A Return To Whistler

Sam & Keira were waiting for us when we disembarked from the ferry in Horseshoe Bay - in fact they had been waiting a while because they had underestimated how long the ferry crossing actually took. No matter, we were soon loaded up in their car and on the way to Whistler.

First stop was in Squamish where Keira had to get a new Social Insurance Number to go with her work visa. Afterwards we did some shopping at Walmart - which seems to have become a bit of a feature of this trip.

Thereafter it was non-stop to our lodgings in Whistler. Our room at the Village Inn & Suites featured a Murphy Bed, which was the first time we have ever had occasion to try one of those. Sam & Keira left us to get settled in and go for a wander to re-acquaint ourselves with Whistler village. Last time we were here it was the middle of winter, not early spring, so it was somewhat more pleasant just going for a stroll.

Our snow cat transportation

About 5:00pm Sam and Keira were back to pick us up for the evening's excursion - the twilight tour on the Super Fly zipline where they both used to work. In fact, Sam had even worked on the building of the Super Fly line and also had a brief cameo on camera when the Channel 9 Today Show visited Whistler last July and tried out the Super Fly.

The Yurt - much more comfortable than the one at Chena Hot Springs

However the Twilight Tour is a little more special. It begins with a ride in a snowcat up to near the start of the Super Fly, where the eleven in our group sat down to a gourmet three course meal in a Yurt erected on the mountain. Sam told us that it was in fact the same Yurt that we had used when we went dog sledding with him back on Christmas Day 2011, although he said this time it had been erected by people who knew more about how to put it up than he and his cohorts had back then! The chef for the occasion was from one of the fancy restaurants in Whistler and he did a damn fine job of preparing a delicious meal half way up a mountain.

Keira and Sam dining with us in the yurt

With dinner completed it was time for the more active part of the evening. We all suited up in our harnesses and the guides took us through all the procedures and safety instructions (which Sam & Keira could probably have recited by heart - they were getting to ride the zip lines for the first time as guests!). It was about twilight when Laura and I took off on the parallel zip lines for the first of four legs that would take us down the mountain. This zip line was about one kilometre long and took us right across the valley, allowing a bird's eye view of the snow covered trees below.

By the time we started the second zip line (at 1.4kms it's the longest in Canada) it was dark, so we had the eerie sensation of hurtling through the air with only some stars, a dim view of snow covered trees and the sight of the glowing lights on our companion's helmet. Plus the lights of the landing platform getting rapidly closer. The third zip line was much shorter but very steep - so it was a very quick ride through the darkness until you hit the braking mechanism at the other end. For the fourth and final zip line the house rule was that you had to go down holding hands with the person on the other zip line - which in the case of Laura & I meant that Laura was dragged into going faster than she otherwise would have.

That was the end of our twilight zip line adventure. How to describe it? It was different, delicious (the meal part), exciting (the zip line part), a fun and memorable way to spend an evening and great value for the price (it was Keira & Sam's shout - many thanks!). It was also interesting to hear more about what it had been like for Sam & Keira working there, and to be able to experience the thrill of the long zip line rides that they had been down so many times already.

Sam gets some air over a jump

The next day had been set aside for me to go skiing with Sam and Keira (who both snowboard) while Laura explored Whistler village (and its bakeries). By the time I had hired all the relevant ski gear and bought ski passes it was nearly 11:00am when the three of us headed up the mountain. Unlike last time I was here we went up Blackcomb Mountain rather than Whistler. In his time here Sam has mostly gone snowboarding on Blackcomb because he believes the runs are as good if not better and it is less crowded.

Our ski/snowboard party

When we stopped for lunch it was only about 12:30pm yet I felt like we had been going for longer. I guess it was because the runs are pretty long and the lift queues pretty short, so our time on the slopes was maximised. Although I hadn't been skiing since I was here with Sam on Christmas Eve 2011, I found some of the rhythm returning pretty quickly and I even found it a bit easier than last time. Around mid afternoon we caught the Peak to Peak cable car across to Whistler Mountain where I was soon able to confirm that Whistler is more crowded. Sam thinks it's partly because of the name - people associate Whistler with skiing so tend to gravitate to the mountain of the same name. We had planned to do another run before skiing down to the village but in the end we decided just to ski out - we had managed to fit in a pretty good day on the snow.

Meanwhile Laura had had a nice relaxing day. With the fine weather she had started out on a walk to Lost Lake but had only reached the park near it when she realised she was on a dedicated cross country trail, so had abandoned the rest of the trek. However there was the Purebread bakery to visit (highly recommended by Sam and Keira), other shops around the village to explore and the Lil'wat Cultural Centre to visit.

Our dinner plan was to eat at the local favourite tapas bar, called Elements. It was after 7:00pm before we turned up there, to find that it seemed half of Whistler had had the same idea. The staff said if would be up to an hour and a half before they had a table for four so they took Sam's phone number and we retired to a nearby pub for a drink while we waited. In the end it was only about an hour and a quarter before we received the call and headed back. Sam and Keira had eaten here before and so were able to explain the process - which was to order about half a dozen dishes for us all to share. We settled on the mussels, minted goat yogurt, salmon, gnocchi, duck and pork belly dishes. Later when given notice of last orders we also had a steak dish to share, and rounded the evening off with a cheesecake dessert. It was a very nice meal and a lovely evening.

The next morning we not only had to pack up to check out but we had to pack ready for our 11:40pm flight home from Vancouver. Sam and Keira returned at 11:00am, along with Roland (with whom they co-owned the car) so we piled all our gear in the back before we all drove down to the Re-use It Centre at Creekside (south Whistler). This is pretty much like a Salvos store in Australia and we had fond memories of perusing its eclectic collection of second hand goods the last time we were here. Shopping finished we dropped in at the nearby Pure Bread bakery for a late morning tea before heading back to Whistler village.

A cinnamon beaver tail - yummy!

Sam and Keira dropped us there with a plan to meet in a few hours for a late lunch before Keira had a job interview (successful!) and then they were to drive us down to Vancouver airport. Laura and I started by making sure that we sampled one of the local specialities we remembered ever so fondly - a cinnamon "beaver tail". Not exactly health food I guess, but hey, we're not in Whistler that often!

Afterwards, being a lovely sunny day, we set off on a walk along a trail partly through a wooded area next to a golf course that took us to Alta Lake. The lake was still frozen, of course, though we were warned that it might not still be frozen enough to safely walk on. After the walk we rendezvoused with Sam and Keira at the Whistler branch of the Pure Bread bakery for a late lunch. This is another favourite haunt for the locals and we could see why with lots of delicious things on the menu.

Brandywine Falls

The end of our holiday was approaching though and it was time to pile into the car and head south.  A little north of Squamish we pulled off for the short walk along a snow covered trail to view the Brandywine Falls. The falls are 70 metres high and, being early spring, the stream was running freely over the falls. We did amuse ourselves by seeing if we could lob a snowball far enough off the viewing platform to reach the water below. We could manage it - just. Further along the drive we pulled into a viewing area where there were terrific views across the valley.

Driving into Vancouver we hit the inevitable Friday evening traffic getting across Lions Gate Bridge. However we were fortunate enough to be able to park only about a block away from our chosen dinner venue - The Fish Shack, which is directly opposite the IH hostel where we stayed last time we were in Vancouver. Once again we have to hand out the kudos to Sam & Keira for knowing about this place, because although obviously very different to last night's venue, the food was nearly as good. And we didn't have to wait over an hour to be seated.

A great view from the Sea to Sky Highway

Afterwards it was back into the car for the final leg to the airport. We hadn't realised that at one stage Sam had had a part time job for a couple of weeks driving people between Whistler and Vancouver Airport, so he obviously knew the way very well. He also knew a little parking area next to a service station where we could pull in for a couple of minutes while we extracted from our luggage a few things from Alaska we had been carrying for them. Then it was on to the departures drop off area where luggage was unloaded and good byes were said before we parted ways. It was still only about 9:00pm so we had ample time to complete check in and Sam & Keira had ample time to get back to Whistler before it got too late.

Check-in was uneventful (we had secured a window seat and were seated together) and the flight home smooth, uneventful, and (since we flew nearly the whole way in darkness) blessed with more sleep than usual. After landing, we were home less than an hour from disembarkation.


It was great travelling with Sam and Keira and Sam's suggestion four months ago, that it might be nice to see the Iditarod, had resulted in a set of amazing experiences. Not just the Iditarod itself, where we were able to see the second closest finish in the 42 year history of the event, but also participating in the Running of the Reindeer, landing on a glacier on Mt McKinley, seeing the Aurora Borealis, visiting the World Ice Sculpture Championships and staying at Chena Hot Springs. And for good measure Laura and I were able to sample Vancouver Island, ride the longest zip line in Canada and (for me) have another day of skiing at Whistler-Blackcomb. A truly wonderful trip.

Exploring Vancouver Island

The rain that started on Saturday evening in Seattle was still with us when we made our way to the dock were the ferry departs for Victoria on Vancouver Island. As the transfer was via hotel shuttle bus the rain didn't hamper us too much but it did rather spoil the potential views as we cruised through the otherwise scenic Puget Sound.

The 2h:45m crossing was smooth and uneventful and at least the rain had stopped by the time we docked in Canada. And what better welcome could you want to Canada than a cheery and chatty immigration official - not many countries have them these days it seems. The lady at the booking counter was then happy to help us hire a car - but being the week of Spring Break it seems we were far from the only ones travelling to Vancouver Island at the moment.

The hire company only had a medium sized car available, not the cheaper small car we had hoped for, but it was only for a couple of days so we were not too worried. Laura set off on the walk to the nearby Tourist Information office while I waited for the free pickup to take me and our luggage to the car hire office, which wasn't that far away. Luckily, by the time I got there a small car had just been returned, so I was able to complete the paper work for that, throw the luggage in and set off on foot to catch up with Laura.

Once we had collected all the necessary information we found a food hall for lunch. As Laura was quite hungry we asked one of the shop assistants if we could pay with $US, to save finding an ATM first. It turned out we could, but at the exorbitant exchange rate of $20 US for $18 Canadian we did end up visiting an ATM before returning to buy anything. We then returned to the car hire office to find we had been upgraded to a medium car for free, because an engine warning light had come on in the small car when one of the staff  moved it.

So in our medium car at a small car price we set forth to drive up the west coast to Port Renfrew. As we were navigating without the benefit of a large scale map of Victoria we ended up taking a scenic route out of town via the Gorge district - which only meant that we were able to appreciate what a pretty city it is.

The pebble shore of French Beach

Having found our way out of Victoria and onto the West Coast  Road we continued through Sooke and along the coast. We stopped at French Beach Provincial Park where a weary yours truly had to take a power nap while Laura went to explore the beach. I was subsequently able to have a quick look at the beach before Laura returned. It is surprising just how much noise waves make when they are breaking onto a beach made up of large pebbles. Not only do the crashing waves sound louder than on a sand beach but the constant rolling of stones adds to the general commotion.

We continued up the coast with Laura deciding we should try and fit in one more walk, that included a suspension bridge, before heading to Port Renfrew. I was advocating abandoning that plan when it started to rain, but Laura was convinced we wouldn't get that wet if we only went as far as the bridge then came back. So off we set on a muddy, slippery path in our non-waterproof shoes to a bridge somewhere up ahead. After about 5 minutes we met some walkers returning, who assured us there was a suspension bridge "10, or maybe 20 minutes" further on. With fingers crossed it was closer to ten, we forged ahead through very pretty forest scenery, crossing a couple of bubbling brooks with the help of stepping stones. And, with fortune on our side, we found the bridge after ten or so minutes and gleefully swung across it a couple of times before heading back in the continuing rain. Our jackets did a commendable job of keeping at least the top half of us dry.

Sunset from our bedroom balcony

Afterwards we drove on to the small town of Port Renfrew, where initially we had some trouble finding anywhere to stay as it seemed to be a little bit out of season. The first place we called into seemed open - there was even signs of others guests in residence - but we could not raise anyone to ask about a room. We subsequently picked up a local, who was walking to the general store in the rain, who suggested asking at the store as the only place he knew was full for the night. The store owner was exceptionally helpful and rang a local place right on the beach and arranged accommodation for us. After checking in to our very nice room with an ocean view, in a big roomy house,  we went to the local inn which was recommended as having good fare - not that there seemed to be a lot of choice at this time of year. However it was indeed good tucker so all was well.

Some of what passes for driftwood in Port Renfrew

The ocean view was every bit as good in the morning light which was a nice relaxing way to start the day. After breakfast we went for a short walk along the beach, which was littered with what must have been nearly a world record amount of driftwood. Some of it was  whole trees, roots and all. Apparently they had had a decent storm hereabouts not too long ago.

After check out we set out on the road inland to Lake Cowichan. We had been warned that it was a bit of an uphill winding road, but it really wasn't that bad. Along the way we stopped for the short walk to see the largest Sitka Spruce tree in Canada, 82 metres tall, which grows next to Harris Creek. Turns out that Vancouver Island is renowned for tall trees.

Continuing on to the picturesque Lake Cowichan we decided it was an appropriate place to stop for lunch before continuing further. We chose a pleasant little eatery recommended by a couple of locals and it was indeed very nice. As for continuing further, Laura had noticed what looked like a gravel road from the north of Lake Cowichan that would take us more or less straight to Port Alberni, instead of going all the way to the east side of the island and around through Duncan and Nanaimo. However when we made it to Youbou we were confronted with a large sign warning us that we were about to leave public roads and venture onto logging trails. This seemed somewhat more challenging than just a gravel road. We doubled back and made some enquiries at a service station where the proprietor warned us that if we ventured up that road he would have to come get us with his tow truck - it was indeed a none too well maintained logging track suitable only for logging trucks and serious 4WD vehicles.

A scene in Cathedral Grove

So onwards to Port Alberni via Duncan and Nanaimo it was. At least it was a good road - dual carriageway between Duncan and Nanaimo - so we made good time. A little before Port Alberni we stopped at Cathedral Grove, a national park that contains giant Douglas Firs. There is a short walk either side of the road that makes it easy to explore these massive stands of trees. The information boards taught us about the ways in which fallen trees provide opportunities for the growth of their replacements - partly by opening up the forest canopy to let in more light and partly by providing the nutrients the young trees need to grow.

Next stop was Port Alberni, which is slightly unusual geographically speaking. It would be about half way between the east and west coast of Vancouver Island, closer to the east coast if anything, and yet it is actually a sea port. It is sited at the end of a 48km long inlet that runs all the way west to the Pacific Ocean. With a bit of forward planning we bought some dinner supplies on the way through, before continuing on to Tofino. This involved some more winding mountain driving, through pretty spectacular scenery, but it wasn't too long and we made it to Tofino in pretty good time.

We were not in a huge rush to get started the next morning even though we hoped to get a few short walks done if the weather held OK. First stop was a craft store, in whose window Laura spotted some coloured glass lizards on display. Inside was something of a treasure trove, and we ended up with a couple of lizards and another piece of metal craft work that appealed to us both.

Along the Lighthouse Walk

After the shopping and some morning tea it was time to get serious about doing some walks. We started out by doing what was billed as a Lighthouse Walk, which started just a few blocks away. Only after we had finished the walk - which only took about an hour and offered some wonderful views of forest and coastline - did we realise that the lighthouse we were supposed to look for was on the other side of the bay. No matter, we enjoyed the walk.

The beach at Schooners Cove

We drove on towards Ucluelet and - after a small diversion - found the starting point for the Schooners Cove Trail. This was another short walk of about 20 minutes each way along a series of boardwalks that took you through the coastal woodlands and down to the beach. Hardly the time of year to be going for a swim but the walk was very nice. There was a treat shortly afterwards as we drove towards Ucluelet, when a brown bear came out of the scrub to the side of the road and seemed to be pondering if it should chance a crossing. The car in front of us stopped right opposite it to look - which is actually illegal, as the toots from the car behind us attested - but meant that we had no choice but to stop and watch it as well. The bear didn't linger even close to long enough for a photo opportunity but we did at least get a very good look at it before it turned tail and headed back from whence it came.

A sea otter chows down

Next it was on to the headland at the end of the road to Ucluelet where we did our third walk of the day. This circuit was also called a Light House walk, though it was also a part of the much longer Pacific Rim Walk that goes all the way back to Tofino and then some. No mistaking the lighthouse on this walk, as the trail takes you right past it. No mistaking the nice views from the frequent lookout points along the circuit either. It is a very picturesque piece of coastline. At one point was saw a sea otter on the rocks eating its latest catch with evident gusto. We opted against including the side trip down to Terrace Beach and back since time was getting on and we had to be back in Victoria tonight.

The rugged coastline around Ucluelet

Back on the road we stopped at a hip little "surfie" style take away for some late lunch before making a beeline for Victoria. The drive was uneventful, and quite fast once we were back on the dual carriageway near Nanaimo. After checking into our hotel - chosen specifically because the bus to the ferry terminal back in Nanaimo left from here at 8:00am in the morning - I had to return the hire car. After doing so I ended up walking the 20 minutes back to the hotel because I didn't have  exact change for the bus - and didn't know which one(s) would get me there anyway.

Next morning the minibus was on time and had us at the ferry terminal in Nanaimo at 10:00am, which was in plenty of time for the 10:30am ferry to Horseshoe Bay, back on the mainland, where Sam and Keira awaited us.

In Seattle

Late to bed last night and early to rise this morning to make the most of the complimentary hot buffet breakfast one last time before our shuttle back to the airport. In the end we were in a bit of a rush and left behind the prized framed Iditarod poster Sam had won at the meet-and-greet nearly two weeks ago. However the shuttle driver returned to the hotel to pick it up, earning himself a larger tip when he dropped it back to us.

A view of the Alaskan Mountains

For the first flight in a while we actually had seats allocated next to each other, which was nice. They were even on the right side of the plane - which in this case was the left side - to enable us to get a view of the Alaskan Mountains during the flight.

With the flying time and the change of time zones it was about 3:00pm by the time we made it to balmy Seattle. I had looked up Google Maps last night and had a pretty good idea of where our motel was in relation to the famous Space Needle, but I didn't have a good idea of how to get there from the airport. No problem, we just had to find the Tourist Information Office. This is where I began to suspect Seattle wasn't too interested in helping visitors. We eventually found how to get to the Tourist Information Office - it just involved leaving the airport, going through the multilevel car park, past the train station, across the pedestrian overpass, down the elevator, around the corner and up the hill to the back of the airport motels. Easy, although a few layers of clothes had to be removed in the +16°C heatwave. (Well, it's a heat wave when you have just spent the last three days in Nome where the daily maximum ranged from -15°C to -10°C!). At least we were able to get information about trains to Vancouver and ferries to Vancouver Island while we were there.

That sorted we caught the train into the city and transferred onto the monorail for the short ride to the Space Needle. From there it was only a 5-10 minute walk to our motel. Once in our room we noticed that outside our window we had a fairly noisy street of traffic and outside our door we had an elevator. Given that we were fairly tired after an abbreviated night's sleep last night, this prompted Laura to go back to reception and ask if there was a quieter room - and lo and behold we found ourselves given a free upgrade to one of the four suites on the top floor, with a view of the Space Needle. Good move Laura! We celebrated by going out and finding a supermarket were we could buy some suitable food for our suite's microwave so we could eat in.

After breakfast next morning we walked down to the water front and booked our passage on tomorrow morning's ferry to Vancouver Island. With those formalities completed we continued along the water front and up to the famous Pike Place Markets.

Buskers in action at Pike Place Markets

Laura likes exploring markets at any time and these are a particularly fine example of the genre. There were lots of interesting crafts, food and buskers to admire, sample and watch (respectively). In the end we didn't actually buy any of the crafts but we did sample some of the foods and watch some of the buskers.

After dragging ourselves away we went in search of the downtown tourist office, but in keeping with our airport experience, found that it was closed on Saturdays. No matter, in the process we stumbled across the St Patrick's Day Parade.

An Irish Dog (?!)

This presented an interesting mix of costumes, bands, Irish dancers and dogs (e.g Irish Setters, Irish Wolfhounds and Maltese Terriers with green hats strapped to their backs). Exactly what hordes of children on unicycles had to do with the local Gaelic heritage I'm still not quite sure, but they were very skilful.

The Space Needle

We continued on to the Sky View Observatory, on the 73rd floor of the Columbia Centre. Sam had given us a tip that it was cheaper than the Space Needle, and being much higher, afforded a better view of Seattle and its surroundings. And so it proved to be, especially with a 2 for 1 voucher from a local attractions discount booklet. As well as the good view there were a number of interesting displays about the history and geography of the region, so it was well worth the visit.

Afterwards we indulged ourselves in a rather uncharacteristically late lunch before meandering back all the way to our hotel, revisiting the scene of last night's dinner purchases for another selection of microwavable comestibles. We'd done a lot of walking today so were content with a quiet night in after our all too cursory exploration of Seattle, especially as the long forecast rain had set in for the evening*.

Tomorrow we depart the USA, bound for Canada as boat people!

* We later learnt that by the 28th of March Seattle had broken a 64 year old record for most rain in a calendar month, so we were actually pretty lucky the rain held off so long.

Nome , Part The Second - The Race Goes On

After our very late night for the exciting finish to the Iditarod, no-one was in any hurry to get started this morning. I heard the siren go off at about 7:30am and figured it would be for the approaching finish of Mitch Seavey (the father of the winner Dallas), who had been running third when we left the race control centre a few hours before. There was another siren shortly before 10:00am which turned out to be for Norwegian Joar Ulsom, who finished fourth.

After we ate some breakfast we set off on foot to walk into Nome - Sam and Keira having risen earlier and already done likewise. It was a pretty chilly walk so we were happy to stop for brunch at the Pingo Bakery, which we had heard so much about via Nome Announce. This is a local online community bulletin board which Laura had subscribed to a few weeks ago and which had offered an interesting, and sometimes entertaining, window into life in Nome. One example was a moderator's post reminding everyone that Nome Announce is a community forum and then adding "Tony, your remarks about the truck Bill advertised for sale were inappropriate and best said in private, if they needed to be said at all"!). Anyway, it was pleasant brunch at a nice little establishment that we felt we almost knew already, having seen its advertised specials in Nome Announce for so long.

Shortly afterwards we met up with Sam & Keira in the street and went to the race centre to check on the progress of incoming mushers. We noted that Martin Buser (a four time winner and holder of the record for 28 consecutive race finishes) had just left Safety and would be due in around 4:00pm. We checked out the art and craft show at a local church hall, where some of the work on display was similar to the native crafts we had seen back on our first day in Anchorage. After some afternoon tea at the race centre and checking out the local information bureau we took up position to cheer home Martin Buser.

Martin Buser leaves the frozen shore to enter Front Street

I  waited to get photos of Martin and his team as they came up off the frozen foreshore into Front Street. It was interesting to see the dogs rolling on the ground and rubbing their faces in the snow to cool down, even when they already had frost on their whiskers. Clearly they were not as troubled by the cold as we poor bystanders!

Dogs rolling in the snow to cool off!

After Martin's arrival we walked further up the street to the Auoroa Hotel to book ourselves on a snowcat tour to the Safety Roadhouse tomorrow. As we left the hotel we were in a good position to also cheer home the second woman to finish - Jessie Royer - closely followed by Ray Redington a few minutes later. Thereafter we adjourned to a local eatery for dinner. We finished in a bit of a rush when the siren arrounced the imminent arrival of Hans Gatt, leaving Laura to settle the bill as the rest of us rushed back out to see Hans and his team come in. Having watched these proceedings we felt we had had enough for one day (after such a late night last night) and set off to walk back to Brenda's house. Being after sunset by now it was getting quite chilly on the walk, but a nice lady stopped to give Laura and I a lift for the last half of the way (Sam and Keira were enjoying the stroll). There was no enthusiam for another late night so we were all tucked in relatively early.

I heard the siren sound a couple of times during the night and a few times in the morning as another nine mushers reached the finish line between 2:50am and 9:30am. Meanwhile, we all made a late start again and started to walk into town together. This time a cheery gentleman picked us all up - the people of Nome are very friendly. We settled on a late brunch at another eatery before buying some supplies at Pingo Bakery for this afternoon's excursion to Safety.

A herd of Musk Oxen

The snow cat tour started at 2:00pm. It took about and hour and a half to reach the Safety Roadhouse, which is the final race checkpoint 22 miles (35kms) from Nome. Along the way we saw a herd of musk oxen and managed to get reasonably close before they took flight. We were also keeping an eye out for mushers because we knew that there were some due to be in transit between Safety and Nome. Unfortunately we didn't really get to see the New Zealand musher Curt Perano other than as a speck receding in the distance.

Ralph Johannessen enroute to Nome

Not long after Keira spotted an approaching musher and we stopped and piled out for the photo opportunity as he went past. It turned out to be Norwegian rookie Ralph Johannessen, who we later learnt overtook Curt on this final leg to finish about 12 minutes ahead of him.

The Safety Roadhouse turned out to be a quirky little establishment, with most of the walls and ceiling lined with banknotes adorned with messages and autographs pinned up by patrons over a number of years. We subsequentely added an Aussie $5.00 note to this idiosyncratic collection.

Sam & Keira at the Safety Roadhouse

That was not the only interest in being there, however. Speaking to the race officials stationed at Safety we heard first hand accounts of how terrible the weather conditions had been when Aliy had stopped on Monday night. We also learnt how easy it was for Dallas, in the dark and during such apalling weather, to have missed seeing Aliy's dogs, who were tied up at the back of the road house.

During our two hours in Safety we saw two mushers come through on their way to Nome - Cim Smyth and Paige Drobny. It was interesting to watch the proceedings as the race marshal checked the mushers gear and the vet quickly checked the dogs to make sure they were all OK. We noticed that Cim actually led his team back on the trail for the first 50 meters or so past the check point before getting back on the sled, but when Paige tried to leave by just driving from the sled her team kept tying to turn left around the side of the roadhouse. We speculated that maybe they had the scent of the dog meat some teams had stored there (just in sacks on the snow). Our snow cat driver said we could be right as this is often the only checkpoint at which the dogs are not routinely given something to eat.

Some of Paige's team catch a breather at the checkpoint

We read in a newspaper article pinned up inside that Paige was dedicating her race this year to her dog Dorado, who had died in tragic circumstances during last year's race. The mushers all start with a team of 16 dogs but may drop as many as 10 dogs at checkpoints along the way if they feel that they are injured or not coping with the workload or conditions. Last year Paige had dropped Dorado at a checkpoint where he subsequently died of asphysiation after being buried under snow. (Anyone interested can read more about this sad story here).

Laura departing the Safety Roadhouse

One thing we hadn't expeceted to see in Safety was cyclists. However, the third party to come through the checkpoint - not as part of the race obviously - were a young couple from Italy who were cycling the Iditarod route. The bicycles had fat snow tyres rather than the more conventional road tyres I am used to seeing, but even so I couldn't imagine it to be easy riding conditions. And that's without factoring in the freezing temperatures!

Sam & Keira with the little sandcastle on the frozen beach

The trip back to Nome was via a more direct route and took only about an hour with a couple of stops for photo opportunities along the way. Sam took the chance to make a little sand castle on the (frozen) beach along the shoreline and complained that his hands became mighty cold in the process!

Once back in Nome we were in time to watch Paige cross the finish line before adjourning to dinner at one of the local eateries. Afterwards Sam & Keira were going on to see a comedy show ("The Bag Lady") at one of the clubs in Front Street, while Laura & I returned to the site of last night's dinner to have dessert before catching a taxi back Icy View - we were not keen on tackling the long walk in the cold at that time of the evening!

We had a quiet evening thereafter, chatting with Jake and the two Brendas (hostess and fellow guest). At 11:30pm Brenda gave me the use of her car again so I could drive in and collect Sam & Keira from the club after the show. They had enjoyed the show and also met the (Airport Security) guy who is going to be hosting the Aussie musher Christian Turner when he arrives in town. At one point the MC had asked for a show of hands for who thought they had travelled furthest to be there and Sam seemed the likely winner, being from Sydney Australia. However one other chap kept his hand up and when asked by the MC said he came from South Carolina - the MC agreed that was a long way away but was confident that Sydney Australia was further!

The next day was another slow start. No sirens during the night but there was a cluster of four finishers between about 8:00am and 9:30am. Checking the race progress online over breakfast we could see that the Aussie musher Christian Turner was approaching the White Mountain checkpoint - the one before Safety. We crossed our fingers that we would be able to see him finish before we had to catch our 9:10pm flight this evening. It was going to be touch and go.

The unfamiliar sight of Sam buying a book!

After another bracing walk into town we had lunch and watched a couple more mushers reach the finish line before heading to the Nome Museum. As well as being interesting in its own right, at 2:00pm there was a talk and book signing by Dan Seavey senior - one of the entrants in the original Iditarod race in 1973, grandfather of this year's winner Dallas and father of last year's winner Mitch. Dan had finally found the time to complete a book about that first race in 1973 and told some very interesting stories about that race, as well as talking about the way things had changed over the years. This included such things as race tactics and the improvements in dog breeding, training and nutrition, and developments in equipment such as sleds, harnesses and lights. In the early days all teams stopped for the night at dusk, now it a 24 hour a day event. Both Sam and I ended up buying a signed copy of the book.

The old gold dredging machine at Nome

I was keen to get out and have a closer look at the old gold dredger on the eastern end of town, but it was a fair walk, especially in the cold. However we were able to drop into Brenda's workplace and arrange to borrow her car which made it a much quicker and more comfortable excursion. It was also interesting to learn from the information boards more about the local geology and how the gold dredging operations worked.

Brenda gave us a lift back to base since it was now knock-off time for her. We were able to eat in for dinner tonight since Brenda (our hostess) had cooked up a moose stew and Brenda (our fellow guest) had made a couple of different soups that we were all able to share. We were all flying back to Anchorage tonight so there was no point in leaving a lot of left over food.

Of course we were also keeping an eye on the race progress given that Aussie musher Christian Turner had left Safety at 5:01pm and might just finish before we had to fly out. Our flight was due out at 9:10pm, which meant that boarding would be a little after 8:30pm. Three and a half hours should be more than enough time for Christian to reach Nome from Safety, but we had already seen that you can't count on anything in the Iditarod. The arrangement was for Brenda to take the four of  us to the airport so that we could check in while she returned to get other Brenda and Jake. When she returned to drop them at the airport Brenda gave us a lift back to Front Street to see if Christian was getting close.

Aussie musher Christian approaches the finish line

We went straight to the control centre where for a brief moment we thought the indication was that Christian had already finished. However Laura overheard someone else say that he would be in soon just as Sam came in to say that he was coming now. As we dashed up to the the finish line we heard the siren sound and sure enough less than a minute later was the familiar announcement "We have dogs on Front Street". By this stage of the race the crowd was smaller at the finish line and I was able to walk into the finishing area to watch as Christian came in and crossed the finish line at 7:52pm. It was magical timing! We were able to give Christian a big cheer and call out our well wishes. After Christian was all checked in and officially declared as finisher #38 it was time for us to pile back into Brenda's car and head back to the airport. What a perfect ending to our time in Nome! (If you'd like to know more about Christian's experience in the Iditarod, check out this interview from earlier in the race.)

Myself, Sam & Keira watch as Christian is checked-in.

After bidding Brenda thank you and farewell at the airport the transfer back to Anchorage was pretty routine. We bid a temporary farewell to Sam & Keira at Anchorage airport - they were staying on to catch a red-eye flight back to Vancouver via Seattle at about 1:50am - before we caught our shuttle back to the now familiar Clarion Suites for one last time.

Nome, Part The First - The Close Finish

For those who might not be aware, it is not possible to drive to Nome. There are no roads between Anchorage and Nome. In fact from Nome there are only three roads out of town and all eventually finish in a dead end.

Our flight to Nome was via a 30 minute stopover in Kotzebue, which is inside the Arctic Circle. So if you count flying inside the Antarctic Circle enroute from Buenos Aires last May, Laura and I have been inside both in the last 12 months.

We arrived in Nome on time at 8:30pm and while waiting for our luggage to be unloaded, Brenda - in whose home we will be lodging for the next three days - picked us out in the crowd (The Nome "arrivals hall" is very small). This was a pleasant surprise as we had been expecting a possibly lengthy wait for a taxi to reach our accommodation. After we were all loaded up in her car Brenda took us for a quick tour around the key points of Nome including, of course, the race finish point in Front Street (not easy to miss in any case!) and various other places of interest along Front Street, out as far as the old gold mining dredge on the eastern outskirts of town.

After the guided tour Brenda took us back to her house in Icy View, a sub division about a mile from "downtown" Nome. There we met Brenda's other two house guests - another Brenda (from Pittsburgh) and her son Jake (currently working in Juneau). Meanwhile Sam and Keira had been keeping in touch with the Iditarod race progress online which showed Jeff King (a four time winner) currently in the lead, closely followed by our sentimental favourite Aliy Zirkle. On current position data they were both approaching Safety Roadhouse, the last checkpoint about 22 miles from Nome, so it was clear that there would be a winner tonight. Brenda (our hostess) kindly suggested that we use her car so that the four of us plus Brenda (the other guest) and Jake could drive in and wait at the Iditarod Control Centre for the finish.

Some of the crowd in the race centre

The race control centre was set up in the local community hall about 100 metres from the finish line. As well as being somewhere to sit and wait in the warm (it was close to zero Fahrenheit outside, or about -17°C, without factoring in the wind chill), there was hot food, drinks and snacks available. This was courtesy of the local High School Cheerleaders Squad, who were fund raising for a trip to the State Championships.

Most importantly the race centre was the prime location for the latest news about race standings, including a large poster on the wall where each musher's time of arrival and departure for every checkpoint was recorded.

Part of the progress chart for the race field

It also showed if anyone had scratched (quit the race) or been withdrawn (ruled out by race officials on the basis that it would be unsafe for them and/or their dogs to continue). When we arrived at about 11:00pm the exciting news was that the GPS trackers showed that Jeff King had stalled before reaching Safety whilst Aliy was a mile past Safety - but also stopped.

Speculation as to why both mushers had stopped so close to the finish was rife, although it was clear the strong winds blowing outside had something to do with it. Then, just after midnight, the sensational news came through that Jeff King had scratched, still short of the Safety checkpoint. This meant that Aliy, runner-up for the last two years, was now in the lead! We started to get excited about the prospect of witnessing history - she would be the first woman to win both the Yukon Quest and the Iditarod. The only dampener on our optimism was the news that Dallas Seavey, the 2012 winner, was now in second place and quickly closing the distance between his and Aliy's team. Our hopes were further dimmed when officials announced that Aliy had stopped at the Safety checkpoint, not a mile past it. This meant Aliy was not sorting out a temporary problem with her dogs on the trail, but was holed up inside dealing with more serious problems. (We later learned of the brutal weather conditions she and Jeff King had endured between the White Mountain and Safety checkpoints - hear Jeff speak about it here).

Meanwhile, the GPS trackers showed Dallas Seavey was very close to Safety. As he continued to close the gap we anxiously awaited news that Aliy had left Safety for the final leg of the race and wondered what might be delaying her so close to the finish. Was Aliy not aware that Dallas had made up so much ground?

Finally the word came in that Dallas had reached Safety at 1:11am and left at 1:14am - he was now in the lead and still no word that Aliy had left. Soon another update came through that Aliy had left Safety at 1:33am - 19 minutes behind. Was this going to be a photo finish? Could Aliy catch Dallas? We - along with an increasing crowd of fans - anxiously watched updates of GPS positioning, current speed and average speed on the PC screen at the front counter. At times it seemed that Aliy was in front only to find that it was just a lag in respective GPS updates. The average speeds of both Aliy and Dallas also varied up and down, possibly relating to their progress as they climbed and descended hills, although we had no way of knowing for sure. However, as both teams got closer and closer to Nome, the realisation slowly took hold that it was unlikely this was going to be Aliy's breakthrough victory. At 4:00am - as the traditional sounding of the town's fire alarm heralded approaching mushers - we rugged up and went out to join the crowd lining the finish route along Front Street.

Dallas Seavey brings it home in record time.

Then came the announcement "We have dogs on Front Street" and we saw a sled team coming into view with the musher trotting, exhausted, beside the sled - and it was indeed Dallas Seavey and not Aliy Zirkle. Nevertheless it was exciting to see the winner come in - in a time of 8 days, 13 hours, 4 minutes and 9 seconds - slashing over four and a half hours of the race record set in 2011. Before the celebrations for Dallas could die down officials again announced "We have dogs on Front Street", which was followed by the sight of Aliy Zirkle and her team coming in - to finish just 2 minutes and 22 seconds behind Dallas, the second closest finish in the 42 year history of the race. And this after battling wild winds and freezing temperatures to cover 975 miles of Alaskan wilderness over more than eight and a half days.

We watched as the race marshals went through each musher's sled to check that they had all the mandatory equipment before placings were confirmed. As Aliy's dog team was led away for a well earned rest, Sam, Keira and I retired to the warmth of the Control Centre while Laura lingered a while to watch the presentation to Dallas Seavey. Shortly after we took our seats inside we witnessed a very exhausted and slightly emotional Aliy ushered into the room by her support team and start an informal Q&A session with the gathered fans. It was moving to hear her describe the battle she had fought to reach Safety through terrible weather and her perhaps unfortunate decision not to go outside a bit earlier to check the weather conditions personally, which might have prompted an earlier departure.

This Q&A session was ended by the announcement that Dallas Seavey was about to take the stage for his post race debriefing with the assembled media and public. Dallas was clearly no less exhausted than Aliy and his face looked as though it had been bruised or wind burnt or both. He explained that it wasn't until about 30 seconds after he had finished that he realised he had won the race - he had thought that Jeff King and Aliy were both still ahead of him and that the light he could see behind him was his father Mitch, whom he was determined to beat.

Two exhausted mushers field questions from the crowd

After a while Aliy joined Dallas on stage and it was enlightening to see the camaraderie and respect they each had for the other and hear about the hardships they and their dog teams had both faced in the closing stages of the race, battling bitter winds and freezing temperatures. Eventually Aliy suggested that it was time to call it a night, to which Dallas immediately agreed, so with a final round of applause they both left the stage.

The six of us also left for the short walk back to Brenda's car and drive back back to her house. After a long day and an even longer night of suspense and excitement we finally made it to bed a bit after 5:30am, with everyone in agreement that we had witnessed a truly remarkable finish to an iconic sporting event.

Back to Anchorage

We co-ordinated this trip schedule just so well with the introduction of daylight saving in North America. After being up in the middle of the night for the third time in a row to try and see the Aurora Borealis they introduce daylight saving (depriving us of an hours sleep) on the day we had to set out early for the long drive back to Anchorage. :-(

We managed to be on the road a little after 9:30am, which wasn't a bad effort under the circumstances. Our first stop, a couple of hours out, was at Denali National Park. The park proper is not actually open at this time of year but the educational display centre was open and it was possible to drive about 12 miles in, to a point where a few short walks could be done. Aware that we still had a long way to go we had only a brief stop at the education centre and drove to the 12 mile limit to see the wintery terrain but did not venture on to do any of the walks.

Our only other stop was shortly after Denali NP at a small town - well, village really  - called Cantwell. Apparently it boasts a population of over 200 people, but that must be roping in surrounding farm houses or something. We drove past the only roadhouse thinking there might be something more promising, but there wasn't so we had to double back. Still, it was passable "truck stop" fare at least.

After that our next stop was all the way back at the Clarion Suites in Anchorage, which was a pretty good run. We were re-united with the bag that we had inadvertently left behind, to Laura's delight.

Then, having been sitting down most of the day, we opted to walk downtown to have dinner at the same nice little Thai restaurant we had had dinner at on our first evening in town. It felt so balmy in Anchorage, compared to what we had experienced in Fairbanks (the temperature was actually positive in Celsius, not just in Fahrenheit!), that I set out without a jacket. Once again the dinner was nice, but a jacket for the walk back to the hotel probably would not have been out of place.

Our plan for the next day was to make the scenic drive down to Seward, and despite the unpromising weather we decided to stick to the plan because there was nothing in particular we wanted to do in Anchorage anyway - or at least not enough to fill in the day until our 5:40pm flight to Nome. The drive turned out pretty much as the forecast predicted - rain giving way to sleet then snow as we climbed over the mountains, then back through sleet to rain as we made it back to sea level in Seward. All of which, of course, meant that we didn't really see much of the fabled scenery.

Once in Seward we opted to see the Alaska Sea Life Centre, which operates partly as an aquarium and partly as an ocean wildlife rescue centre. The centre contains a wide variety of fish and marine mammals on display in large glass lined tanks as well as various invertebrates in shallow “touch pools”. Seeing how well the seabirds "swam" under water after diving for food, and how deep they went, was quite surprising. The large display pools allowing you to see seals and sea lions underwater were also very well done.  Afterwards we managed to find something to eat – not a lot open in Seward at this time of year it seems – before starting the drive back to Anchorage. 

Unfortunately the weather hadn't improved noticeably, so we had no more luck with the view. We noticed that the ground seemed pretty dry back in Anchorage so perhaps the weather hadn't been as bad here, though it still seemed a bit gloomy. We didn't pass a service station on the way to the airport so we had to double back to find one to fill up before we could return the rental car. The cheap toboggan Sam & Keira had bought in Fairbanks - the source of so much fun at the Ice Sculpture Park - was "set free" on a patch of snow adjacent to the rental return office. We hope that it eventually found a good home. Then it was onward to catch out plane to Nome for the finish of the Iditarod.

Back to Fairbanks

From Chena Hot Springs we returned to Fairbanks via the North Pole. Which was not as big a detour as you might imagine given that that the North Pole in question is a village about 15 minutes drive east of Fairbanks.

The village has a bit of a Christmas theme to it, surprisingly enough, with street names like Santa Claus Lane and Kris Kringle Drive. Plus the street light poles are built to look like candy canes. The only thing to see was Santa Claus House, which is a large gift shop full of toys and such.

"Santa" and friend

However Santa himself must have still been recovering from his last Yuletide dash as he was not due to front for work again until mid May. This gave Sam the chance to sit in Santa's chair so that Keira could sit on his knee!

After returning to check-in at the same motel as our first night in Fairbanks we took it pretty easy knowing that we had another late night outing to try and see more of the Northern Lights. This time we headed out around midnight to a spot called Cleary's Summit, about 20 miles north of town on the Steese Highway. However it was a fruitless wait of about two hours before we gave up and returned to base. Luckily we could turn on the car heater every 15-20 minutes so that it didn't get too uncomfortable.

Not surprisingly we didn't make an early start on Friday either, although at least I managed to make it to the complimentary breakfast before the 9:00am deadline. Once everyone was up and about we returned to the Tourist Office downtown before starting a self guided walk from there to some of the nearby sites of interest. One of these was the headquarters of the Yukon Quest, the other famous dog sled race that runs a few weeks before the Iditarod and alternates each year between running from Fairbanks to Whitehorse in Canada and vice versa. Many say it is an even tougher race, partly because of the number of mountains that have to be crossed, though it doesn't seem to have quite as much international fame as the Iditarod.

After lunch at a cafe, which looked a little like a 50's diner minus the jute boxes, we did some shopping at a couple of nearby gift/souvenir shops. The first one was quite an interesting little establishment with a large and eclectic collection of bric-a-brac. Luckily for Laura this included a couple of small carved lizards. The second shop was more your standard modern tourist fare and so wasn't nearly as charming.

The Trans-Alaska pipeline

Afterwards we went for a drive part of the way back out towards Cleary's Summit to see part of the trans-Alaska Pipeline. The pipeline was built in the 1970s to transport oil from the rich (but frequently ice bound) Prudhoe Bay fields in the north to the shipping port of Valdez on the south coast. (Yes, the oil from the infamous Exxon Valdez spill would have come through this pipe.) The pipeline is about 1.2m across and almost 1,300 kms long and runs through some pretty remote and inhospitable terrain. In some places it is underground as protection from avalanches and rock slides but otherwise it is raised a couple of metres above ground on special posts to keep the heat of the oil (it is 49C when it starts flowing, cooling down to about 42C by the time it  reaches Valdez) from melting the permafrost. When underground it is layered in special insulation for the same reason.

Muskox at the research farm

Next stop was a drive around a research farm on the southern outskirts of Fairbanks where we managed to get a pretty close look at some muskox, albeit through a couple of wire fences. They are amazing looking creatures, directly related to prehistoric mammoths and showing it. Their wool is used in quivet lacing, a native Alaskan art, and very expensive.

Later in the evening we went back to the International Ice Sculpture exhibition for the 8:00pm announcement of the winners of the multi-block sculptures we had seen being carved on Tuesday morning. The finished articles were all very impressive and it was interesting to see how some of them had been completed. It was also interesting to see them at night with coloured lights used to add an extra dimension. Somewhere along the way Sam & Keira also worked out that the secret to sliding properly on the ice slides was to invest in a plastic toboggan - which allowed for much faster progress down the icy lanes. Sam, Keira and Laura, and sometimes Sam & Keira together, took turns in trying out this new past time with lots of laughs and a minimum of bumps and bruises (some of the lanes were smoother than others). On this occasion yours truly was content to try and capture some of this hilarity for posterity. After an adjournment to the "warm room" for thawing hot drinks it was back to our hotel for a night-time nap before the next adventure.

One of the amazing ice sculptures

Sam & Keira trying out their new tobaggan

This was another trip out to Clearys Summit in the early hours of the morning, despite the unpromising forecast, for yet another attempt to see the Northern Lights. Laura was adapting well to these excursions by smuggling out to the car one of the doonas from our room to ensure that she stayed nice and toasty during our wait in the car. Sadly, it was another fruitless wait and after about an hour and a half we returned to our hotel to sleep for what remained of the night.

Being a Saturday the breakfast next morning was available until 10:00am. Well, allegedly. The woman in charge of it started shutting things down about 20 minutes early, presumably to give herself more time to get to one of the other two jobs she apparently had. However we did at least manage to get her to give us enough milk for our cereal.

Today's first adventure was to walk some of the nature trails at Creamer's Dairy - a former dairy farm that had been preserved as common parkland as a result of a public campaign by local residents. It was another lovely, calm, sunny day so despite being very cold it was still quite nice being out and about. When we had completed the walk the attendant in the Information building showed us a muskrat that had been rescued and was being cared for before being released back into the wild in late spring.

A snow covered footbridge on the Creamery nature trail

A visit to the Natural History Museum on the grounds of the local university was the next port of call and it provided a wealth of information about the geological, historical and biological history of the region. A special exhibition on the first ascent of Mount McKinley was particularly interesting, especially as the elevated position of the museum gave a panoramic view of the Alaska Range, including Mt McKinley. The displays of native Alaskan artifacts and lifestyles within the Arctic circle were also fascinating.  The day would not have been complete without another visit to the Ice Sculpture park - might as well make good use of our family pass and try out that toboggan some more! This time we included a contest to see who could slide the furthest - a contest that was easily won by yours truly, with Keira second. On my first effort the toboggan took a break to the right at the bottom of the slides and I nearly took out one of the plastic posts marking the edge of the end zone. I managed to stay straighter the next time and eventually had to apply the brakes to avoid taking out a woman looking at her smart phone while standing (she thought) well back from harm's way. On another occasion Laura narrowly avoided slamming into a small child who had decided to turn around and walk right back across the end of the slides - succeeding only in sending his toboggan spinning about five metres away. As well as all that fun we took the time to have another look at the multi-block sculptures by daylight. They were no less impressive.

Laura takes out a child's toboggan!

The "children" having fun on their toboggan

Our last adventure while in Fairbanks was to have one last attempt to see more of the Northern Lights. So once again, after a nap, we arose after midnight to drive out of town. This time to decided to have another shot at going up Murphy's Dome Road, now that we had a better idea of how far it was. So we drove about four miles past where we had been last Monday night, all the way to the top of the mountain. This time luck was with us as we saw a much better display than last time. The only problem was that the temperature - if it wasn't already negative Fahrenheit - most certainly was negative by the time you factored in the bitter wind chill. And tonight of all nights I'd forgotten to wear my ski pants, and my cotton pants (without thermals underneath), weren't really up to the task. Even worse by the time I had set up my camera on the tripod I had to dash back to the car and turn on the heater to defrost my fingers. It was freakin' freezing!! However the lights display made it all worthwhile. The aurora calmed down for a while shortly after we arrived, but then started up again further to our left. Later another strand started away to our right and the two gradually stretched across the sky to meet. It was awesome. We were all delighted that our persistence had paid off and we had been rewarded with a good viewing of one of nature's most spectacular phenomenona. It was a great way to end our time in Fairbanks.

A wonderful sight