HOME vs. NOME

It was dusk when we arrived to our cabin in Trapper Creek, and the resident moose was part of the welcoming committee as we headed down the road to the Northland Inn. When I opened my car door to go in search of the innkeeper, a dog’s head lunged into the car from out of nowhere…it was like being in a Disney movie…I thought it was going to talk, or maybe even sing!

This was the perfectly peaceful place to spend our last evening in Alaska, especially after the whirlwind our trip had been. After settling in, we re-packed our bags for airline travel, sorted our souvenirs and recapped our recent fun memories. We prepared an enormous box to be shipped home and we had a “family meeting”...the kind we have when something out of the ordinary is going to happen...about my big decision.

For the entirety of the trip the standing question to me from all sources was, “So are you going to Nome?” I would hem and haw at the prospect of staying behind in Alaska and seeing the Iditarod finish, and John (who has a great respect for unique opportunities and a great respect for my individuality) would interject, “Yes, she is – she just hasn’t told me yet.”

Even with the encouragement of John and Rhiannon, and lots of arm-twisting from the company we were keeping, it was not an easy decision to make. I do have responsibilities, starting with being an “at HOME” mom. And Nome isn’t exactly a metropolis…getting there and finding a safe place to stay could be impossible. It is far out on a peninsula in the frozen Bering Sea and the only way in/out during the winter is by plane or Iditarod Trail! What’s a girl to do?? No-brainer…I cancelled my flight to NJ.

Early the next morning our last hoorah was a 20 mile snow machine ride on trails carved into deep snow that weaved through evergreen & birch forests and over frozen lakes and bogs. Beautiful, fun, peaceful…all of the above and then some!

Later as reality hit and we were straggling and loading our baggage, we had the cabin door propped open. The dog appeared again…it walked right into our room promptly at 11:15 and we are all pretty sure that we heard it say, “This is your friendly reminder that check-out time is 11:00 a.m.”