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Target Iditarod Teacher on the Trail™ Gifts
by Jane Blaile
This topic has been on my mind since before I left Nome. As I started reflecting on how to answer the question I knew I was going to hear…”What was your favorite part of the trip?” And I have heard it, and I have answered it a little differently each time, but in all honesty, I can easily tell you that my favorite part of the trip was the gift of people.
I was showered with opportunities to meet and talk to people. And while I really didn’t engage in world-changing discussions with any one of them, each conversation was precious to me. I absorbed the words and savored the moments to talk to…
Lavon Barve, race judge, as he regaled me with stories of the Iditarod “back in the day” when they tried drying out booties with Blaz-o. Mark Nordman, race marshall, recalling the year that he and a group other Iditarod finishers agreeing to cross the finish line at exactly the same time. In Nome, Aliy Zirkle, noticed my Phoenix Suns sweatshirt and telling me that the Suns are her favorite team. And her dad, Doug Zirkle as we stood along the trail in Ruby hour after hour chatting. Al Marple, race judge, sharing stories of native friends of his in Koyuk. Martin Buser, as he fed his dogs in Cripple, asking me how I was enjoying my journey. When I told Mike Owens that I just wanted to hug Melissa every time I saw her in a checkpoint, and he said, “You should have!” Lance Mackey with me in line to get something to eat at the gym in Nikolai when I told him that I use him as an inspiration for students to work hard and follow their dreams saying, “That’s good if it helps someone.” Peter Bartlett and Ryan Redington telling me their advice for young people who want to follow their dreams. Cim Smyth, pulling in to Kaltag, asking me how I was doing. Jeff King explaining the book Mawson’s Will, his favorite, to me in the Russian import store in Nome. And again, Jeff King catching me off guard in White Mountain with a quote he said I should know because I’m a teacher…but I didn’t! Trent Herbst, musher and 4th grade teacher, at the musher meeting offering to send me his ideas for using the Iditarod in the classroom. Rick Swenson sitting down beside me at the table in McGrath, telling me his story, explaining his perspective. In Takotna I met Ellie Claus’s dad and asked him to let her know that in my classroom every year, I use a magazine article she wrote. And the list just goes on and on….
I have the tangibles - souvenirs and pictures, but the memories of the people and time I spent with them are the most precious gift of all.
