The Fur Rendezvous

No, the Fur Rendezvous is not another term for a Saturday of cleaning at my house.  It is indeed a festival that started in Anchorage in the 1930's, and continues to this day.  It also has some sled dog racing involved.  So, husband or not, I was taking Jenssen and we were gonna see some sled dogs!

Known locally as the Fur Rondy, it has an interesting history and lots going on.  Here is a link with more info

http://www.furrondy.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=205&Itemid=28

Now, let's be honest, you have time to read it.  You are either at home, bored and killing time on the Internet (hence the reason you got on here, to kill time) OR you are at work with nothing better to do.  So yea, you have time to read about it.

I convinced Kileen that we could take all the kiddos and have a great day.  Well, she may never listen to me again.  We met up at 9 am, packed in their van, and set out.  (Kileen's husband is with Justin in Hawaii.  While they sit on beaches sipping coconut drinks with umbrellas, we are enriching our children's lives and trying to prevent frostbite.)  We then decided we didn't know exactly where we were going, where to park, how to get to what we wanted to do, or what we wanted to do.  But, as luck would have it, we drove right past a fairly empty parking lot and a sign that said "shuttle". 

 

In 11 degree weather, the word "Shuttle" is comforting.  So we parked, loaded everyone up, and smiled to ourselves that it was that easy, and free!  Then as we drove away, we realized a few things.  One, we needed to find out exactly where this shuttle had picked us up at. Two, would this shuttle bring us back to said location.  And Three, exactly where was this shuttle taking us?  We hoped for somewhere near the festivities.  However, Jenssen enjoyed the ride.

 

We made it down town, and found shelter against the cold wind coming off the bay.  Our spot happened to be outside a coffee shop.  Hot chocolate for all!  Jenssen was a newbie to the coffee shop scene.  However, his reaction to the hot chocolate makes me think he'll be back, asking for double shots of chocolate.

The parade was uniquely Alaskan.  The real reason I wanted to catch the parade was the sure chance that I could see sled dogs up close and personal.  Didn't hit me until half way through the parade that there would most likely be no sled dogs.  One, they had a race in an hour, and probably had some sort of prep involved.  And two, there was no snow on this road.  Oh well, there was a reindeer!  Part of the festival is the running of the reindeer.  As it sounds, this is similar to the running of the bulls, just with reindeer.  A gal I work with told me that it was kinda lame when they just had some reindeer out there, as they just kinda stood around, making it more of standing with the reindeer.  So the next year they put a reindeer in heat at one end.  Still didn't make for much running, but the it's the thought that counts.

And of course, what is a parade without beauty queens?  They were wearing the most gorgeous fur coats.  However, the ear muffs were a bit overboard.  It's like 80's hair I guess, the bigger the better!

We had all intentions of going to see the snow sculptures and a train display.  However, the kids were cold, the two 8 month pregnant ladies were tired, and cold, and we just wanted to eat lunch.  The 10 block walk didn't seem like a good idea.  So, we decided enough enrichment had been made, and now it was time to save toes and fingers.  We headed back to the pick up location for the shuttle, and prayed that he would come soon.  We didn't have to wait long, and we soon found ourselves in a heated ride back to the van.

We drove past an event I would have liked to have gone to, had we not had 7 kids in tow.  The dog pulling contest.  This picture is from the Fur Rondy site, shows 2010's winter.  This pup named Kodiak pulled 1790 lbs for the win.  Amazing!  Izzy, get ready for next year!

We made it back to the van and loaded up.  We got lunch, and found our handy dog sled race map.  We parked in a parking lot along the route and waited for some dogs while we filled our tummies.  Warm, fed, and excited to see dogs, we decided the day wasn't a waste.  Pretty soon we started to see teams go past and the trail fill with spectators.  I ran out and got a few shots of one of the teams.

 

These dogs are so much smaller than I thought they would be.  They are only 30-40 lbs, and all mixes of breeds (or so I'm told).  They just have to like to pull.  Looks like Izzy has found a home in Alaska!

They went by so fast, but it was worth it.  Goal, accomplished.  The Iditarod has it's ceremonial start in downtown Anchorage March 5th.  I'd love to see that, but I work that morning, and I'm not sure Jenssen is up for the cold again.  But if you ever get the chance to see a dog sled team in action, take it.  The dogs' excitement is contagious, and it isn't something you see everyday!

We made it home, and opened up the girl scout cookies.  Yea daddy, we are gonna eat them all.  You don't get to go to Hawaii and have no consequences....

You didn't even know something such as the Fur Rendezvous existed before now did ya?  Now you have a reason to visit Anchorage in February!