Welcome to Happy Trails Kennels:
Home of four-time Iditarod Champion
Martin Buser, and family!

Martin and I are answering posts on the Bearing Sea School District's IditaProject Blog. I had heard about the project during the race season but didn't really have time to investigate what was happening. Then I saw the kids in Unalakleet monitoring the live webcam of where the dogs were being parked.

Martin said that many of the kids involved could be professionals. They are well versed and articulate in asking relevant questions and they have the whole camera stuff organized and ready to go!

We are having fun with the questions and love to hear the comments from folks from all over. Several other mushers have been on the Weekly Question Session and we're anxious to go back and read Rohn's.

For all the information go to~ http://mushing.bssd.org/forum/viewforum.php?f=3

photo taken by Pat Hahn right outside Nome

We thought folks might want to read about our athletes now that the race is over. Photos above shows Angel and Goose in lead.

**indicates a finisher

**ANGEL*Angel My angel boy! He did everything. Very mature and able. He is a neutered male so was paired with Goose who was in heat at the parking spots. Can be seen in lead with Goose lots of time. He did it all quietly, happily, smoothly, an efficient mover. Works through any soreness. KUSKO & QUEST finisher.

CARIBOUCaribou Daddy leader did not make it too far, got a sore shoulder going down the Dalzell Gorge, a team ahead was having trouble negotiating the gorge so our team had to wait and was going nuts wanting to go in rough, punchy and deep snow. Left in Rohn. Will be back as a huge asset to the team, sentimental favorite. He is the friendlier of the brothers. KUSKO & QUEST finisher.

**COLLAR*Collar every time we write about Collar, he’s the unsung hero, never misses a beat, and does his job, no problem. Now breeding Goose. He’s the perfect student that gets overlooked because he does everything right and doesn’t speak up or act up.

DEVILLEDeville Battle-ax, left in Iditarod, dropped in the Quest, mind always willing but body not perfect for the rigors of long, long races. Some little issues. Really great wheel dog because of his small size and pulling power, but a tough position to be in cause wheel helps steer the sled.

DORIDori has personality issues, very reserved, did very well on Iditarod. No trouble at all, just wants to be left alone to do her job. Left in White Mountain because she had a sore pectoral so she wouldn’t be able to run downhill very well and the Topcok hills were yet to come. She made it to Nome before the team did.

ELKElk doing great now, was a little tired from running the Quest, pasterns and wrists always a bit big, got sore in Dalzell, left with brother in Rohn, both very dejected when they got left behind. Never got a chance to be in lead. They, Elk and Caribou, were being saved for later, kept slower leaders in front to try to control the pace so team didn’t get too excited. KUSKO & QUEST finisher.

FRODOFrodo Cheerleader, barking and always wanting to go. When we started to head into storms, dropped in Shaktoolik. Nothing wrong with him but had previous frostbite years ago and couldn’t risk that happening to him again in the strong head wind. QUEST finisher

**GOOSE*Goose Kusko leader, stayed home from Quest, did super. After the “brothers” went home, she was in lead from Rohn to Nome with a different partner. Smart, unaffected by stress, and got smarter about finding hard packed trails, breaking trails, dealing with soft snow, very strong mind. Now being bred to Collar. KUSKO finisher.

**HERAKLES*Herakles another unbelievable unsung hero. Smallest of the boys in the team. Greek god name and lives up to expectations, super nice. KUSKO finisher dropped in QUEST.

JEFFERSONJefferson hardest steady worker, smooth gaited, even keeled, barking with excitement, nonstop, young up and coming great dog. He and his look alike Orion ran together, side-by-side most of the time. Dropped in Koyuk with sore pectoral. QUEST finisher.

**LIONEL*Lionel the FUTURE of the team. Goofy sort of has an ADD personality, likes to run alone or with girls, does not like his feet messed with but has some issues with hind feet and they always need attention. Has speed, drive and ability. A fun dog that has a lot of character. KUSKO & QUEST finisher.

**OTTER*Otter made his competitive début, NEW STAR, 2 1/2 year old graduate from Sue Allen’s team, a major contributor every step of the race from start to finish. Didn’t demand much of him, never in lead, never in wheel because of his age. Next year will be a full-fledged veteran, body and mind right for the job. He has three brothers, Badger, Mink and Weasel that were left behind for minor reasons and will be part of the team next year. This was his first major competitive race.

**ORION*Orion Taskmaster, bark and dogs in the team and out of our team if someone slacked off, went to the bathroom, wanted to run with Goose. He is steady eddy, fast and smooth, trouble free, no problems. KUSKO & QUEST finisher.

**PIPPIN*Pippin on again off again Pippin, not the most consistent worker but was happy. A goer but not a huge contributor. In there till the very end, reasonably good appetite, reasonable good feet, a working class dog, not a star but surely needed in the team.

**ROY*Roy hands down the fastest dog in the team. With speed come other challenges, like with fast cars, he has skin problems since birth, he needs powdered and babied, his feet need to be bootied all the time, very strong head and drive but his hair tends to fall out, great leader, happy smart, friendly. Always gave the vets something to look like – had to explain that he had demadex when he was young and was on medication in early years. Even though he’s the fastest guy in the team, will be neutered so as not to pass on his genetic difficulty. KUSKO & QUEST finisher.

**SAM*Sam Rohn took Sam to Nome last year and had very high regard for him. Has dietary challenges but maintains good attitude through it all, keeps pulling, best of the white neck boys (Frodo, Pippin are brothers), not the greatest of feet but loves interaction so he likes being rubbed and feet messed with. KUSKO & QUEST finisher.

2009 Iditarod Trophies. To find out who got what go to iditarod.com
The original burled arch finish monument displayed on the wall in the Nome Rec Center.
Sitting with friends at the Alaska Airlines table at the Nome banquet.
Mushers gather and sign autographs in Nome at Iditarod Headquarters
People wait to get posters and memorabilia signed
After the storm from Shaktoolik to Koyuk, we thought surely the worst of Iditarod 2009 was over but it wasn't.

The banquet in Nome, as always, is a great event with mushers telling fun stories or as they say, "Tales of the Trail."

What we didn't forsee was the Mack truck that would hit when Martin opened the envelope that contained his paycheck for his efforts. $9,500. For a moment, I thought it must be like the Quest, where they only pay you half at the banquet and send the other half later. But not so. The Iditarod had said the purse would be down but we had no idea it would be so dramatic a cut in pay. The indication was that the purse announced was the minimum and being somewhat optimistic, Martin thought they would surely be able to come up with more than the minimum. He doesn't really study the purse before the race because he doesn't want the position number to compromise his attention to his dogs. While in Shaktoolik, the news of the several dog deaths in this year's race had weighed heavy on his mind. He thought of the possibility of a dog freezing or getting severely frostbitten and didn't want to take that chance under any condition.

We are told that last year, 18th position paid $21,000. Looks like we join the ranks of the economic depression with a more than 50% cut from last year's position payment. Wonder if the stimulus package contains money for the dog mushing world. (just joking, we surely don't subscribe to wholesale government bailouts.)

http://www.adn.com/iditarod/2009/story/732014.html

Needless to say it was a quiet drive to the Nome airport but we were all so anticipating getting home and back to our crew at home. The dogs had flown home on Friday night with Magnus and Sean. They already had the dog truck in town and we knew the finishers would relish being in their own houses.

As we were taxing to the runway for takeoff many of us had already dozed off to sleep when the dingding of the micorphone came on and the pilot announced that we were turning around. Mt. Redoubt, a volcano near Anchorage that had been active since January, had blown and was producing ash clouds to 50,000 feet. After several hours of watching the movement of the cloud, our flight was diverted to Fairbanks since it was on the road system. (Pat and Sue had been fast asleep in their finally quiet house in Nome.) Luckily, the general manager of Avis was on our flight and he opened the Rental booth in Fairbanks and immediately rented out the 4 cars available.

ROAD TRIP! Nancy Marty, Mary Pignalberi, Martin and I found ourselves departing Fairbanks at 3:30 am crammed in an Impala with bags and boxes stuck everywhere. Nancy bravely volunteered for the first driving shift. On our Quest trip, we had determined 2 hours as optimum drive time. Martin took over at about 5:30am and had the honor of being the driver through the thick ash cloud that shrouded the car for about 60 miles around the Trapper Creek area. The eerie gray fog is unmistakeable if you've seen it once before. I got the 7:30 am after coffee stop. Fortunately we had a car parked near the Parks hwy at the Napa store so we got dropped off. Nancy's car was parked along the highway in Wasilla so Mary made the final push into Anchorage to return the car.

Martin and I visited with our respective critters and took a nap.

After this dog mushing season, "There's NO Place like Home" is an understatement.

Each year, Alaska Airlines produces some of the greatest t-shirts for sale in Nome. Several people have asked where to get them, besides NOME. Email me for the contact information. Here are a few samples:

Resting, relaxing and renewing friendships is what Nome is all about at the end of the race. No going back, no do overs, no shouldas or couldas. The race is evaluated but not relived. In short, for Martin and his team, the 2009 race was frustrating. The deep snow at the beginning of the race and the blistering wind at the end was an unfortunate combination for this particular team. Martin's plan to rest early backfired when deep snow kept him from letting the dogs stretch out and run. You drive a Ferrari a bit differently than a Ford 150 depending on the condition of the road. He has often talked about the front wave and the momentum that being in the lead group creates. He never really got there. Last year's "come from behind" (he passed 23 teams from the Yukon on) plan never materialized. His dogs had diaarhea for the first time in many many years, cause unknown at this point. He stayed longer in Shaktoolik than he had hoped to because he knows what coastal storms can do to a weary dog team. Iditarods in the 90's were notoriously famous for weather inducing scratches by many teams. It was a throw of the dice to go or not and he didn't feel comfortable with the odds for his team. Maybe he would have made it with no trouble, but being 12th instead of 18th didn't make the gamble worth it. The mantra this year was "Do right by your dogs'" and he feels like he did that. They cruised into Nome and had fast run times along the way. He doesn't comment much on what other teams did because he's not driving those teams.

Martin congratulates Lance Mackey on another incredible magic carpet ride. Being lucky enough to have a few of those, he knows what it's like.

He didn't really have much fun this time around but overall the Iditarod has been so good for our family. We love the lifestyle that racing in the Iditarod enables for our family.

We truly love being in Nome with Pat and Sue and all the friends who come to celebrate the Iditarod tradition. We cook meals together with 20-30 people coming over and we have friends sleeping all over, even in the aisles of the pantry in the basement (actually one of the more quiet places.) We laugh and play games, Scattergories tonight, and tell catch up on stories and events since the last race. The entire experience is a recharging of the spirit.

Martin will do the rest of the story in his own words soon. Thanks for traveling the Idit trail with us once again.

We truly love being in Nome with Pat and Sue and all the friends who come to celebrate the Iditarod tradition. We cook meals together with 20-30 people coming over and we have friends sleeping all over, even in the aisles of the pantry in the basement (actually one of the more quiet places.) We laugh and play games, Scattergories tonight, and tell catch up on stories and events since the last race. The entire experience is a recharging of the spirit. Here's a few photos of the last few days.

Martin has finished 26 Iditarods/consecutively finished 24 Iditarods, the most of any other musher! and it sounds like we will be in store for number 27 next year.

You can purchase photos of Iditarod at www.IditarodPhotos.net If you search 2009 Buser you will find a few spectacular photos.

Finishing 18th in his 27th Iditarod - more consecutive finishes than any other musher in Iditarod history.
As a part of Rotary's END POLIO NOW campaign, Martin holds two vials of mock polio serum to signify the connection between the delivery of life saving serum for diptheria in the early days and now the move to eradicate polio in the world. To find out more go to the link in the left column of our web page.
Fresh crab compliments of Pat Hahn caught only hours before. Martin's most coveted meal.

Now we wait. I did get a short, very sweet email sent from Koyuk from Martin today. By the time I sent a return message, he had left so the folks forwarded my message to Elim. As I watched his times today, I was happy to see the team was moving well. I know Martin enjoys traveling quickly and that requires longer rests so that's what he's doing.
Magnus rests his eyes.
Kent rests his eyes and body.
Magnus and Sean pulled out the dogloos to start getting set up for the team.

Nancy spent the day selling those cool Alaska Airlines Athlete's Foot shirts and other Alaska/Airlines memorabilia.
The Alaska Airlines crew is always ready to serve. Sue, Shelia, and Elaine
Yipee!!! Pat checked the crab pots today so we are in business tonight.

Sounds like the racers are having visions of some old time races where people holed up in Shaktoolik and everyone raced from there. In the meantime, they usually play basketball and try to stay out of the wind. I have NO idea what is happening but will try to get some info tonight.

Today we detoured off the Iditarod Trail and headed northwest to the village of Shishmaref to do some shopping and searching for polar bears. We flew over tall mountains to get to the village. The village is dissolving into the Bering Sea due to storm erosion and plans are underway to move the entire town to a more permanent location.
We spotted several herds of muskox in the hills north of Nome.

Shishmaref from the air.


I shopped in the Nayukpuk store and had fun visiting with Percy. I purchased a horn doll and an ivory carving.

After leaving Shismaref, we headed out toward Russia over the pack ice. 40 miles west near a fractured lead, Jack spotted the bear near a bloody spot in the snow. (Jack has shaken the nickname the snorer and is now EAGLE EYE.) We circled around a few times and got some very exciting photos. Check one off of the bucket list. We were all thrilled.

I made it to Nome about 5:00 pm yesterday. First order of business was to take a shower and put street clothes on. All the folks traveling with Paul in the Otter had come to town early to get a jump on shopping at the Craft Fair. Hank with the colorful airplane stayed behind with me in UNC so I could see Martin arrive and visit for a minute. In Unalakleet, Martin was chatting with folks and said it seemed like every decision he made was the wrong one.

Our fly over of Shaktoolik on the way to Nome.
Martin visits with local folks in Unalakleet. Traveling the trail is to some degree a mini reunion of friends. photo by Steve Landfried
Martin listens to checkpoint intelligence. photo by Steve Landfried
Martin's checkpoint routine is amazingly efficient. He puts out straw for the dogs to get comfy. That's a sign to the dogs that they will be resting for a while. His first priority is to get food and water to the dogs. He quickly gets out snacks, goes to get water, heats the water, gives the dogs fresh water baited with a little meat, then gives them a full meal of Eagle dog food mixed with water. No matter how tired he is, he can do all his chores quickly and without pause.
Lionel and Dori having breakfast in bed.
Photo by Steve Landfried of team arriving in UNC. Goose and Angel in lead.
Martin arrived in Unalakleet with a cheerful looking dog team that was moving smoothly.

12:24 pm Go to http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bssd-student-broadcasting-team

and click on the live streaming video and you might see Martin arrive in the next 2 hours. I was just watching on the web cam DeeDee get ready to leave UNC from the checkpoint.

Click on photo to ENLARGE. Sorry about the strange text where there should be an apostrophe. Haven't had time to fix it.

The wind is presenting with it's typical howling on the Bering Sea Coast. We were down at the checkpoint last night as Lance was preparing to leave and Mitch and Hugh came in. Lance was riding the wave of a winner as he chatted with locals and leisurely got ready to pull out of the checkpoint as Mitch and Hugh fed dogs. While the race has been relatively slow, Lance's time between UNC and Shaktoolik is startling. I can say with confidence that his trek from Shaktoolik to Koyuk will be a chilly one.

Martin took a very long rest in Kaltag. At this point in the race, I suspect he is in dog preservation mode. He wants to get them into Nome and have the race over. By UNC, most mushers are regrouping to maintain or maybe catch the guy in front of them if they are in reach. Dogs and people are tired, people are bordering on dysfunctional due to lack of sleep. BUT the rule of thumb is 48 hours to Nome from UNC, 24 hours from Elim. Weather could be a little of a factor for those behind Lance. Wind is the dog's worst enemy, zapping any reserves as they make their way on the final trek to Nome.

We'll be in Nome tonight!!!

The Yukon River is living up to it's reputation of blowing into your face whatever the direction you are going. We flew back over the portage and landed in Kaltag. The visit was abbreviated by the wind. As you can see from the photos, the chilly wind was blowing.

Martin wasn't into Kaltag so we headed down the Yukon to find him and there he was about 5 miles out, hunkered down. He gave us a wave. The vast white Yukon River seemed to swallow that little dog team. Seeing a sight like that from the air sure makes me stop and think about the amazing feat dogs and mushers complete. I can't wait to give my hubby a big hug.

It's finally getting chilly on the trail with a north wind and -20. We got to visit with our friend, Jeff Erickson, who lives here in Unalakleet. His wife is one of the most famous pie makers in Alaska and we were treated to fresh pies from berries picked in the area. My, along with Nikolai and Rohn's, all time favorite is what she calls her Tundra Pie, apple and low bush cranberries. For years Jeff and one of his sons rode snow machines out to Old Woman Cabin to welcome Martin to the coast. He'll miss Jeff this year as he had to go to Anchorage today.

Clear blue skies are the order of business today and we are about to take off to go back to Kaltag to see our main man!!! Martin's travel times are looking good. This just isn't going to be his year but he's making his way along. The Quest appears not to have been a good idea so I hardly think we'll be back to Canada next year. I know Martin is babying his dogs along.

Main Characters

Hunter & Chris Morin
Fredricksburg, VA
Got GAME! Economically stimulating the villages along the trail. Spent $400 on cheeseburgers in Takotna cause they couldn’t make change and bought out furs in Grayling. He is now sporting a new wolf ruff made by Shirley on her kitchen counter. Chris adjusted quickly to life on the trail and found numerous uses for an empty peanut jar.

Bud & Caroline Finley
Little Rock, AR
Bud is the 2005 Expedition veteran, Caroline came to Iditarod start last year to get broken in. Now in the frying pan and adjusting to trail life with the grace of a true southern belle.

Fred Fairbanks
Jaffery, NH
Camper Extraordinaire, even had dogs in his younger (much younger days.)More interested in dogs than flying. Forgoes the tent or house to sleep outside. Even slept outside in Nikolai when he could have been jammed in a classroom with the rest of us. Says he sleeps with his window wide open in the winter back home. Quiet, hard worker.

Jack Belletete
Jaffery, NH
The SNORE. We are all taking up a collection for Jack to have plastic surgery in Nome. Oops, there are no plastic surgeons in Nome. He did sacrifice his comfort for us and slept outside in Takotna. More interested in flying than dogs.

Nancy Marty
Palmer, AK
Dog Masseuse, Iditarod Groupie and group comedian. Spouse is a 2X Iditarod veteran. nancy is the veteran of the 2006 Serum Run by dog team, Nenana to Nome. Retired special ed teacher who went back to work to pay for this trip. Martin’s absolute no. 1. She’s convinced he can fight his way back to the top. Notice her newly purchased beaded gloves.

Rich Allen
Houston, AK
Show and Tell of prosthetic leg to kids at Nikolai school. Entry to "the leg" conversation is people asking him why he is wearing a bunny boot on one foot and a hiking boot on the other.Spouse is an 2X Iditarod veteran. Rich wanted to see just how far it is from Anchorage to Nome. Rich is chatting with village kids about the importance of taking medication for diabetes.

The Claus Family: Paul, Ellie, Jay
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park
Paul is the expedition’s chief pilot
Jay is Kathy’s chief pilot, most handsome and experienced pilot for his age. Cut his hair recently so as not to be mistaken for Sebastian Schneulle on the trail. He could play the young Sebastian in the movie.
Ellie is Camp Manager & Logistical Queen, 1X Iditarod veteran at 18. Got smart and is now flying.




Pit Crew:
Amy Downing
Anchorage, AK
Nurse Amy, part of Ellie’s Camp Crew and Jay’s main squeeze. In case of emergency, we plan to call Amy.

Dylan, Caleb and Hank Swan
Anchorage, AK
Caleb & Dylan are Ellie’s go to guys. Help with camp set up, take down, wood gathering, and general Sherpa responsibilities.
Hank is Dad and pilot of the plane with the most unusual paint job in Alaska. Hank flew me to McGrath to see Martin after Martin left and flew me back to Takotna right after Martin departed. Bad timing.

Herr Dr Professor Chris Larsen

UAF, Fairbanks, AK
Most knowledgeable glaciologist in Alaska, maybe the world. (The smart guy in the group, not really hard to be that though.) First time on the Iditarod trail and flying solo in his plane that sounds like a sewing machine. Hasn’t found any glaciers around here.

Meet Shirley, makes fur hats, mittens, blankets,etc.

Yesterday, we were out of touch, flying a lot and stopping in quite a few places. We ended up at the Yukon B&B in Grayling, owned and operated by Shirley, the Mayor of Grayling.

Our first stop was Iditarod, the halfway point on the trail. Got to visit with Martin for a short time. He was a bit trail weary and had been resting the dogs more than he intended. A musher's worst nightmare is to have their team run out of energy. He seemed befudled by what was going on ahead of him. Mushers and dogs cycle through highs and lows along the trail and this stop was a bit of a low for him.

We headed on to Anvik and came to the checkpoint just in time to get the leftovers of Lance's million course meal. We sampled thinly cut and fired parsnips, stewed red cabbage and duck (especially delicious), goat cheese and beets (not my favorite but Nancy loved it), sauteed mushrooms and shrimp cooked boiled in cloves. The Millenium Hotel staff who provides the dinner passed out ice cream sandwiches and brownies for dessert. We did get to sample the left over wines and champagne. I visited with my friend and Anvik resident Ken Chase while Paul tried to get back to McGrath for gas and Takotna to pick up Amy and Ellie and the gear. He couldn't get in to McGrath, flew back to Anvik and got gas there and flew us all to Grayling where we ended up in Shirley's house and a huge dinner. Because of the big crowd we are scattered in several little cabins with shower facilities. Showers are a valuable commodity on the Iditarod trail.

This morning after a big breakfast at Shirley's we walked down to the checkpoint just in time to see Martin arrive. His team cruised into town and he parked and fed them quickly so they could get another decent rest. He is napping as I write.

Alaskan life oftentimes revolves around the weather. Weather in McGrath is down and we need to get airplane gas there so we are still in Takotna, which is a delightful place to be stranded. Lots of teams who took 24-hour layovers in McGrath are on the move and coming through and teams that 24ed here are leaving. We just watched DeeDee take off with a well rested dog team. In the dog world, solid bowel movements are a joy to a musher's sight and DeeDee was happy about what she saw.

If we can get out today, we are headed to Grayling. We usually camp in Iditarod but due to the increased snow, camping is probably not a good idea. We like to try to stay ahead of the teams so we can fly back to see them.

CHRIS, NANCY, HUNTER AND RICH HANG OUT.
DEEDEE AND team off to Ophir
DeeDee and Kathy in cute pink Eagle dog food hats.

Now this is a dog pile. Martin lets the dogs loose upon arrival in Ophir.
Checkpoint OPHIR
Martin looking over the team.
Upon arriving in Ophir someone asked Martin if he was going on to Iditarod. If you look closely, you'll see the giant laugh.
An aerial view of OPHIR. Martin loves Ophir because it's quiet, nestled among huge spruce trees and the cabin is owned by some friends. He's probably so happy to have the place mostly to himself and his departure after 24 hours puts him traveling to Iditarod in the cool evening.
Martin and the team happily coming into Takotna

It was exciting to hear that Martin raced through Takotna. At the time he came through, I was just landing on the river in front of the checkpoint coming back from a trip to McGrath. I thought Martin might be taking his 24 hour layover in McGrath and Hank was flying there to get gas so I hitched a ride. So we passed each other as he was on the trail and I was in the air. Longfellow and Evangeline have nothing on us.

While it is exciting to see Martin's name as 1. It's a bit deceiving since all the guys that he passed up here are well into their 24 hour layover and Martin hasn't yet taken his. I suspect that he will take his 24 hr layover in Ophir but who knows. If the trail is hard packed and good, he would benefit from going on but I would never second guess his decisions. Well, maybe not never but mostly not second guess.

His travel times are great after his 6 hour rest in McGrath.

All the folks who saw him blast through Takotna said he has his game face on and was all about moving on. Dogs looked ready to roll.

We are camping out in a building in Takotna tonight. I say camping out because there's no bathroom or shower in the place but we can walk down the road for both. Just one more adventure on the Iditarod trail.

All the talk here in TAkotna is that there's a good trail in to Idit. I hope that's true.

THE BOYS~ Caribou and Elk
Pies of every kind in Takotna
TAkotna from the air

We left Nikolai early to get ahead of the weather and are now in Takotna, food capital of the Iditarod trail. Lots of teams are here and the next big question is who will stay and who will go. This is one of the musher's favorite places to do their 24 hour layover because of the vast menu available and pies of every kind. (see below) Martin has not taken his 24 here in Takotna for many years. He plans his rests based on ideally trying to get to Iditarod for the 24. There is so much snow all over Alaska and the trail from Ophir to Iditarod and Iditarod to Shageluk is never used for any purpose other than the Iditarod so the trail can be iffy.

We had a peaceful night sleeping on the floor of the school in Nikolai and some of us even sneaked into the shower.

Using the satellite tracker and wireless internet we anticipated when Martin would be going through Nikolai and headed down to see him breeze through the checkpoint grabbing only some dog snacks from his food drop bags. The team was very animated and excited. They had come off a break prior to getting to Nikolai, setting up for the run to McGrath.

We did find out he had to drop two sentimental favorite dogs, Caribou and Elk, our twins. Those boys are inseparable and it's interesting that they ended up getting dropped together. Caribou is the leader of the two and sometimes thinks he's smarter than Martin. Elk goes along with most anything Caribou tells him. Together they like to growl and intimidate some of the other dogs. I know Martin will miss them.

The Otter flies over the Alaska Range
Looking toward the Alaska Range
First Camp, Mile 193 of the Iditarod Trail
My little limo/UltimaThule Super Cub
Inside the Cook Tent that converts to the girl's dorm after dinner
Martin Buser & Team negotiating the Farewell Burn
Welcome to Nikolai. We are spending the night in the school, eating moose stew provided by students as a fund raiser for a field trip. We are hanging out, moved our beds into the classroom and might ev en get to take a shower tonight. Not a bad place to be stranded.
Great to see old friends in Nikolai.

Lots of teams are here. Mushers take care of their dogs and then come in to the gym and get a good meal. There is a Quiet Room reserved for them to sleep and then they can eat again before going back out on the trail.

Lots of folks are guessing about what Martin is doing. I tell everyone he's just being patient. The way the weather is looking it could be a slog down a snowy trail for the next few days.

Martin left at 3:03 pm on Sunday from Willow and our flight left at 4:00. While Paul Claus is flying most of the people in our group, I get the distinct honor of flying with his 20 year old son, Jay, in a light weight Super Cub. We got out of town pretty quickly on Sunday due to potential weather coming in. Sure enough, Willow and surrounding area got socked in and few planes flew out of the Anchorage area. We flew in to Mile 193 of the Iditarod Trail, Submarine Lake near the Farewell Lakes before the Farwell Burn. Ellie, Paul's daughter, and friends had our tents all set up. The landing on the lake was tricky because the winds were swirling. Jay made a very artful landing wven after another plane decided to forgo landing and go on to McGrath.

We spent all day Monday at our camp along the Iditarod Trail . Paul had made a tentative plan for us to fly back down the trail toward Rainy Pass but the winds never subsidded. During the night, the tents were rocking and rolling wind huge gusts but we all stayed pretty cozy since each Arctic oven tent has a wood burning stove inside.

We watched many teams go by this morning. If you are watching on satellite tracker, the spot where Judy Currier was camped was our campsite. We visited her as teams passed by. After Martin whizzed through with a wave and an "I love you" we broke camp and headed to Nikolai, where we are now!!

We are headed to Takotna later today. I hope to post a bunch of photos on our website later today.

I'll check in and write more a little later. Remember, Martin is running this race with a bit of a new strategy so keep faith.

Our crew is having a blast.

If you search the February blogs you will find the photos of several members of the team on the Quest team photos. Look for: Elk, CAribou, Jefferson, Angel, Roy, Sam, Herakles, Lionel, Deville, Orion, and Frodo. 11 QUEST dogs will head to Nome, 10 of them QUEST finishers. Deville was dropped due to a minor injury and is now doing great! To fill out the Starting 16, meet shy boy Pippin
Otter
Dori
Goose
Collar

I got the opportunity to ride with the team through Anchorage for the first time!! Usually one of our boys or one of our handlers get the honor. There were people lining the trails, waving, telling Martin go for 5, have a safe journey, throwing us cookies and hot dogs and ringing cow bells. Our Iditaridier is Edwin Estes from Richmond, Virginia. photo by Theresa Daily

Another flawless start in Anchorage thanks to our "professional dog handlers." Chris Hemphill, Sean Williams, Magnus Kaltenborn, Nancy Marty, Rich Allen, Daryl Darnell, Martin, Jim Davis and Mark Chapoton kneeling.



Gunnar Knapp's family and friends have been hanging this banner for many years!!

Martin drew number 33 at the Musher Banquet last night. In a new venue, the Dena'ina Center with delicious steak, and a new format, where mushers drew numbers without comment, the entire program ended by about 8:00. Many people hung around to visit but we were home by 10:30. We found the new schedule enjoyable.

We had quite a crowd visiting today for our Annual Open House. Special thanks to my pit crew: Jeanne Tro, Sue Olsen, Tammy Murrin, Mary Pignalberi, Suzanne Schmidt, and Nancy Marty for keeping the kitchen hopping. Nancy brought her famous nut goody bars, homemade salsa, oreo truffles and pinecone cheese dip. Suzanne got all the various kinds of salmon (donated by Trapper Creek Smoking Company) ready and once again did an incredible job on the flowers, this year blue and yellow to commemorate Alaska's 50th birthday. Jeanne Tro made about 200 of those old fashioned," like grandma used to make" white rolls. I made moose stew and served moose pepperoni, moose polish sausage, moose hunter sticks. Andrea Johnmeyer, a paleontologist by trade, was our gift shop cashier and marketing staff.

The Open House is a reunion of sorts to us and it's fun to see "Iditarod" friends come out and pet the dogs.

Martin is happy with number 33 ~ smack in the middle of the field. This year's race has an incredibly deep field. 18 of the 2008 top 20 are returning and 5 former champions are going for another win. Recent heavy snowfall may slow the race but we won't know any of that until Sunday night. The Ceremonial Start in Anchorage is tomorrow at 10:00.

Thanks for you support. We appreciate our many long time supporters (some of you were even there in the early, early years) and the new friends that encourage us along! If any of you have a chance, please do business with our valuable sponsors or send them a thank you for helping us maintain our home and enduring, enthusiastic athletes.

We have been enjoying our few days at home before Round 2. Martin took several runs with the nonQuest dogs and is very happy with their performance. Our Vet, Dr. Beatsle, came out to the Kennel to do our official Iditarod VET check. We always depend on him to provide an objective, medical perspective of each dog. He was happy to see the recovery of the Quest dogs and in fact, said he probably couldn't tell who had gone and who had stayed home, had Martin not told him. Quest dogs weights are within +,- 2 pounds of their PRE Quest weight. He did find some minor issues to disqualify 2 or 3 dogs but we wanted him to do that since Martin can't take them all. His thorough evaluation finds any little weakness. Martin noted that DeVille had a strange bob of his head and the doc checked his eyes, even took him to the clinic to stain the eye to look for any problems and concluded that Deville was good to go and may have had sensitivity to light at some time in the past. We are always impressed with the care and attention our athletes get from Dr. Beatsle and the entire staff at the Big Lake Susitna Veterinary clinic. Their team is and has been for a long time, an invaluable resource to our kennel.

I've been doing last minute preparation for our departure, cooking the base for the moose stew for Open House and following up on the email and mail due to our absence on our Quest adventure. Nikolai will be 21 on March 21st so I had to get a birthday package in the mail to him before Martin and I leave. I almost had Nikolai in Nome and had to be medivaced back to Providence Hospital in Anchorage for his delivery. He was born right after the Nome Finish Banquet. he once even sang the Iditarod song on the stage in Nome.

Sadly, this is our first Iditarod without the boys at the start and/or finish. We miss them lots. However, we are so happy that both boys are very independent and are enjoying college life.

Today, Martin gave a presentation for the Iditarod Teacher's Group here at the kennel. It's always fun to see such widespread interest in the race. Tomorrow night is the Iditarod Banquest where mushers draw numbers for their starting position. Will let you know how that all ends up!!!