Surprise at the Unalakleet Airport

by timistravels on April 24, 2013

Saturday, Feb. 9, 2013

Okay, I am behind in my trips, but this was worth sharing. After 2 days in Unalakleet, I was headed home. The airport was full of travelers and 2 looked very familiar to me. Once I realized that I had some Alaska ‘rock stars’ with me I got a bit awe struck. The female was DeeDee Jonrowe and we admired each others bright colors! DeeDee has run the Iditarod race for many years and has been in the top 10 finishers over a dozen times and was the 2nd place finisher 3 times. She has the fastest finish for a female ever in 9 days, 8 hours, 26 minutes, and 10 seconds. In 2002 she was diagnosed with breast cancer, but managed to come in 18th place the next year and is a huge supporter of breast cancer research… you will always find her in pink.

One of the reason I admire her so is this, “DeeDee has won numerous awards for the care of her dogs throughout her career, including the best-cared for team, the best dog care award (given by staff veterinarians), the dog’s best friend award, and the Iditarod’s Alaska Airlines Leonhard Seppala Humanitarian Award for excellence in dog care. Because her dogs are a top priority, she became a founding member of Mush with PRIDE, which provides responsible information of a dog’s environment, exhibiting her commitment to set the standards for all aspects of sled dog care.”

Once I said hi and asked for a picture we spent a lot of time chatting about her dogs and she was so excited to share her love of them with me.

The other face in the picture is 4 time winner of the Iditarod Race, Martin Buser. He won, in 1992, 1994, 1997, and 2002. He was as nice as DeeDee and happy to allow a picture.

They were there b/c they were racing a shorter race in preparation to the Iditarod, but they got weathered out and were heading back to town with their dog teams.