I Can See Sarah Palin's House From Here!

...not really; nor can I see Russia - but I do see lovely Lake Lucille from our "Best Western Wasilla" window, where we'll be holed up for the next few days. What a town! Breathtaking, picturesque, cozy, and yet an undertone of rugged can-do, like an exotic princess in a ball gown with a mustache. Or goatee... maybe a welding helmet. In any event, there are so many coffee shops here in Wasilla it's comical; Peek-A-Brew, Mocha-Me-Crazy, Jitters, The Blueberry Moose, even The Caffeinated Wolf; who goes to the Caffeinated Wolf for coffee? Someone on the way to Granny's house? Jumpy, whistling Casanovas? We'll probably be there tomorrow.

Tim and Colleen are running two eight dog teams out of Willow tonight, and our vet check earlier today went off without a hitch. Some dogs were a bundle of nerves, but Sadie actually fell asleep during her EKG! As far as the race goes, there's not a whole lot to report yet... but we did pick up our banquet tickets at the Official Iditarod Headquarters and Museum, where it hit me full-blast what the true spirit of the Iditarod Trail is for this reason; preserved and on display behind a beautifully lit glass case was little Togo, one of the lead dogs on the serum run. That forty pound dog ran and ran and ran and ran without booties or veterinarians or technology or Cabela's and saved lives; a far cry from the sometimes circus-like atmosphere of today's Iditarod.