Winterlake Lodge is on Finger Lake, northwest of Anchorage about 50 minutes by bush plane.
Everything at the lodge that you see has been flown in by airplane.
And ordering produce, and getting produce out, in 20 below conditions,
from a 50 minute flight, on to an ice covered lake, has its challenges.
And we're also a check point for the Iditarod Dog Sled Race in the wintertime.
Carl: In the winter, it's a lot of preparation, especially for the Iditarod.
We love the Iditarod because it's sort of a cross state community event.
At our location it begins when the Iditarod Air Force pilots start dropping off supplies.
We first receive straw bales, bales of straw, which we then move from our airstrip,
over to the check point area, by snowmachine.
After that, we sort of make a great, big doggy parking lot out here.
And we do that with groomers. Go along the Iditarod trail, and see if there's
trees that have fallen down, any bridges that need to be made over wash outs,
or make sure creek ice is safe.
We drill holes into the ice, so that there's water for the mushers to add to the dog food,
when the dogs check in. Most of them spend the night here, or certainly rest here,
and they'll feed their dogs.
Mandy: Over the Iditarod, the lodge is packed, it's full of our full-service guests.
At the same time, we also feed the 70 mushers.
And 10-15 checkers and vets, and lots of people that just come in off the trail.
I think even from the fine dining meals that we feed our guests,
to the food that we feed the mushers. I think everybody's kind of surprised
at what they get. Carl: Mandy will spearhead that, she tries to have everything prepped.
I think our guests notice that we are a pretty close family.
I think they envy that in some ways. Some people say, "That's pretty cool."
"When your kids are working with you in the business."
Lots of people do that of course, come up in the business. It's a little bit different.
Everybody that works here really has to have responsibility for a lot of things.
We have no prima donna chefs, no prima donna guides, no prima donna owners.
So if the dog lot needs to be cleaned up, we do it.
Somebody needs to meet at the airplane? We do it, we unload it,
we haul all the recyclables, the garbage, get it out, greet the guests, haul bags,
pump fuel. Whatever needs to be done.
Mandy: I think people really get to see my family for who we are.
We don't act differently or anything. Our family really works well together,
to bring an incredible experience to anybody staying here at the lodge.
But we also all bring something different to the table.
My sister with her wellness and yoga and massage, and me with baking and pastry.
And kind of pushing the limits to what we can do.
My dad is still a kid, and incredibly excited to go out, and go to mountaintops everyday.
My mom has had the incredible culinary career,
of working with some of the best chefs in the world.
And has had the opportunity to befriend Julia Child, and work with Jacque Pepin.
Carl: It's a difficult business, and it does take commitment.
And you really have to be passionate about being out of town,
and the hardships that happen once in a while. But the rewards are great.
And people are more and more seeking out a more personal interaction
with their activities, their vacations, their adventures.
We hope our visitors leave Winterlake with either continued or new appreciation
for Alaska. We get people who have saved their pennies for their whole lives
to come experience Alaska, and they're just in awe of the lifestyle.
And so we really like that.
Mandy: I think just because my family's been doing this business for so long,
it really doesn't feel like work. It doesn't feel like we're serving others.
It feels just like a day to day living.
We're pretty simple people, and we don't have extravagant things.
So I think when we want to treat ourselves or relax,
we kind of just sit back and enjoy the view.