We arrived!

I can hardly believe our much-anticipated journey to Alaska has begun.   Door-to-door, it took three different planes and over twelve hours to reach Anchorage.  In my heart-of-hearts, I was secretly glad it was a long trip.  If it were shorter, it would not seem so monumental.  The longer journey helps me appreciate the unparalleled opportunity I have been given.  I know it will be worth every minute it took to get here--and then some!

As we began our first flight to Dallas, the sun was enormously bright and glistening as we seemed to float over the cloudscapes.  Outside my plane window, the landscape that occasionally peaked through the clouds changed and rearranged.  At one point, as I glanced out my window heading from Dallas to Seattle, I saw snow-covered mountains...the Rockies, perhaps?  Dorothy, we are not at home anymore!

Reading veteran musher DeeDee Jonrowe's book, Iditarod Dreams, seemed a fitting thing to do as our airplane cabin on the Seattle-bound flight seemed to have sub-freezing temps.  When I read the chapter where Ms. Jonrowe wrote of the perils of encountering moose, I was reminded of my husband's brother Mike's counsel just before we left:  "Remember, moose always have the right-away."  This echoed what Ms. Jonrowe explained, "Most people think of moose as friendly, gangly animals who don't give anyone any trouble.  Those people don't live in Alaska!"  (Iditarod Dreams, p. 86)  I promise we will be on the look-out!

As we boarded the final plane from Seattle to Anchorage, I tried to sleep but was beyond excitement, so I kept reading and actually finished the book just before we landed in Anchorage.  As the clouds cleared, the mountains of Alaska beneath us were nothing short of majestic.   Once there, we were surprised how cool it seemed as we waited for our shuttle to the hotel...60 degrees or so and a brisk breeze made us both reach for our jackets.  Yes, we were in Alaska!

By the time we arrived at our hotel, which is known as "Iditarod Race Headquarters," we realized we needed dinner and found a uniquely picturesque spot just outside our hotel where we could have delicious salmon patties and watch seaplanes taking off and landing on a lake.  We were having dinner in the bright sunlight at what would have been nearly midnight at home.  It was almost too beautiful to describe.  In the photo above, I am standing by the seaplane that takes folks on bear expeditions...perhaps that is for another day?  (Planes such as these are also used to transport dogs as needed during the Iditarod and after the race.)

Sitting there, soaking up all this incredible beauty, and so glad to finally be in Alaska, DeeDee Jonrowe's words--from the book that had been my companion all day--came to mind.  She wrote after conquering her first Iditarod, "You feel pretty special after doing something like that.  You feel whatever happens, it's OK because you've done it."   In some ways, I believe this is how I will feel about this once-in-a-lifetime trip to Alaska.  What a wonderful welcome to the "land of the midnight sun."