Well hey there race fans! While we’re all sitting at our computers hitting the “refresh” button and waiting for updates on the Sweepstakes Race ~ I thought I’d share some fun stuff with you and try to answer some of the questions that have been coming in.
Many of you have asked where the dogs are that used to be on our dog page. Well, if you take a look at the picture above ~ you’ll see three of our favorites: Texas, Tin & George. They are happily residing in Northern California and living it up with a friend of ours there. Jeff has kidded her and said that there appears to be an empty spot in there… The rest, well they are still here!
And moving on:
-Jeff does not watch American Idol ~ we do not have TV where we live. (Although he is a fan of The West Wing – we have that on DVD!)
-While Berkeley and Bronte spent a lot of time running in lead during the Iditarod, many dogs in the team are capable of running in different positions, and do.
-Jeff started the Iditarod with 16 dogs, and finished with 14.
He will start the All Alaska Sweepstakes Race with 13:
Berkeley
Bronte
Call
Charles
Deets
Dickens
Dublin
Guiness
Kilarney
Lobben
Solomon
Sussex
UConn
The motto around here… along with that one, there is also the “$5 fee for whining”
-Jeff has been frostbitten – but getting frostbitten during a winter in Alaska is like getting sunburned in Arizona.
-Mushing is definitely a family sport for the King’s:
Jeff met his wife Donna while she was working as a volunteer ranger for the National Park Service. They were both running teams in Denali National Park when their teams became entangled – short story is that they’ve been entangled ever since. 🙂
All three of the King daughters are seasoned mushers as well. Cali, Tessa and Ellen are all veterans of the Junior Iditarod ~ and Cali even ran the Iditarod as a senior in high school! Tessa is also a veteran of the Junior Yukon Quest, and even though Ellen keeps herself very busy with dance – she’s still a musher at heart.
Jeff doesn’t have a favorite dog – or so he says… I secretly think that he’s very fond of Liza – one of the house dogs. 🙂
Alright ~ hopefully that’s enough to keep you checking back for more… I do see that they have updated the Sweepstakes website with a few pictures and some information from the first few checkpoints. Check them out at www.allalaskasweepstakes.org.
So until next time…watch out for that yellow snow!
-Carrie
I have to teach tomorrow but I don’t want to sleep with this race going on. I am truly addicted to this sport. It so exciting watching Jeff boldly go ahead of everybody else. Is he going to break this race into 3 segments??? Carrie please keep us posted on what you hear from the trail crew!
Carrie:
As long as questions are being answered. Is Salem retired? And why did Jeff “borrow” dogs for the Iditarod? Just curious…
Thanks, now on to check the race!
I’ve become a HUGE Jeff King fan since reading his book a week ago and following him in the Iditarod race! GO JEFF!
I didn’t realize how much I loved the GPS!!! Not having it in the All Alaska is really frustrating. All Alaska is exciting but the updates seem to be few and far between.
Thank you Carrie for the questions and answers. Liza looks a lot more like what I have at home than a husky!!! There are actually house dogs that are not huskies? How does the a golden with a relatively thin coat hold up in the cold?
I too was wondering about Salem. Also, does Jeff still have Houston or is the Houston that is in one of the other musher’s teams Jeff’s Houston?
Final question (at least for now) – I just finished Cold Hands and Warm Hearts. Jeff talked about not having any feeling in his hand due to the construction accident. What is his secret for keeping it warm? Does it cause any other problems? Is he still using his heated handlebar?
Thank you for your updates!!! I eagerly anticipate each one.
Congratulations, Jeff!!!! Congratulations, Team!!!!!
Is it true that only ten minutes separted you from Seavey??????????? What a finish!!!
What a push! Thank you for two great races. And, thanks for getting me hooked on the sport. I’ll be looking forward to seeing you in the races next year. I just received your new book. I’m also hoping sometime in the near future to visit Alaska and your Husky Homestead!
From,
your new South Texas fan
Jeff and Team:
How very lucky for you and your team that you were safely in Nome. How very unfortunate for Team Mackey that they were still on the trail. So very sad for anyone who follows this sport. End of point…!!