Iditarod School Talks

The Iditarod Effect

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Tyler Short (L), Karen Land, Steve Brinkworth, and Romano

Laura McCracken, a devoted Iditarod teacher from Northside Middle School, Columbus, IN, writes:

Tyler Short was a Trailblazer last year when he was in seventh grade. He was captivated with the Iditarod and with meeting you and Romano, seeing an actual Iditarod sled and all the gear. Each of his classmates wrote a letter to an Iditarod musher using an address provided via the Iditarod education website. However, Tyler took his letter writing to the next level. He wrote one very good letter and we photocopied it. Then he painstakingly addressed each envelope by hand. He sent a letter to every single musher who provided an address. This came out to be about 60 letters.

During the summertime, he enjoyed checking the mail because he received replies throughout the summer. Seventeen mushers wrote him back. Dallas Seavey sent his Iditarod identification pass, some brochures, and a very kind letter. Tyler also received lots of dog booties and photographs. Pete Kaiser sent a two-page handwritten letter and some booties.

Tyler explains: “I was having a great time learning about the Iditarod and when Mrs. McCracken said we were going to write letter, I got super excited. I was excited because I was actually about to write to a musher! Someone who had actually gone through the Iditarod and knows what really goes on! Then I had the idea of writing a letter and sending it to all the mushers. I talked to Mrs. McCracken and she said that they could pay for the stamps and that’s when the determination kicked in. I actually had a letter done in 20 minutes and sent that exact letter to every musher. It took forever to fill out all the envelopes and sign all the letters.”

Dogs Are Family

I found this 1970 Montgomery Catalog among my parents' possessions.

I found this 1970 Montgomery Catalog among my parents’ possessions.

I am sure Mom and Dad kept it because of the cute puppies. They were dog lovers too.

I am sure Mom and Dad kept it because of the cute puppies. They were dog lovers too.

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I wonder how many puppies Montgomery Ward sold that year!?! Thankfully, my Mom and Dad chose to let us adopt an “accidental” mutt instead.

Misty, a beagle/collie mix, was a wild yet wonderful part of our family for 18 years!

Misty, a beagle/collie mix, was a wild yet wonderful part of our family for 18 years!

And she taught me to love snow. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...!

And she taught me to love snow. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow…!

From the Vault: Iditarod School Photos

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Borage, my beloved husky sidekick and business partner, back in his day… and me looking a little bit younger as well! I miss you, Borage.

2016 will be my 16th year giving Iditarod School Presentations across the country! Contact Karen and Romano now to get on the 2016 talk and/or Skype schedule…

Mushing Through Illinois

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Yes, there is a student somewhere under that Trans-Alaskan suit…

Thank you to Kate Walters and her dad, and the staff and students of Meadowbrook Elementary School in Forrest, Illinois for making Romano and me feel right at home! We really enjoyed our afternoon “talking mushing” with you. The students were an engaged, well-prepared (they knew all of the answers!), and perfectly-behaved audience. It was a fun day.

The Iditarod Sled Dog Race begins Saturday, March 5, 2016. If your school or library is interested in an Iditarod presentation or Skype session, email me now to get on the 2016 schedule. MUSH!

Romano enjoying a free run through the beautiful local cemetery after the talk.

Romano enjoying a free run through the beautiful local cemetery after the talk.

Fourteen Winters

Today, Lolo is enjoying the early arrival of her 14th winter. DSCF2564It’s hard to believe that it has been almost eleven years since Lolo (along with Pig, on the right) led our 16-dog team out of Anchorage on the 2004 Iditarod…

2004RacestartAnd, of course, both of my tiny, 40-lb. girls led the entire 1,100-miles across Alaska… girl-power at its finest. The photo below is our team climbing up off of the sea ice of Norton Sound and onto the Front Street of Nome. That year was our best time at 12 days, 6 hours, 45 minutes, and 19 seconds…

DSCF0338At age 14.5, running still brings Lolo joy… which, in turn, makes me smile too.

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Mush!

Beauty Heals

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By Karen Elizabeth Land — originally published on November 22, 2001 in “The Great Falls Tribune.”

 

Barn’s burnt down —

now I can see the moon.

~

— Mizuta Masahide,

17th century Japanese poet

and samurai

 

Witnessing the Montana sunset is a daily ritual for me. Usually as the sun slides behind the last rise, I am watering and feeding the sled dogs, tucking them in for the night. On September 11th, the beauty was overwhelming. The sunset seemed to last forever.

It is hard to imagine anything good ever coming from something so bad. I knew, on the other side of the country, the World Trade Center was burning. The pain and ugliness of the day weighed heavy in my mind as I went about my evening routine. It was the sunset that helped me to see the moment in a new light — a light both brilliant and reassuring. I became instantly aware of how beauty helps us heal and move forward.

We are lucky here in Montana. And I mean really lucky. Natural beauty is such a part of our lives that we sometimes forget it is all around us. We expect to see snow-peaked mountain ranges in the distance, shimmering fields of wheat, clear streams and herds of antelope grazing. I know I expect these things; that’s why I moved here from Indiana seven years ago.

Last week Borage and I returned to Indianapolis to speak in the schools about dog mushing and to attend an Iditarod fund-raiser that family and friends had organized for us. As soon as the news of the “girl dog musher from Montana” hit the media, my poor parents were bombarded with over 160 RSVP phone calls in just two days.

The residents of the city and suburbs were dying to hear and talk about dog mushing, Montana and Alaska, and “the wild.” Keeping my parents on the phone for hours, everyone seemed to be starving for the beauty that is our home here in Montana. They know wilderness exists here in our state and it seems to give them hope even if they might not ever run a team of sled dogs, hike the Bob Marshall, or float the Missouri River.

It was good to go back to Indiana and even better to come back home to Montana.

I have been back East dozens of times since I moved west, but this trip was different. I was reminded of my first pilgrimage to Montana seven years ago to attend school in Missoula. My rusted Chevy S-10 truck sagged under the weight of my entire life’s belongings, my two cats, and my dog Kirby. The beauty and endless space of Big Sky Country was exhilarating. I felt more alive than ever and so thankful to just be here.

Thanksgiving will have more meaning than ever this year. Sometimes it takes tragedy, ugliness, or a trip away from home to show us the beauty in our lives. In the natural world, aggression and darkness are always replaced with peace and light — I take comfort in this.

“The barn has burned down,” but all of us, anywhere in this world, can look up and see the moon.