Robert Forto

yukon quest

Limited Edition Night Vision Musher Poster

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Night Vision Musher: Our limited edition, signed Night Vision Musher poster, designed by artist Cameo Anderson and taking inspiration from 1982’s The Thing a movie by John Carpenter, is available exclusively to our GoFundMe backers.

This poster (size 32×24) is signed by Robert, Michele and Nicole, and limited to just 100 prints. Once we get 100 pledges they will be gone!

Help us mush down a dream in the wilds of Alaska!

Click on the poster icon on this page to order yours today!http://www.gofundme.com/teamineka

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The Gypsy Musher Radio Show

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It was a cold October afternoon and my buddy Hugh Neff stopped by the Fort to hang out for a while and warm up before heading home to Tok, some 300 miles up the road.

We were chatting over breakfast in the late afternoon and came up with a show idea where Hugh would host it. After bouncing around names for the show we decided to call it the Gypsy Musher, a paying homage to Hugh’s lifestyle of traveling and story-telling.

We hosted the first show that afternoon at my house sharing one microphone.

Over the next few months the shows got better and better. Hugh hosted shows all over the world including in Canada shortly after his win in the 2012 Yukon Quest. He even hosted a show from Australia, and many times on location of his school tours and talks with students he calls Kidzz.

Listen to the Gypsy Musher radio show now

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Best Butt in Town!

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Big Daddy's BBQ in Fairbanks, Alaska

On a recent trip to Fairbanks I stopped at Big Daddy’s BBQ. The restuarant dubs itself as the northern most southern barbecue and it is dang good food.

Big Daddy’s was profiled on The Food Network’s show Diner’s Drive-in’s and Dives with Guy Fieri. I wonder if he drove his classic red muscle car up here or was forced to take a plane to the Great White North? If you haven’t seen the show, Triple-D travels the country looking for the coolest places to eat. Big Daddy’s lives up to its name.

Set up like a sports bar with a huge flat screen TV airing the NHL Network and banners from every pro football team in the rafters and a stage in the corner for live music, Big Daddys’ charm is pleasing and not your average chain-style BBQ joint.

Some of the cool menu items:

Cowboy Sundae

Start with a layer of BBQ beans then you choice of beef brisket, pulled pork or smoked chicken, top that off with their creamy cole slaw and drizzled with their sweet BBQ sauces and served with a side of Texas Toast.

Smoked Wings

Whole chicken wings smoked then deep fried with your choice of sauce.

Moose Nuggets

In the South they call them Hush Puppies but these are with a kick; cornmeal stuffed with onions, corn, and ham served with a side of honey mustard.

Fried Pickles with a side of sour cream.

I ordered the beef brisket sandwich. The sandwich arrived with a side of fries and a smattering of sliced pickles on a plate you might find at a backyard barbecue. I was offered a choice of three sauces–sweet BBQ, hot BBQ and Spicy Mustard. I liberally doused my sandwich with the mustard and it was excellent. The smokey flavor of the beef was not over powered by the sauce and the crispy but somehow sweet fries were a great compliment. The serving size was just right.

Total cost: $13.50 with a coke. Not bad for Alaska.

If you are in Fairbanks on a tour bus or up for the start of the 1,000 mile Yukon Quest dog sled race, Big Daddy’s BBQ is with the stop!

 

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Iditarod 40: Idita-Facts

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  • The Iditarod starts in downtown Anchorage, Alaska, on Saturday, March 3rd (10 am)
  • The Iditarod Re-starts in Willow Alaska, Sunday, March 4th (2 pm)
  • As of February 16, 2012 there are 66 mushers signed up for the 2012 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, including 52 veterans, 14 rookies and 16 women. To date eight mushers have withdrawn for various reasons. Entrants hail from 5 states – Colorado, Illinois, Idaho and Washington, as well as from Alaska and from 4 countries – United States, Canada, Norway and New Zealand. The record number of mushers starting the race was 96 in 2008.
  • This year’s race slogan is: 40th Race on 100 Year Old Trail – The 2012 Iditarod marks the 40th running of the dogsled race on the century old gold trail between Seward and Nome now known as the Iditarod. (See more information about this topic under 40th Race on 100 Year Old Trail in this guide on page 16.)
  • The team’s average 15 dogs, which means over 1,000 dogs will leave the starting line this year. Each musher can start with a maximum of 16 dogs down to a minimum of 12 dogs
  • Six Iditarod champions will be attempting to regain the title. Many of the past champions from other long distance races are also racing including Yukon Quest champions, Kusko 300 champions and Beargrease champions.
  • The race crosses two mountain ranges (including North America’s largest mountain range, Alaska Range)
  • The trails meets up with the Yukon River at Ruby and reaches frozen Norton Sound at Unalakleet.
  • The route alternates every year. This year’s route, the Northern Route, will run from Ophir through Cripple, Ruby, Galena, and Nulato before meeting up with the Southern Route trail in Kaltag.
  • There are twenty-four checkpoints (counting Anchorage & Nome), three of which are uninhabited during the rest of the year.
  • There are seven teams signed-up for the 2012 Iditarod that have also signed up for the 2012 Yukon Quest – Kristi Berington, Jake Berkowitz, Trent Herbst, Sonny Linder, Lance Mackey, Huff Neff, and Brent Sass.
  • The 2012 Idita-Riders represent 22 states and raised $155,000.
  • Volunteers are an integral part of the Iditarod. As of February 8th, 2012 there were 718 volunteers registered representing 46 states and America Samoa. This number does not include those who volunteer in communities along the trail or in Nome. The number of volunteers will continue to grow over the weeks to come and by the end of Iditarod 2012 there will be over 1,500 volunteers involved in some way or another. This number equates to over 35,000 volunteer hours.
  • In 2012 there are a total of 52 veterinarians – 3 for dropped dogs in Anchorage, 2 for dropped dogs in both McGrath and Unalakleet, 42 veterinarians dispersed along the trail and 3 consultants.
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Iditarod 40: Aliy Zirkle wins Spirit of Alaska Award

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It was a Super Tuesday indeed for Two Rivers (Alaska) musher, Aliy Zirkle who won the PenAir Spirit of Alaska Award for running first into the McGrath checkpoint in this year’s Iditarod.

Zirkle is in first place 329 miles into the race in a 66 musher field that is vying for position to make it to Nome to claim a $50,000 purse and a new Dodge truck. A former Yukon Quest winner, the Iditrarod has eluded Zirkle and all women since the great Susan Butcher won in 1990.

The Pen Air Spirit of Alaska Award is given to the first musher that arrives in McGrath.

The award is a beautiful original “spirit mask” especially created for this event by Bristol Bay artist Orville Lind.  In addition, Zirkle received a $500 credit toward travel or freight shipment.

The PENAIR SPIRIT OF ALASKA AWARD will be presented to Zirkle again on March 18th in Nome, Alaska at the Mushers Award Banquet.

Zirkle didn’t waste anytime after arriving in McGrath, only spending four minutes at the checkpoint before heading onto Takonta where she will (presumably) take her mandatory 24 hour rest.

 

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