Bridges of Madison County, Fireflies and John Wayne

Two weeks after it started, all but one of the mushers from the Iditarod have arrived in Nome. (Well, actually, 12 of the original had to "scratch" (which means, basically, they had to quit before they finished, for whatever reason - generally, it's either because of the health of their team or their own personal health.) BUT, of the remaining 54, all but one have finished.

 

As I previously mentioned, Mitch Seavey was first to arrive (9 days, 7 hours, 39 minutes, 56 seconds), followed quickly by Aliy Zirkle (9 days, 8 hours, 3 minutes, 35 seconds.

 

The last person to arrive gets "The Red Lantern" award, and this is a very prestigious award! Apparently, it "started as a joke and has become a symbol of stick-to-itiveness in the mushing world.” Perserverance. Determination. 

 

I think that has to be true - how hard would it be to know you were last and maybe still days from finishing - everyone else is done, has had a nice bath and a nice meal. Very admirable to not give up!!

This year's Red Lantern, is a first time Iditarod musher, Christine Roalofs, from Anchorage. She JUST finished! 13 days, 22 hours, 36 minutes, 8 seconds. WHAT a relief!! Good for her! Woot Woot!!

 

So, back to our Disposable Car Roadtrip:

Robert James Waller wrote (in The Bridges of Madison County), "There are songs that come free from the blue-eyed grass, from the dust of a thousand country roads. This is one of them.”

Once we left the Omaha airport and Franklin, we made a mad dash for Winterset, Iowa, 132 miles East. We didn't take the above mentioned dusty country road - we took the I-80, paved - top (legal) speed, to make up for lost time!! (From what I can tell, though, the 1-80 wasn't there (or not as it is now) in 1965, when Robert Kincaid drove from Seattle to Winterset. (Besides, he took Iowa Hwy 92 when he left, so that was even more likely to be dusty...)

 

I didn't actually see that movie, but did decide to go Winterset because of the movie - you know, Big
Ball of String, roadside attraction theme. Celebrity Bridges.

 

We had to get there before twilight, so we could see them, take pictures and still get back to Winterset, where, not only did Francesca watch Robert drive away, but also is where John Wayne was born.

 

We made it to Winterset in record time (especially when you consider how slowly we were moving before, in the disposable car.) and found our way to The Bridges.

 

 

 

 

 

Originally, there were 19 Covered Bridges in the Winterset area, but nowadays there are only 6 left standing. I think we managed to see 3 or 4 before it got too dark, but I only really remember the Roseman Bridge (because I have the best pictures of that one, and because, in the story, that's the bridge Robert Kincaid was coming to take pictures of, and also that is where he requested his ashes be scattered...)

 

The Roseman Bridge was original built in 1883, and then renovated in 1992. It's 107 feet and still sits on its original site. It's the second longest bridge - the longest is the Hallowell, at 122 feet. (This bridge was built in 1880 and renovated in 1995, and also sits on its original site. It is the bridge that was actually featured in the movie, apparently).

 

The Cedar Bridge is the only one on which you can actually still drive. The 76 foot bridge was built in 1883, over Cedar Creek. In 1921, it was moved (still over Cedar Creek, though). In 2002, some stupid ..... idiot burned the bridge down, and so it had to be rebuilt in 2004 (which, I guess, explains why you are still allowed to drive on it.)

 

After we (reluctantly) left the Bridge area, we headed back to town to visit John Wayne's birthplace.

 

 

 

On the way down the road, though, all of the sudden, we saw the most amazing thing! Tiny little flickering lights!! My first thought was "FAIRIES" - maybe "TINKERBELL!" But, Peter came up with FIREFLIES!!

 

THIS was the first time in my entire life I had EVER seen FIREFLIES!! I was SO enthralled!!! We had to pull over!

 

FIREFLIES!!

 

By the time we got back to Winterset, John Wayne's house was closed...

 

I kind of wished we had've made it, BUT! if I was going to do it over, I'd still pull over and enjoy the fireflies, instead.

I was so awestruck by fireflies, I forgot about The Bridges until I got my film developed.

But THEN!!! I saw the pictures and was forever hooked on seeing and visiting Covered Bridges! And so, Peter made me a little Covered Bridge for our mailbox, and I painted the lane.

As mentioned, I didn't see the movie BUT I did read the book, once I got home. And, as far as tragic love stories...sigh...I'm glad we went.

Wednesday, maybe we'll be in Chicago..?

Again, with the Iditarod! Can't get enough!

On February 27th, I talked about the Ceremonial Start of the Iditarod in Anchorage, and on March 3, I talked about the Official Restart of the Iditarod in Willow, but I have more to say! (Big surprise, I know.)

We had so many random experiences and had so much fun, even though (as I mentioned), it was the coldest I'd ever been in my entire life!! Technically, the temperature at the hotel said -10° Celsius (14° Fahrenheit), which doesn't sound that cold, but it was like the frozen ocean air and the frozen glacier air came swirling down and wrapped itself around me!! But, it's not just not my imagination - it actually froze my battery in my camera! (A local coffee shop let me recharge my battery, though, thank goodness! Could you imagine if I couldn't take pictures!!?? Nightmare!)
 

 The Ceremonial Start is very festive - the mushers take off in order, and they stay in order (not really racing yet - the real race starts the next day at the Official Restart). Some (most?) of the mushers have guests who ride in their sled (called Iditariders) - the Iditariders bid for the exciting adventure of riding along.

 

I've never seen anything like the dog teams! 16 dogs, raring to go! They are so anxious to run, they have anchors on the sleds, handlers for almost every other dog, and often people piled on the sled, just to hold them in one place! They yip and yap and bounce around! BUT, when it's time for the countdown, they are sooooo quiet!! No sounds at all, once the countdown hits about 8!

The 16 dogs all have jobs - leading the pack are the Lead Dogs. They listen to the musher's commands, and guide the team. Swing dogs come right behind the Lead Dogs, and they are responsible for helping turn the team (which means they also have to listen to the musher's command). Wheel Dogs come right in front of the sled, and are the muscle - they pull the sled around turns and obstacles. And Team Dogs- all the rest of the dogs in the middle - their job is to help pull the sled, and not get tangled up. This works like clockwork (unless someone buries a reindeer hotdog (IT WASN'T ME) somewhere near the track...)

We've been to the Iditarod twice, so my memories are getting mixed up - which experiences belong with which visit. 

For example: there's the guy who made me pay him $1.25 to take a picture of his duct tape splint.
 

We met Mrs. Alaska. And, speaking of beauty queens, we did get to visit a tiny bit with the (then) governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin (we didn't really actually meet her, because she already knew one of the people we were with). (Also, not going to talk about anything political, here, but Sarah seemed very nice!)

Then, we met Leo! When Daisy & Coco (our two little miniature dachshunds) can't come with us, we (well, I) bring their little counterparts: Daisy Deux and Coco Two (gifts from friends from once upon a time when I was sad to leave the actual Daisy & Coco behind). So, I had Daisy Deux and Coco Two out for a picture and someone came over to introduce "Leo", her lion mascot, and set him into the picture I was taking.. Apparently, Leo has been everywhere - including into Outer Space!
 

The teams are all brought out in trucks and you just can't believe the noise of the excited dogs!! (I don't know how to include a video of my own, but here's one from youtube for 2010, one of the years we were there...be prepared, if you watch it, that there's some icky pictures of someone carrying a pelt...but, it really is what you see when you are there...)
 

The BIG event, though, is the Official Restart! The festivities from the Ceremonial Start follow to Willow - less carnival-y, but the media comes out, the fur kiosks, and tons of spectators.
 

The greatest highlight was that, after deciding to root! root! root! for Lance Mackey - our fleet of snowmobiles ended up parked within the general vicinity of "Mackey's Maniacs"...
 

Lance and the other mushers and teams were all on the other side of the fence with the media, and we couldn't go over there, but before long, the media came out to meet the Maniacs, and Lance came shortly after! (AND, the Maniacs were nice enough to let us elbow our way in to their visit.)
 

Speaking of nice! Lance, and his wife, Tonya, were so nice and friendly - and, even though they were so busy, they stayed around for photos and autographs and more photos. Forever solidified as my favorite!!

So, the first time we went, Lance was one of the first teams to start, so, right away, we headed out down the trail about a mile, to find a spot on Long Lake, so we could watch the teams go by. It was amazing!! With all the noise and excitement at the start, it was a surprise to see the silent determination from the teams as the shwooshed by - all you could hear was the "shhhhhhhhhh" from the sled skis going by. (And, then, after Lance went by, we went back to the start to watch the other mushers take off.)
 

To get to Long Lake, we went by snowmobile, of course, and I thought it was going to be just a short trip. So, I didn't dress appropriately...in that, I didn't strap on my hat, and I didn't completely bundle my face, and I didn't latch the top of my coat... and I was COLD! I was SO COLD, I think the cold air somehow got into my goggles (or maybe I didn't have them on...I don't remember) and froze my eyes (not in a way that caused damage, but in a way that caused complaining). I can tell you right now that there was only one thing that fixed that level of cold, and it was peach schnapps. (Not sure why, but only peach schnapps works. And, thank you - whoever brought them and then shared :D You know who you are.)
 

The second time we were there, Lance was leaving later, so we stayed and watched the Restart, right at the beginning, and then went out to find our place on Long Lake after. There's so much hype and excitement with the teams, it's really worth watching the restart!! but watching the calm precision of the teams in motion is worth watching too. It's nice to have the option to do both.

 

Back at the Restart (the second time we went)... Right away, we met a girl (Michelle) who was waving a Jamaican flag, so (with the same mentality as hanging around with Mackey Maniacs), she was nice enough to let me follow her around - actually, I talked her into walking around with me... I figured that if anyone was going to get to meet the Jamaican Dog Sled team, it'd be the one and only Jamaican girl!! (Loved her -she's still one of my Facebook friends...in fact.)

So, off we went - with the goal of meeting the Jamaican Dog Sled team musher, Newton Marshall. I can't find the article now, but I did read that Newton trained on sand. I can see how that would be effective!! And then, for the cold, he came up and trained with Lance Mackey. (That was then - this year he trained with Kelley Griffin.)

Needless to say, with some determination and a little bit of a trek, we did get to meet Newton!

 

The first year we went, I searched and searched for a sled to sit in for a picture. All were being used, and no matter what, I couldn't get in. The second year, however, they had (which is a great tourist-y thing) a 1/4 mile Dogsled track. They use dogs in training, and you can do the little circuit.
 

Every year, I "watch" the Iditarod on www.iditarod.com and follow-up articles at www.adn.com. I track the progress of each musher, every day. I'm completely hooked.
 

This year, 66 teams started ~ Lance started #5. Newton started 8th. (Sebastien Schnuelle, mentioned in my previous blog, is a correspondent.) The official Restart was this past Sunday.
 

Currently, Lance is #3. (Apparently, this year, he met an onslaught of fans, at one point - not saying they slowed him down, but I did wonder why he slowed down...and also, apparently, he has camera crews making a documentary about him this year - currently being called "Lance." He really is fascinating! You should read more about him and his goals and wins! (Not to mention his antics and strategy out there on the trail!!)
 

I feel like I could go on and on and on, but there's no way I can explain the Iditarod - you just need to go and experience it for yourself!!
 

The side-effect of this blog, and the fact that the Iditarod is currently mid-race, has made me nostalgic. So, guess what! Looks like we might be planning a reunion! 2014 Iditarod!! You should come!
 

Sunday, I'll be talking out our Roadtrip of the Disposable Car... unless I write more about the Iditarod... but I THINK it'll be about the disposable car....