Here we are dog sledding and hiking in snow shoes! We are at Chugach State Park, the Eagle River green belt access area. Our sledding and hiking trail was on a frozen river.  Our dog team was Eddy and Rapid (wheel dogs ), Flats, Rye , and Delta (middle dogs), and Tybo and Carbon ( our lead dogs).  The weather was unusually warm by Alaska standards (32 degrees), so our day was perfect. We were still dressed in three layers to keep our Texas blood warm!

Mrs. Traicoff and Mrs. Robertson will be in the Courier this Saturday! Get yourself a copy! They have been interviewing us via e-mail and telephone while we are here in Anchorage! So exciting!

Tonight was definitely a highlight! We attended the 2014 Iditarod Musher Banquet.  Over 1,800 mushers, teachers, race supporters, and fans were in attendance. At the banquet, mushers drew their race order and mingled with the race fans.  It was exciting to meet the participants that we have followed over the years. Mrs. Robertson and I did get a little star struck at times and made sure we were able to meet EVERY MUSHER in the race this year! The mushers definitely know two teachers from The Woodlands, Texas and their students are tracking them in the race this year!

 

The 79th annual Fur Rondy festival is being held during our visit. After today's session, we were able to head to the snow carving exhibit.  Due to the warm weather today, they were starting to melt! However we still enjoyed the amazing frozen creations.

 



 

 

 

We were able to observe the vet checks on Wednesday. 

The mushers are required to have their team checked by a veterinarian to be cleared for the race.

These canines are true athletes! Dog health and safety always comes first for the race officials and the mushers.  Dogs are brought into the vet check on the dog trucks and it gets pretty noisy with all the barking!

This dog truck drove all the way from Minnesota!

This team is waiting their turn for the vet.



The vet checks the heart, hydration, attitude, weight, legs (joints), and feet.



The dogs are always eager to see who is walking by the truck!

The vet check is getting very busy.

This is the vet trailer where dogs are taken for their EKG test.

 

 

 

 

Trophies for the race winner!

 

Here are more pictures of yesterday's adventures from

Iditarod Headquarters in Wasilla, AK!

 

Can you believe we saw THE REAL TOGO??????

 

 

 

 

       

Statue of Balto!

Statue of Ray Redington, Jr., the father of the

Iditarod Sled Dog Race.

 

Today we are in classes learning new and amazing lesson ideas from past Teachers on the Trail. It is exciting to be the student and have the opportunity to interact with master teachers from across the country. We have made new friends from Alaska, Hawaii, Florida, New York, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, South Dakota, Illinois, Ohio, Iowa, North Carolina, Minnesota, Indiana, and of course TEXAS.

Tonight we will be attending the musher banquet where we will get to meet all the mushers! We are not sure which one we are most excited to meet!! Look for video and pictures on our blog tomorrow.

We just found an app called Aurora Buddy that is forecasting favorable conditions to see the Aurora Borealis tonight. WOW! We are going to head to Earthquake Park tonight after the banquet to see if we can catch a glimpse of Mother Nature's dancing light show. Cross your fingers we will be in luck.

We wanted to review everything we have done in the  4 days we have been here:
Monday: We took a 4 and a half hour flight to Seattle. Then we got to pick up Mr. Beckmann to fly us to Anchorage. That was a 3 hour flight. We arrived at the hotel and went to the social where we met Dallas Seavey!
Tuesday: We had great classes in  the morning, where we met Sanka W. Dog, and then an amazing field trip to Jon Van Zyle's . We carpooled with Terrie Hanke, the 2006 teacher of the trail.
Wednesday: Field trip day! We took a 45 minute bus ride to Iditarod headquarters to witness  vet checks. Then we loaded the bus and went to Dream a Dream kennel and met Vern Halter. We got to see a full kennel, 50 dogs, and watch Cindy Abbott's dog team in their own space.
Thursday: A day of classes and then the musher banquet. We will be there to get autographs and pictures. We will also watch as they draw their bib number for the race.

Today, we also visited Vern Halter's kennel named Dream a Dream Dog Farm in Wasilla, Alaska. Vern is a veteran Iditarod Sled Dog Race competitor who is training new racers. He is currently training Cindy Abbott. Ms. Abbott started the race last year and completed a majority of the race with a broken pelvis before scratching. She hopes to finish this year. Below is our visit to his kennel:

Vern Halter and Cindy Abbott

Mrs. Robertson, Vern Halter, and Mrs. Traicoff

Amazingly full day today! We were able to see vet checks at Iditarod headquarters in Wasilla, Alaska. Here are some highlights with a video above:

Musher Jason Mackey

Jason Mackey's dogs

Photographer Jeff Schultz

Waiting for vet check!

A different type of transportation!

Tough Teachers with Mr. Van Zyle

 

Mrs. Traicoff with Lion.

Mrs. Robertson with Anouk.



Mr. Van Zyle signing his artwork.

Mr. Van Zyle is an artist whose drawings and painting have been used for many Iditarod books, posters, and Alaskan artwork.

 He is the illustrator for the book The Great Serum Race by Debbie Miller.






Mrs. Robertson's purchase!

Watch our video from our visit to Jon Van Zyle's kennel and art gallery. We are in Eagle River, Alaska.

Signed in and got our vests!!!!
First speaker: Terrie Hanke--- She is Sanka W. Dog! She wrote the 8 traits of the Iditarod, the character lessons we have been studying in class. Mrs. Traicoff is extra excited because Ms. Hanke is from Wisconsin!

Terri Hanke

 

Sunrise 7:15am.........No sun yet!

Wow, what a day. We headed for Bush International Airport this morning at 6:45 am. We had a great flight into Seattle where we were able to meet up with Mr. Beckman who then piloted our flight into Anchorage. It was a clear, sunny day in Anchorage as we arrived at 3:07 Alaska time (6:07 Texas time).  The temperature was 23 degrees, but the cold didn't bother us as we were too busy soaking in the incredible view of the mountains.

Mrs. Robertson and I ventured out into downtown Anchorage to find some dinner and found a fabulous place to enjoy seafood and a burger. The salmon was amazing!  After dinner, we strolled down 4th Avenue which is the street where the ceremonial start of the Iditarod will take place this Saturday. It was surreal to be there after following the Iditarod for so many years.

We then headed for the teacher conference social where we were able to meet Dallas Seavey, 2012 Iditarod winner! Unbelievable!  He was very friendly and excited for this year's race.

It is now 8:48 Alaska time (11:48 Texas time) and we are exhausted! Goodnight.

plane trip.....

Mr.

 Beckman flying our plane:Mia's dad!

View from the plane!

Mapping the route!

WE ARE HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!

the TOUGH TEACHERS

We are ready to go! We will be representing Texas and Coulson Tough Elementary School.

The countdown has begun! 6 days until we are on the plane to Anchorage!

Dog Blankets

Here is a picture of a fun project we were able to do at the beginning of January. The Iditarod was in need of blankets for dogs at each checkpoint. Our 4th graders and parents made 114 blankets! Included on each blanket was a small white note with the student name, school, and sweet message. They were very excited to get our shipment. Special thanks to Mr. Beckman, a pilot for United and a Dad, who got them on a flight to Anchorage. Another special thanks to David Robertson, Mrs. Robertson's brother in law, who is a firefighter in Anchorage, for picking up and delivering the blankets to the Iditarod Trail Committee headquarters!