Sunday, March 30

Spring is officially here. Our daytime temps have been above freezing for the last several days. The snow and ice are melting a bit more each day in places that the sun can reach. This road to Goose Lake has been shaded quite a lot and is still covered in ice and snow.

Our days are getting a lot longer. Officially today was 13 hours and 12 minutes long. However, you are able to see visible light for 14 hours and 41 minutes!
 We rode over there after getting out to get Greg a much needed haircut. It was once again a beautiful sunny afternoon, it felt delightful out there! We saw a few people on their skis enjoying the trails.

It was so wonderful to get out and just walk around the lake.

 As you can see, the lake is still frozen and you are able to walk on it.

 Looks like they cleared an area for ice skating.

I monitored any activity from the lifeguard chair.

Luckily, no action by me was required!

Iditarod 2014

The 42nd Iditarod dog sled race began this past Sunday in Willow. The ceremonial start was held the day before here in Anchorage. We managed to get out and get a few pictures of some of the mushers.

 The day was very sunny and the temperature was quite tolerable. This year's roster includes teams from 7 different countries, including this musher, Newton Marshall, from Jamaica.

Perhaps taking a page from the Jamaican bobsledding team as far as participating in a sport foreign to their country, you could probably count the number of dog mushers in Jamaica using just one finger. Robert Sorlie, from Norway, has won the Iditarod twice before.

 He is a strong contender again this year at the midway point. This year's trail has proven to be very harsh. As of today, at least 13 teams have scratched or dropped out of the race. This musher suffered a broken ankle and had to drop out.

Lisbet Norris is a rookie in the race this year.

 John Baker won several years ago.

We will let you know how it all turns out for everyone. As far as me, I'm going somewhere warm for a week!