By the time he drove his team into Takotna he was hungry and thirsty. Jan Newton looked around and found him just what he wanted. As King bedded down his dogs on beds of straw and fed them after the 18-mile run from McGrath to Takotna, Newton was inside overseeing her daughter, Deborah Work of Caruthers, Calif., who made the pie. Pecan pie wasn't always on the menu at the community hall. During one visit, King asked why they had so many different kinds of pies but not his favorite.
Mushers have more than pecan pie to choose from.
This year's menu includes pancake and egg breakfasts, steaks, moose stew, crab legs, chili, hamburgers and lots of homemade pies. If pecan pie isn't their thing, mushers can choose from banana cream, apple, cherry, blueberry, chocolate and coconut. Neither stayed for food. For those who can't stay, they are sent off with a bag lunch. That wasn't good enough for Lynda Plettner one year.