HUMAN

Name: LINDSEY VAUGHAN
Age: 37
Residence: ANCHORAGE, ALASKA
Occupation: LAND SURVEYOR
Years involved with Iditarod: 9
Iditarod Role: THIS YEAR I WAS COMMS
Current Location: LAKEFRONT HOTEL, ANCHORAGE
Date of Photo: MARCH 16, 2019
Temperature: 68F / INDOORS

What is your Why?.. Why are you here today and involved in Iditarod?:

I STARTED OUT AS JUST A RANDOM – I WAS LIVING IN ANCHORAGE, AND I FIGURED I SHOULD GO TO THE RACE START IN 2004. AND I JUST CHOSE A RANDOM MUSHER TO FOLLOW, AND IT WAS SUPER EXCITING. I CHOSE RAMEY SMYTH. AND HE ENDED UP IN, I THINK, 4TH PLACE. I WAS JUST EXCITED AND KIND OF GOT OBSESSED AND BECAME A VOLUNTEER IN 2010. IT’S JUST EXCITING. THERE’S A LOT OF GREAT PEOPLE THAT I GET TO MEET EACH YEAR. COMING BACK IS KIND OF LIKE A REUNION. AND THEN I REALLY LOVE JUST WATCHING ALL THE DOGS; WATCHING ALL THE MUSHER STRATEGIES. IT’S JUST WHAT I DO IN MARCH.

Tell me about your most rewarding experience on Iditarod?:

ONE OF MY FAVORITE MEMORIES ACTUALLY WAS KIND OF AFTER THE RACE HAD ALREADY MOVED THROUGH IN ELIM. WE GOT WEATHERED THERE FOR A LITTLE BIT. AND I GOT TO TALK TO SOME OF THE LOCALS. THEY SHOWED ME A BUNCH OF THE DIFFERENT ARTIFACTS THEY HAD. THEY TOLD ME ABOUT THEIR FAMILIES. I GOT SOME GREAT RECIPES FOR SOME OF THEIR FAVORITE RECIPES FOR THE LOCAL BLUEBERRIES AND THAT KIND OF STUFF. AND I JUST GOT TO SPEND A FULL DAY WITH THESE PEOPLE WHO HAD LIVED THERE ALL THEIR LIVES AND JUST LEARNED SO MUCH. SO IT’S JUST THOSE EXPERIENCES WHERE YOU GET TO MEET PEOPLE YOU WOULD NEVER MEET OTHERWISE, AND GET TO HEAR THEIR STORIES. AND IT’S JUST REALLY INCREDIBLE.

What do you know for sure?:

A LOT OF THINGS I THINK I KNOW AND I FIGURE OUT I DON’T KNOW LATER. I’M PRETTY MUCH ONE OF THE LUCKIEST PEOPLE AROUND. I HAVE AN AMAZING FAMILY. I’M ONE OF EIGHT KIDS. I’VE GOT 13 NIECES AND NEPHEWS. AND I HAVE A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO CARE ABOUT ME SO, NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS, THINGS ARE GOING TO BE GOOD. AND I ALWAYS KNOW THAT THERE’S PEOPLE THAT ARE GOING TO BE THERE FOR ME.