IT REALLY IS PRACTICALLY IN RUSSIA

It was early Monday and Kim was still on the trail when Jean and I departed for Nome, intending to see finishers arrive at the famed “Burled Arch” and to volunteer in the dog lot while scoping out logistics on that end of the race for Kim.

En route, we first landed in the village of Kotzebue and I was officially 33 miles above the Arctic Circle, making John very jealous that I got there first! As we proceeded to Nome, flying above the Seward Peninsula as the sun rose, I was awestruck at the absolutely white and seemingly barren landscape. It is the antithesis of flying over NJ… all of it pure and glistening, none of it man-made.

It was quite cold when we arrived at daybreak - and windy. I was too taken by the isolation, beauty and tiny airport to notice just how cold and windy it was. That became apparent as we stood outside deliberating if we should take a cab or seek-out Iditarod Volunteer transportation. The fleet of waiting cabs (both of them) quickly filled and disappeared, no Iditarod people seemed to be around, and suddenly we were very aware of our numb extremities and dumb planning.

Wondering if perhaps cabs only show-up a few times a day when flights are known to be arriving…we thought maybe we missed our window of opportunity. This would need to be discussed INSIDE, so Jean proceeded to move our luggage. With one step she promptly slipped on ice and fell backwards and my big suitcase landed flat on top of her! I noticed it – and I cared despite my laughter - but at the exact same moment I also noticed a cab out in the road. My city girl instincts kicked-in and I blew past her like she wasn’t even there, pinned under my pullman, no less, and I flagged that cab down like it was rush hour on 6th Avenue!

I was told before we left Anchorage that, “Nome is a different animal” and I would agree. Things are simpler and more intimate. I gage that this is true for both daily life as well as the Iditarod-related events. Nome is more village than city. It has two real hotels, some surprisingly modern and yummy places to eat, several bars (it is a gold rush town, afterall), and the best coffee bar, in my opinion, can be found in the back of a gift shop! There is a museum, a National Park Office for the Bering Land Bridge and a movie theater adjacent to the Subway sandwich shop.

Nome is beautiful and the sunsets are breathtaking - and I can only comment on the winterscape. I hear summer is just as gorgeous. Of course, what I am calling “winter” may be a relative term. As I was entering the historical Old St. Joe’s Church to scope-out a local craft fair, I held the door for two natives who emerged saying, “Oh my, Spring has sprung!” OK – yes, it was sunny, but I was wearing so many layers of snow clothes I couldn’t fit through the aisles…this is spring?!