Good Morning Race Fans!

Wow WHAT A FINISH!!

Our traditional list of events for an Iditarod Finish is to drive to Fort Davis about 3 miles South of Nome to watch Pete and the Team cross the road on his way to the Finish. The route from the road goes onto a small lake and then eventually to the beach just before Front Street and then Teams make their way with a police escort to the famed burled arches.

We have made the trip many times, Ron, Beth, the kids, and myself. It’s an annual thing.

This year we saw that Pete was close to Michelle Phillips on the tracker, but by the time we saw them Pete was less than a mile behind. The wind was fierce and right in their face. The race was on. Both mushers were kicking away, but Pete was gaining. OMG! There were quite a few cars and people to witness this battle along the beach of Nome.

Pete ducked down into the wind to minimize drag, but he had to also put on his bib. He grabbed the bib out of the sled bag and it was whipping around like a flag! Dang, he must have thought! I got the pass but if he lost the bib he’d have to stop!! Luckily he was able to get over his coat and attached.

Now it was our turn to rush as we needed to make our way to the finish line to greet him.

We walked up the chute just in time to see the police cars that surround each Team on their way up Front Street.

It was so very exciting! In the end, Pete and the Team arrived 5 minutes and 8 seconds before Michelle Phillips. WHAT A FINISH!!

White Mountain right after Pete left in the dark

Good Morning Race Fans!

Pete and the Team is out of White Mountain at 7:46am with 8 dogs.

Weather forecast calls for 18-20 knot winds on the trail to Safety 55 miles down the trail. Skies are partly cloudy and in Nome it’s not bad at all. Today always feels like the race is “almost over” but for Pete and the Team it’s another 10 hour day on the trail.

We are expecting the Team over under the burled arches between 5 and 7pm this evening.

Yesterday we witnessed Jessie Holmes cross the finish line for his second win in a row. It was a nice looking dog Team – Congratulations to Jessie!

Today’s events for the pit crew involve putting together some dog boxes so the team has a cozy place to sleep tonight. Ron also has a few chores to do like getting food ready and such.

The end is in sight, Race Fans!

Go Team Kaiser!!

Good Evening Race Fans!

As Pete was getting ready to leave Elim, the Kaiser Pit crew was headed to Nome. The flight was a run down memory lane for sure. Amazing that Pete has been on the Iditarod trail for over 9 days and we made the journey in about an hour and and 15 minutes. As we flew the trail we could see many of the points on the lower part of the trail- Rainy Pass, Rohn, Ophir, Old Woman, and Unalakleet. Bang-bang-bang. So fast and thinking about how long it took Pete and the Team.

And THEN, our most awesomest host Bob Madden meets us at the Nome airport and fed us fresh crab right out of the water!!

Pete was out of Elim for the 46 mile run to White Mountain and a mandatory 8 hour layover at 5:01pm with 8 dogs. The average time from Elim to White Mountain is around 7 hours. If Pete gets into White Mountain at midnight, he could leave at 8am. A 9-11 run would put Pete over the Finish Line between 5pm and 7pm.

Weather for the area is not bad. -4 degrees with light winds. One thing that I noticed on the trip into Nome was that there is quite a bit of wind in the blow hole and through Safety. I could see the wind blown trail and the snow blown free of snow. It’s going to be BREEZY!!

Pete is almost to the Finish! Go Team Kaiser!

Good Morning Race Fans!

The 2019 year was super awesome with Pete and the Team winning the Iditarod that year.

Another shining moment that I will always remember is the St. Patrick’s Day parade put on by the City of Nome with former mayor  James “Richard” Beneville. He was one of a kind and it was such a fun parade!