Wolf Moon Dogsledding

Location: Finland, MN
Time - 10:23am
Temperature: 73 degrees F
Conditions: Sunny, warm
Forecast: Sunny and windy today and tomorrow. Highs in the 80s, lows in the 50s and 60s

Here is the full series of pictures of me drowning in happy puppies!

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Location: Finland, MN
Time - 8:16pm
Temperature: 60 degrees
Conditions: Cloudy, foggy drizzle
Forecast: Thundershowers tonight, rain showers tomorrow. Highs in the 60s, lows in the 40s

Nemo

Dark came early tonight. It looks like the rain has set in, which is very welcome given how dry and dusty it has been.

The first hint of rain came this morning when clouds began to roll in as I rode with Jen on the dog-pulled ATV. As we were doing morning kennel chores, the clouds began to thicken towards the West and the sun reflected off them, casting the whole place in a very neat light.

We tried hooking Calypso and Nemo up together today. This was the first time Calypso has scootered with another dog. Her reaction was sort of “who is this clueless dude and why is he hooked to MY scooter with ME?” and Nemo’s reaction was “where is the rest of the team?” Calypso tried to go forward but Nemo was confused. However they began to get the hang of it and did great. It was fun having double power with the scooter. Jen came along with her bike and was a great help!

The rain began this afternoon and has been very nice. Everything is wet now. I have a new pair of boots, which I tried out this evening. They are great and will be very useful, I think.

More later!

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Location: Finland, MN
Time - 9:41am
Temperature: 50 degrees F
Conditions: Clear, cool
Forecast: Sunny today and tomorrow. Lows in the 40s, highs in the 60s

ATV training with Jen last week

We had our first frost of the year this morning. Jen and I took out a team from the male yard and they were fiesty and full of it! They loved the colder weather. When we take out an ATV, Blake or Jen drives and I ride along behind them. It’s a bit of a rough ride but a lot of fun. When we returned from our run this morning, it was 32 degrees but it was probably even colder that that when we hooked up.

Yesterday morning, Blake took a team from the girl yard for a run and Jen and I ran some of the younger, more inexperienced dogs. They did great!

Calypso is adjusting to life with a pack of dogs. Although she didn’t like the 20 puppies at first, she now enjoys playing with them loose in the exercise enclosure. I am very happy that she seems so relaxed and is interacting with her new friends. I have done some scooter runs with her and will soon try hooking her up to the scooter with Nemo.

Yesterday I took Calypso to the Lake Superior shore with Blake and Jen. They kayaked around and I walked Calypso along the edge of the water. She loves water and enjoyed jumping in the waves. I tried to wade out a little ways but the water was so COLD it made my feet hurt almost immediately. Calypso didn’t seem bothered. She became pretty miffed at me when I kept taking away fish bones and feathers she discovered. And later, Blake annoyed her by tossing small rocks and pebbles into the shallow edge of the water. Calypso knew he was tossing something in and would pounce and search, sticking her nose in the water looking for it.

I ride into Ely with Jen sometimes and I’ve been exploring the town. There is so much there! The International Wolf Center is a big draw for me and there are numerous shops and restaurants in the downtown area. I love it.

Last but not least, I’ve been enjoying playing with the puppies at MCK. Blake and Jen posted a very funny picture of me being assaulted by the pups on their blog, as well as one of Jen having all the puppies sit politely - http://mck-blog.blogspot.com/2008/08/pack-welcomes-alice.html Be sure to check it out!

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Location: Finland, MN
Time - 8:35am
Temperature: 59 degrees F
Conditions: Mostly cloudy, windy
Forecast: Partly sunny today, highs in the 60s, lows in the 40s. Sunny tomorrow, highs in the 60s, lows in the 30s

Jeff King runs out of his dogyard with a young team hooked to an ATV. August 2007

Well, a lot of you have probably heard that 4-time Iditarod champion, Jeff King, has been on trial for allegedly shooting a moose within the borders of Denali National Park. I’m not going to repost all the details here - you can follow the link to read about it if you don’t already know. I’m writing MY thoughts on the case.

I know some people don’t like Jeff King at all. I’ve written before on mushers vs. mushers and I’m not going to go into that again either. I don’t know exactly what happened because I was not there when the moose was shot but I have trouble believing that he knowingly shot a moose on National Park land. I met Jeff about a year ago at his Husky Homestead kennel and had a very enjoyable time. He is a very nice guy and can be hysterically funny.

I hope that it is a fair trial and that Jeff is treated as any other person would be. It’s too bad that it’s gotten to be “oh my gosh, they’re trying JEFF KING!!!” The fact that he is Jeff King is really quite irrelevent and the fact that he is a musher at all, much less a 4-time Iditarod champion, has very little to do with the case. It would be nice if they didn’t know who he was. Unfortunately it’s kind of hard to ignore that fact. So, like I said - I hope that Jeff is tried as anyone would be and that anyone else would be treated the same as Jeff.

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Location: Finland, MN
Time - 9:29pm
Temperature: 55 degrees F
Conditions: Partly cloudy, cooler
Forecast: Clear tonight, lows in the 40s. Clear tomorrow, highs in the 70s, lows in the 50s

Here are some pictures from Day 3 of the trip up here.

And here is Calypso trying to get her kennel mate, Nemo, to play.

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Location: Finland, MN
Time - 9:03pm
Temperature: 63 degrees
Conditions: Clear, slight breeze
Forecast: Clear tonight and tomorrow. Highs in the 70s, lows in the 40s

Ah yes, this is more like it. Dogs, lots of dogs. Cooler weather. Northern forests. Dogs. Wilderness. Dogs and did I mention dogs?

Arrived here on Monday and am starting to get settled in. Calypso has been kenneled with a dog named Nemo and they are getting along very well. Puppies are great fun and the older dogs at the kennel are going on short runs.

More coming soon - including pictures from day 3 of the trip and of life at the kennel.

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Location: Black River Falls, WI
Time: 6:58am
Temperature: 43 degrees F
Conditions: Mostly clear, damp
Forecast: Mostly sunny today, chance of thundershowers tomorrow. Highs in the 70s, lows in the 50s

A few pics from our trip through Illinois and Wisconsin

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Location: Salem, IL
Time - 6:37am
Temperature: 65 degrees F
Conditions: Partly cloudy
Forecast: Partly cloudy today, sunny tomorrow. Highs in the 80s, lows in the 50s

Well, we are on our way. Yesterday went fairly well, with Calypso riding in the crate without fussing much (see picture).

We stopped along the way to visit with some mushing friends. It was really great to see them!

A funny thing happened when we arrived at the hotel last night. We turned on the TV and there were a bunch of Sibes pulling at ATV! Apparently it was an episode of the Animal Planet series “It’s Me Or The Dog.” Cool!

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Location: Northwest GA
Time - 9:54pm
Temperature: 74 degrees F
Conditions: Clear, cooler. Wet
Forecast: Mostly clear tonight and tomorrow. Highs in the upper 80s, lows in the 60s

It rained today and it was wonderful. Everything cooled down nicely. Perhaps I shall go for a run tomorrow if I have time.

My upcoming move is in the forefront of my mind right now. So much to do and so little time to do it all…

But I’m not panicking yet.

In other great news, I am officially in the 2009 Beargrease 150. Here are the list of entrants (so far!) for the 2009 Beargrease marathon and 150 (the marathon entries are listed first, then the mid-distance - 150 entrants).

From: http://www.beargrease.com/race/registrationlistmarathon.htm

From: http://www.beargrease.com/race/registrationlistmid.htm

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Location: Northwest GA
Time - 10:01pm
Temperature: 85 degrees F
Conditions: Clear, warm
Forecast: Partly cloudy tonight, chance of thunderstorms tomorrow. Lows in the 70s, highs in the 90s

So I have started packing for my move to Minnesota…and it’s been busy. As you can see from the above photo, I’ve been sorting through my sled dog equip (and that’s only part of it in the picture).

The ganglines, harnesses, etc. are not the only things I’ve been going through. See below for an equally important category - my CDs!

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