It got a lot of publicity in the 1980s and 1990s, but not so much since Susan Butcher died. For a long time, she really was the heart and soul of the Iditarod.
Being very nit-picky, there are at least three answers. Iditarod was an Alaska town, now abandoned; there is the National Historic Trail named Iditarod, and then there is the annual race held since 1973 that follows much of the historic trail and passes through the abandoned town every other year.
I uploaded some pictures of our Iditarod trip last winter to Imgur. I’d shared these with Chefguy before. 2019 Iditarod - Album on Imgur. It really was a fantastic trip!
Those are great pics, Bullitt! Thanks for sharing them!
Brilliant photos! Loved ‘em!
The grandfather of my best friend in high school went to the Iditarod mining district in 1911, living in the small village of Flat with his wife until 1920. In 1920, he traveled by snow shoe and dog sled some 350 miles to Anchorage. Part of his diary:
His full story is here.
Amazed that none of four college-educated Americans had heard of it.
That was really cool; thanks.
Growing up, Susan Butcher was a household hero.
Hell, yes.
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed them. We all really had a good time there.
Nope. Not until just now.
Quite possibly you pronounced the word completely differently from how they though it would sound.
That, coupled with the completely incorrect assertion that it is an animal race, is likely what led to the confusion.
I would say I would not have known it by name before I came to the SDMB. But as I came here 20 years ago, that’s a long time of knowing about it.
Yes, but I lived in Alaska for a couple years as a kid. Not sure I would have instant recall on that if I didn’t. As a matter of fact, I did a helicopter flyover of the race with the radio station coverage. Perk of being the GM’s kid.
Yeah, I was wondering if that might be the explanation. But presumably that would have been cleared up in the ensuing discussion?
Why is that a completely incorrect assertion? It’s a sled dog race, and sled dogs are animals.
Yeah, Grandpa Arne was quite the character. When I knew him in the 60s, he was a pretty cranky old man, still spending summers at Crow Creek where grandson Arne and I would hang out and do teenager things. He always flew the Norwegian flag at the mine, and he set bear traps all around his cabin, making it a bad idea to wander around there.
I just looked up how to say it (eye-DIT-tuhr-RAHD), and I will ask other people I know.
Wow, that’s very cool!
It is such an interesting viewpoint from in the sky and looking down, seeing a team of sled dogs snaking its way around trees and over dips and bumps – sort of like pairs of black ants tied together in a line and pulling a small black rectangle against the white snow, snaking around and over this and that. When we flew to Rainy Pass from Talkeetna, the pilot took us over the Finger Lake checkpoint (the one just before Rainy) and we could see teams stopped there, resting and feeding their dogs. (BTW, Talkeetna Air Taxi, highly recommended outfit)
Here is the Iditarod Race Map: Race Map – Iditarod. It’s two maps, actually, as the course follows a slightly different route in even years versus odd years. In odd years they take the southern route which passes through the abandoned ghost town of Iditarod (article, “Historic Iditarod, an Alaska ghost town”, https://www.alaskapublic.org/2018/03/30/ak-historic-iditarod-an-alaska-ghost-town/).
Hey, we flew into Finger Lake on a ski plane one winter and stayed at the Winterlake Lodge there. Great place. Did some snow machining and cross country skiing. Took a ride on a dog sled that almost ended in disaster. The place has gourmet quality food.
What’s the Dark Crystal? Seriously never heard of it.
On the other hand I can’t remember a time when I didn’t know about the Iditarod. It is a huge huge deal in Alaska. Susan Butcher was one of my heroines as a kid.
Read it again. It’s one of the funniest books I’ve ever read in my life. Winterdance.