I'm no reporter....but I'm reporting here. The food drop was a
BLAST!!!!!Like we don't all spend WAY too much time on here, and I have to go apply for a job today....but I just gotta report on the food drop....like take you all there so you can drool and whet your appetites for the beginning of the race!!!! Flew up Monday morning at 6:45 from Redmond, OR to Seattle to Anchorage to Kenai....was there by 2:30. Joe, Rachael and Jerry were out on a training run, so I found out who was on the truck and snooped around. Visualize this....a HUGE bag of clean dog coats, two huge bags of dog booties, sets of four powdered with Gold Bond blue inside and packaged in bags of 64 (do the math and you'll know why)
, bags of gorp, almonds, boxes of wet wipe singles, gatorade, 19 adorable bundles with each holding chemical hand warmers, chore gloves, clean socks, a few bundles of first layer clothing, almost 900 pounds of dog kibble in cute 18 pound bags (um, how many is that???----50). Anyway, everything was poised and ready to make magic.
We took some time to kick back before going from our wonderful digs at Clam Gulch Lodge (you rock, Gary and Jeffrey!!!)...to Kenai and Carlisle shipping docks...
Tuesday we marked bags for each of the checkpoints and loaded them with 'personals'.....our name for them anyway. Human snacks, drinks, frozen food, CHEESECAKE, wet wipes, lip goo, glove/sock combos, chemical packs, etc. As soon as they were put together in the living room, they went in two huge bags back out into the COLD garage. All the kibble got loaded into the truck, with salmon in salmon sleeves they'd prepared, too. At 4:36:42 (there is a joke in there for Jerry, Rachael and Kirsten, if they read this
--- yeah, you won, Yolanda Cameroose!!!) Timmy, Tawny, Merissa and Daniel pulled up at Carlisle shipping in Kenai.....LET THE FUN BEGIN!!!
Bagging yummy things for the dogs...Tawny, Daniel (behind her) Merissa, Jerry (back to camera) me, Timmy, Rachael
Discovery crew documenting....do I need a models release??? Hope not.
Joe Runyan bagging....in a little over four hours, we bagged lots of stuff.....thanks, Kirsten for the beverages and the munchies and for doing the dog drop chores while we worked here....YOU ROCK!!!!! And for these snaps, while my hands were covered in goo....
We have fun whatever we are doing and wherever we are....
Fishhead, fishhead, fishhead stew.......
Jerry watching as one of five pallets gets forklifted onto the scales.....
Safely tucked into a refer truck, headed for Anchorage.....YEAH!!!
We stayed up Wwwayyy too late Tuesday night, feasting and visiting, all relieved that Food Drop was done...and the next day we start the next set of tasks, marching towards March 1st. Wednesday I departed Clam Gulch Lodge early afternoon, after giving all the Iditabuddies good luck wishes, prayers and good vibes to Rachael and crew....
I kid you not, this is the view from INSIDE the livingroom at Clam Gulch Lodge!!!! I HIGHLY recommend it!!!!
Mount Redoubt in all her glory across Cook Inlet, eagles, nice new snow, nice and cold-ish....
AND I SAVED THE BEST FOR LAST.....KIRSTEN.....From one handler to her replacement....YOU ROCK!!!! We make a great team and it was a blast being in the same place for a couple of days!!! Thank you, thank you.....you are amazing! And nuts enough to survive this bunch!!!! Obviously
Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 5:54 am
