After the Iditarod re-start we explored nearby - and now somewhat famous - Wasilla, Alaska. We spent our night there in a hotel overlooking the beautifully frozen Lake Lucille. As we searched for a place to have dinner, let's just say we got the lay of that land very quickly.
The highlight for me was visiting The Iditarod Headquarters which also serves as a museum to the race and the history behind the race (the 1925 serum run to Nome via a dogsled relay to thwart a diphtheria epidemic).
If you’ve ever seen, sat or played on the statue of the dog in Central Park…here’s the connection: That is a statue of Balto who was the lead sled dog when the serum arrived safely to Nome against all odds. He was hailed as a hero everywhere. The unsung hero was Togo who did most of the work on the last leg of that relay, but went missing and was thought to be dead. Balto took his place in the lead position on the sled for its critical arrival to Nome, and thus got all the glory.
NYC has the Balto statue…but Wasilla has Togo. That’s right…Togo eventually showed-up in Nome surprising everyone, and now he is stuffed, posed in a glass box, and gazing towards Russia in perpetuity.
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