Target Iditarod Teacher on the Trail^™ Trail Tidbits 20

by Kim Slade

More Teams into Nome:

Friday, March 16, 2007, day 13 of the Iditarod – Nome sunny Low -10°F, High 10°F. Teams continue to make their way under the burled arch all hours of the day and night. The dogs are looking great and are still full of energy as they pull in to get their check-ups. It’s also nice to see mushers that have finished go out to greet the teams as they come into Nome. Many mushers can also be found at the Mini Conference Center hanging out socializing with peers and fans.

Dogs:

Dog drug testing is being done at the Iditarod. Random tests are conducted before the race, during the race, and at the end of the race. Officials are looking for signs of high performance drugs like amphetamines, aspirin/ibuprofen, or steroids. These are considered drugs harmful to athletes unless prescribed and monitored by a veterinarian. Normally 3 to 5 dogs are sampled by collecting urine and the samples are then sent off to be tested in a lab. At the end of the race, it is common to test the top twenty teams, otherwise the testers check random mushers, random dogs, and at random checkpoints. I helped collect samples in Nome and got to spend some time walking the dogs. Baggies & plastic containers are used to collect the samples and it does not hurt the dogs.

Gold:

Gold has played a huge roll in the development of Nome. If it weren’t for the gold found in 1899, Nome might not be on the map today. I had the opportunity to walk through a dredge to see up close what the mammoth machine once did to retrieve gold from the earth. Thanks to Pat, a Nome resident, I learned how the machine worked and got a guided tour today. The dredge was huge and had many aspects to its operations. Four men could run the machine, which was powered by a large electrical cord. It dug into the earth scooping up buckets full of soil and rock, and then would separate the gold from that material. To find our more check out the following website - http://explorenorth.com/library/weekly/aa072999.htm or contact the Nome Convention & Visitor Bureau for a diagram of a bucket-line dredge – tourinfo@ci.nome.ak.us.

Life On and Under the Sea Ice:

On a snow machine ride out onto the sea ice I got to discover some of Nome’s sea inhabitants. Pat took myself and another teacher out to check his crab trap and we got to see more than crabs - there were sea stars, sea urchins, shrimp, krill, and crabs! Pat cuts a rectangular hole in the ice using an ax, drops a baited trap into the sea, and then checks it daily. The trap is baited with fresh fish and attracts many animals including crabs. After we checked the crab trap, we noticed seal holes as well. Seals make these holes in order to breathe. We even spotted one sunning itself. There are two species of seals found off the coast of Nome – the bearded seal, or oogruk, and the common seal.

Where is Jack?

Jack is enjoying himself – where is he?

One Small Square:

Sketch the item in the frame.

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