Two years ago, Bonnie connected us to Shantel via Julie in the hunt for Ian’s first lead dog. Shantel knew of a dog from a kennel she had previously handled for, and she thought he might be a good fit for a little boy. At the time, I thought she was choosing a dog for Ian. I didn’t realize that actually, Shantel was choosing Ian as her junior musher.

Once Falcon and Pilgrim moved in, Shantel offered to host Ian if he ever wanted to come to Alaska to learn to mush in the snow. We filed this offer away in the back of our heads as an incredibly polite offer that we probably wouldn’t follow up on. But Shantel reminded us regularly that she would love to work with Ian, so we began to think that maybe it wouldn’t be so crazy to travel 4,000 miles for mushing lessons. Bonnie had already ensured that we’d begun earning air miles with an Alaska Airlines credit card, and we had enough miles saved at this point. Tennessee state employees get a hefty discount on rental cars, and Shantel offered to house us for a week. It was kind of looking like we could swing a trip on a shoe string budget!

So we began planning and I booked our flights…then Shantel noticed that we were flying out the morning of the ceremonial start for the Iditarod. She insisted that we can’t miss the Iditarod. I consulted with Ian, who gave me a resounding, “meh” of indifference, but everyone insisted that Ian needs to experience the beginning of Iditarod. So I revised our flights and then we began planning in earnest. A lovely coworker agreed to house sit, and our good friend and breeder of Shallot invited Shallot to come stay with her. All our responsibilities were squared away for our absence.

First we had months and months to wait, then only weeks, and finally we were down to just days left before leaving. A day before we left, I checked Facebook memories, and saw that a year ago to the day, Shantel had received a card from Ian with a note that he couldn’t wait to go see her next year! Somehow it all came together, and just a year and two days after she opened that card, we were in Alaska!

We had 8 solid days in Alaska and 2 full days of travel. I look forward to sharing the details with you soon!

Day 1: Sunday, February 25 — tour Sled Dog Systems, tour Battle Dawgs, meet Rick Casillo, and learn to snow shoe!

Day 2: Monday, February 26 — Ian learns to drive on snow with Shantel

Day 3, Tuesday, February 27 — Ian learns to drive tag sled

Day 4, Wednesday, February 28 — WIND, touristy day in Talkeetna

Day 5, Thursday, February 29 — Ian drives dogs solo!

Day 6, Friday, March 1 — Skiing at Hatcher’s Pass

Day 7, Saturday, March 2 — Iditarod Ceremonial Start

Day 8, Sunday, March 3 — Iditarod official start in Willow