Dogs, Dogs, & more Dogs!

Noorvik is a community rich with sno-gos and dogs, but this week especially; LOTS of dogs. Residents open their homes to traveling mushers and yelping dogs excited to show their stuff in the three days of racing.
Between the teacher inservice day and multiple goes at stimulating the local economy, we made it down to the river for the last day of the dog sled races. Folks and their machines lined the channel's edge as the mushers assembled their teams on the river. Fur hats were everywhere, as were little kiddies trying to take you out with their make-shift sleds.
The Stephen Sampson Memorial Sled Dog Race was holding its final of three 16 mile races. Mushers were from all around the northwest and were running between 13 and 18 dogs. I recognized Buddy Streeper(#2), a Canadian musher, from races held in Fairbanks.
The dogs are so excited as they approach the line other people and sometimes snowmachines have to help the musher hold onto the sled to keep the dogs from pulling it away from him.
Spectators cheered on the mushers at the start with muffled clapping from thick mittens.

We gathered once again on the beach about an hour later to welcome the racers to the finish line.

As we retreated from the beach a rare traffic jam materialized in the arctic as the race fans headed towards the community hall to start preparing for tonight's turkey feast in celebration of the race.We'll find out later tonight at the awards banquet who had the combined fastest time. More to come.....