(the moose at the end is for Dennis).
Lance Mackey (center) was on hand to welcome the first 3 teams to finish. He did not run the Quest this year but, for those of you who do not follow long-distance mushing, he won it the last 4 years in a row. He won both the Quest and Iditarod back-to-back the last 2 years -- the only musher to have ever done this. Both are races of over 1,000 miles with 10 days to 2 weeks between them. 
The real heros of the Quest are the dogs
Anticipating the finish
The guy in the orange vest (center front) is doing the same job I was assigned. There were two large speakers and our job was to keep the crowd from knocking them over or tripping over the cords, and to moderate the volume if signaled. Not very exciting, but hey, you have to start somewhere... Your feet get very cold standing around on the Chena River for hours -- even with toe warmers.
Mackey being interviewed just before the first team came in. Hans Gatt is standing next to him (with the fur ruff). Gatt scratched half way through the race to save his dogs for Iditarod.
Lance is being asked here how he feels about being a spectator at this Quest.
You may be able to guess his answer. In the end, the first 3 teams to finish beat his record time by 3+ hours -- the trail conditions were very good for the most part this year.
I know, another photo of Lance Mackey....
These gorgeous guys from Hugh Neff's team have just run 1,000+ miles in just under 10 days. They are incredible athletes.
Two more... they don't even really look tired
Compare the physique of this dog with the sprinters below. You can see the difference. On the off chance anyone is interested in the various upsets on the Quest trail this year I refer you to the website www.yukonquest.com. There are also several good articles in the Fairbanks News Miner www.newsminer.com. Every morning I would wake up to surprising developments -- particularly among the front-runners.
Spice and Revlon -- two members of a 10-dog sprint team
On Sunday I was assigned to Spice to keep her from chewing the tug-line at the ADMA race start. I also learned to harness and unharness dogs. The more exposure I have to these animals the more I admire and respect them.
I drove by this moose on Willow Run one morning. I also saw a Bull last week but was not in a position to take a photo.
There are a fair number of activities coming up at the end of the Quest. Friday night is a "meet the mushers" event and the banquet is Saturday night. To top it off Hobo Jim is performing at Ivory Jack's (just a few miles from the cabin) on Thursday night. I know, apart from Amanda few will grasp the significance of this.
And then it is on to the Iditarod....
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