Target Iditarod Teacher on the Trail^™ Trail Tidbits 17

by Kim Slade

Off to Nome!

I headed to Nome this morning, flying over Norton Sound which was unbelievable. It may be deceiving on a map, but let me tell you – Norton Sound is huge! Coming across the vast openness and then spotting a team was surreal. They looked so out of place out on the sea of ice.

We flew over Shaktoolik and Koyuk only stopping at Elim. This village has a population of about 300 and sits well above the Bering Sea. It was here that I got to try dried seal soaked in seal oil. Wow! What an experience that was - this was definitely not my favorite!

I got a quick tour of the school and then walked down to the checkpoint with a class to see if we could see Ramy Brooks coming up off the sea ice.

After our short visit, we were off towards White Mountain when we got word that Lance Mackey was out and on his way to Safety. We made our way towards Safety and came across Mackey on the trail. Here the trail looked barren, and at some places there was only sand. The way Mackey was flying out there on the trail, we decided we needed to get to Nome.

Nome:

This old gold town looks like something out of the past. The streets were bustling with volunteers and tourists here to see the Iditarod. There is not much snow around town and like Anchorage; they had to bring in snow in order for the sleds to come down the street. By 8:08 p.m., Lance Mackey and team were standing under the Burled Arch. The emotions of the finish were felt all around - everyone was excited to see Lance’s dream of winning the Iditarod come true. He was wearing the same bib number, 13, as his father and brother when they won their Iditarod.

Lance thanked his dogs, the trailbreakers, the race sponsors, and the crowd. He was especially happy to receive a new Dodge truck, saying that he was in dire need of a vehicle that didn’t need repairs. Later Lance spoke inside to fans and reporters about his amazing team (many of which had just run the Yukon Quest several weeks before). It was here in the convention hall that Dick Mackey, Lance’s father and 1978 winner of the Iditarod, came in to congratulate his son. Note: Dick’s airplane broke down in Seattle and it had looked like he would not make it at all today, but thanks to the close relationship amongst the Iditarod community, another plane was found.

Coming in a short time later at 10:28 p.m., Paul Gebhardt made his way down Front Street to the Burled Arch to take a second place win.

Expected later tonight is Zack Steer, Martin Buser, and Jeff King. It should be interesting to see how these teams place!

Iditarod Money Math:

For his first place win, Lance Mackey received a check from Wells Fargo for $69,000. When giving the winnings, a representative for Wells Fargo said, “This in no roll of quarters.” This got me thinking – how many quarters are in $69,000? See if you can figure this out. What did you do in order to calculate the answer?

Where is Jack?

Jack has been getting along the trail effortlessly. Where do you think this picture was taken? And who are these guys?

One Small Square:

Where did this item come from? Sketch and describe it using adjectives.

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