Friends of Alaska,

Greetings.  We continue to be busy.  And some things we had planned to do we are skipping because there are just so many things one could do.  We also enjoy hobbies here at the apartment.  There are routine things we do that do not get into the blog: church and Sunday school on Sunday morning, Bible study on Sunday evenings (though this is about to end), Elva volunteers at an elementary school Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, life group (Bible study) on Thursday evenings, Larry meets with a young man from church on Monday mornings, Elva has choir practice on Wednesday evenings, for a couple weeks Larry has a Bible study at a long term care center while the man who  usually has it is on vacation in Hawaii, Elva has just started attending a Bible study on Monday evenings, and we try to walk all afternoons except Sunday.  We don't walk Sunday afternoons because we walk to church.  And then we do the special things that we include in the blogs.

The Iron Dog Snow Machine Race (snow mobile for those in the lower 48) ended here Saturday.  It is advertised as the longest toughest snow machine race in the world.  Pairs of contestants race from near Anchorage to Nome to Fairbanks, a course of over 2000 miles.  They go in pairs for safety in case there are problems of some kind.  The pictures below are of the end of the Iron Dog race, which was about 3 or 4 blocks from our apartment.  The first picture is the entrance to the finish line and the second is a team ending their race.  The timing of the teams was real close to our apartment.  There were some race officials with a sign that said "time ends here."  One could have a spiritual or philosophical discussion about the meaning of that sign if it did not apply to the end of a race.

This is the course in front of our apartment.  On the left is the sign about the end of time.  We often walk across the river here.

The Iron Dog race ends with a bit of celebration.  But, always looking for more ways to celebrate winter, there is also Tired Dog races.  These are snow machines over 35 years old.  The course above shows where the contestants in these races go on the right going away from the camera and on the left coming toward the camera.  In one of the Tired Dog races the time does not matter, the age of the contestant does.  The winner was 95 years old and ran a 1965 Polaris Mustang machine.  Second place was 93 and ran a 1969 Snow-Jet 150.  Third was 68 and running a 1966 Rupp Snow Sport.  The guy in third has a ways to go to match the other two.  Then again, he could be the winner in just two or three years.  The picture below is looking out our window at the course above as a snow machine goes by.

I should maybe explain about the names of these races including "dog" in them.  Originally there were sled dog races.  Some call snow machines "iron dogs."  So the long race is Iron Dog Race.  The old snow machines are then referred to as tired dogs.

As the races were going on people celebrated winter in various ways.  Individuals played in the snow making snow angels.

There was Human Moose Nugget Bowling, but it was only replica of "moose nuggets."  The goal is to hit these.

Children get into these tire-like sleds and are pulled back against a bungy cord.

And then are "shot" down the bowling alley.

Knocking over the "moose nuggets."  Actually it is a clean game and the kids had a lot of fun.

There were booths set up for people to do various activities while waiting between races.

Other things are starting.  Fairbanks has a much larger snow carving competition than the pictures a couple months ago from North Pole.  That just started the last couple days.  Arctic Winter Games will start March 15.  Someone said there will be about as many contestants for this as there were for the Winter Olympics.

Thanks for staying interested in our "Alaska Adventure."

God's blessing to all.

Larry and Elva