Last weekend, the International Pedigree Stage Stop Dog Sled Race (also known as the Wyoming Stage Stop) kicked off in Jackson! This is the biggest dog sled race in the lower 48 and stops in various towns throughout Wyoming, Montana, Utah and Idaho, traveling about 350 miles. I heard someone call it the "super bowl of dog sled racing" so I guess it's a pretty big deal! In Jackson, they really just do the starting festivities. The dogs and mushers were in town all day, doing various meet-and-greets, booths, etc. The actual race part was actually just a 2 mile sprint to see who started first the next day (or something like that, I could be wrong.) 

This guy was hanging out before the start. He was HUGE

There was a really big crowd! The town formed the racetrack on the side of the street and at least 30 minutes before the races started, people were lining up on each side to see the dogs run. 

The starting gate and race track

Here they come! Everyone is holding out their hands to high five the musher

The dogs were all so excited and ready to race. Before taking off, they have to wait at the starting gate for a minute or so. Most of them were trying to run over and over and not moving anywhere, jumping up and down, jumping on each other, and making really high-pitched barks. The dogs were surprisingly small and all looked kind of similar, but not any particular breed. Their barks were all so high-pitched and yappy, which took me by surprise. Maybe that is just the bark they do before racing?

Here he is again! Scared or excited? Or just crazy?

There they go!

Two teams at once!

So much excitement

I think this photo captures the attitude of the dogs the best:

Let's GOOOOOO!

The dog sled race was a lot of fun!! One of the great things about living in a small town is how much people (and the town itself) support local events like this. There were tons of people there, locals and tourists alike! The finish line for the dogs was at Snow King and when they were all finished, there were fireworks and a torchlight parade. This is when a bunch of skiers hold torches (well, lighted sticks) and ride the lift and then ski down together, making a really cool display on the mountain. There were also a few of these parades around Christmas and New Years. We went out to eat afterwards, but had a great view of Snow King from Thai Me Up and watched the parade and fireworks.