Fur Rendezvous
I've been so busy living my "Big. Wild. Life." that I've had little time to write about it. However, so much fun stuff is going on that I had to jump on line to let you all know about it. The biggest news is that "Fur Rondy" otherwise known as Fur Rendez-Vous officially kicked off this weekend. The Rondy is the largest winter carnival in North America. It started way back when, following the tradition of trappers, miners, and company buyers got together as the days got longer to trade with each other... fur, gold, money, and food. Throw in some carnival rides, and a slew of outdoor winter games and races and you'll have a picture of what the event is like these days.
They finished up day three of the World Championship Sled Dog Races today. And, gosh, for all of you dog sledding nay-sayers out there, there was not a cruel act to be seen. No bad sports, no yelling, no people being mean to dogs. Just fun loving, tail wagging, serious and wonderful athletes.
There were plenty of other events too including: skijoring races, a fabulous running of the reindeer (think Spanish bulls chasing people, then replace the bulls with domesticated reindeer and the macho runners with a costumed goofy crowd and you'll get it), the Frostbite Footrace, snow sculpture contest (ongoing), outhouse races, ice bowling, fur auction, and much, much more.
Still upcoming this week are the oyster shucking contests, photo contest, the ongoing melodrama, carnival and several card game tournaments. Next weekend it ramps up again with snocross, ice bowling championships, the famous Miner's and Trapper's Charity Ball, Ski4Kids, Blanket Toss, Tour of Anchorage (a major Nordic ski race through town), snowshoe softball, Crab races, dog weight pull, quilts/fiber arts auction, and again, more, more, more!
Of course, the event also includes the start of the last great race, the Iditarod sled dog race that has a ceremonial start here in Anchorage on Saturday, and then the official start up in Willow on Sunday.
The crowd today was quite something. The Running of the Reindeer brought in so many runners and watchers that the sidewalks were packed along the entire race course. I'd consider, next year, getting a room and the Historic Anchorage Hotel overlooking 4th Avenue. The people in the windows up there had the best view in town of all of the events!
