Arctic man 2014

WOW! What an event! My wife and I attended Arctic Man last year for the first time and it was somewhat life altering. It made us look hard at what we want out of life. What we enjoy. And how far we are willing to go to get it. And this year was even better.

As a result, we bought a bigger trailer, more snowmachines, and a camper. Our friends let us stay in their RV that first year, but we quickly realized we wanted our own space. The upside would be that we can use it year round, if we found the right camper. The downside? Stuff costs money.

So this year, we planned ahead and we did it right. We reserved 3 spots instead of 1. We invited more people. We planned meals to be shared amongst all. We took more time off from work. This is a special event. This is what ushers us into spring in a BIG way, so damnit, here we go!

 

The first night was a little chilly, we hit -1 at our camper. But boy, oh boy! the daytime temps were in the 40's. the sun was shining, and the powder was phenomenal.

Race day is Friday, and unfortunately there was a casualty early on that delayed the race. But after that it was on! Watching the handicap skiers was so amazing. They have life changing disabilities and they were out there tearing it up better than I ever could. To say they have guts is an understatement.

As we rode down the mountain, I caught a glimpse of the campground, and the sight was amazing. Out in the middle of nowhere Alaska, there are approximately 15,000 people gathered to watch a race. The economic impact is incredible. I sat there atop the berm at our camp and stared at all of the Rv's, snowmachines, and various other toys and equipment parked around us for this event. The organizers claim there are about 10,000 Rv's. There are probably just as many snowmachines too. The economic impact is darn near mind boggling. If you figure the dollar amount of vehicles, fuel, food, advertising, and number of people etc that goes into this week long event, all of a sudden you have the fourth largest city in Alaska.

It is a good time to be had by all, and as long as this event goes on, we will be there. The scenery is stunning, the people are awesome, the riding is the best.

Arctic Man- save the date. You'll be sorry if you don't!