Wilbur with his dog on the day he left for Alaska to see the Yukon Quest 2012.
Away they go. Each team started with 14 dogs. They run with voice commands only.
He stayed with dear friends in North Pole, a suburb of Fairbanks.
There were 22 teams that left Fairbanks for the 1000 mile long Yukon Quest. He saw the beginning on Saturday noon, February 4th. The race was 11 days long and not all the teams finished. There are 8 check points between the beginning and the end at Whitehorse Yukon. He saw the beginning, then flew to Eagle, the 4th checkpoint, where there was a 4 hour mandatory stop. We had been in Alaska two years ago and helped build flooded homes in Eagle. He enjoyed getting reacquainted with the local people. He had wonderful hosts during his stay of a week.
Below: one of the first 3 teams to come in to Eagle, notice the dog in the sled.
Left: The check point building and staging area for the dogs and mushers. The mushers had flown in all food and hay/straw for their dogs, previous to the race so it would be available at race time.
Below: Typical lead dog, resting, while his master takes a break.
Next Picture: Lance Mackey, with his dogs, four time winner of the Iditarod and also previous Yukon Quest winner.
Next Picture: Lance Mackey, with his dogs, four time winner of the Iditarod and also previous Yukon Quest winner.
Wilbur got to run his own dog sled team. What a highlight!
Above: one of the homes, Mennonite Disaster Service built, two summers ago. It was so good to get back and meets the Turners again.
A common occurrence in "Fairbanks, mama moose and her calf stroll down the street. Special Memories: Flying over the mountains on the way to and from Eagle. The dog sled teams coming into Eagle. Both the dogs and the drivers have happy expressions. They all love to run. The sunset was so beautiful and so were the Northern Lights but he could not capture them on a photo. It was a DREAM come true for him.
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