'Takotna Parking Service' (video)

A group of students from the Norwegian Folkehøgskole adventure school are getting a lesson in outdoor life staffing the Iditarod checkpoint in Takotna. They've come up with a clever club name for themselves while in the small, riverside village in Alaska's interior. Dubbed "The Takotna Parking Service," they're greeting mushers as teams either pass through or bed down to take their mandatory 24-hour rest. They help run dogs in or out, and today acted as ad hoc plane valets -- helping us push back into a good spot after landing on the Takotna River.

The school is a post-college life experience yearlong option with different areas of emphasis. This group has chosen to experience outdoor life, with many students learning dog mushing, skiing, fishing and hunting. They plan to spend three months in Alaska, which after the Iditarod will include a skiing adventure in the Brooks Range.

When asked what the goal of the school is, teacher Ebbe Pederson said it's simply "to have fun."

In this video we see Soren Friis of Denmark and Mathias Lockert of Norway operating the "Takotna Parking Service."

Find more videos on the Alaska Dispatch YouTube channel.