the temperatures leaving the darkness plenty of time suck out any remaining heat from the limited amount of winter daylight. Let’s get outside & take a little snowmachine ride out in the county . . . Not! How about a 2,000 mile ride on a snowmobile racing over some of the coldest and toughest terrain in the world in some of the harshest conditions on Earth. This year, six to eight teams stand a chance to win the $25,000 first prize, part of a $100,000 purse sought by a record 40 teams, the biggest field in Iron Dog history. You would think a couple of thousand miles would be distance enough to sort out the world’s best riders. Not necessarily. The last five Tesoro Iron Dog snowmobile races . . . 2,000 miles of rough tumble racing from Big Lake Alaska to Nome out on the sea coast and ...

That’s the “Cheers” Theme Song from the television show years ago. It’s almost hard to believe that it’s been off the air now for almost 15 years. For those of you that knew that I can almost guess you still watch Cheers on late night television and do not get very much sleep. The song was brought up during our church service yesterday and got me thinking about the realities of the song to our everyday lives. Part of that “belonging” desire by most people to be around people with whom you share something. It could be work, social gatherings like the VFW or Am Vets, the Rotary, theater, or even neighborhood outings & pot lucks. We all have the need to ‘belong’ and have a sense of ‘being Norm’ when you walk into a room and everyone gives you a personal greeting. Our world today has changed much over the years and our common ground seems to be that everyone shares similar problems and circumstances. Even though we are individuals who seek out many different pat...