There's only so much Hall and Oats we can take

That's what some random woman said to me as she was leaving Ivory Jack's last night. We celebrated winter solstice with a prime rib dinner at IJ's and it was great. We never did make to the bonfire as we stayed for an extra beer or two, but we'll have our party Christmas Eve.
I ran the dogs in Two Rivers yesterday and it was great. My dogs are getting stronger and learning to work together really, really well. When they're all pulling in sync, you can feel the energy come up through the dogs and into the handlebar. It always makes me smile.
Gal pal and my sort-of boss Julie showed me the wolf tracks through her yard and then she hopped on her snowmachine and gave me a guided tour of the trails. She and her hubby Rod have been mushing for some time and I appreciated her help. Two Rivers is notorious for being a confusing web of trails though the 20-mile loop I did yesterday was mostly on a logging road and fire break, so it wasn't bad. Nice big hills and great scenery. The dogs got a good workout and we all got to see some new country. My 100-mile race has been canceled due to marginal trail conditions and thin ice. My next race goal is the Tustumena 200 in January. If the dogs aren't ready for 200, there's 100-mile version we can try.
Today we're braving the crowds to do some last-minute shopping and then cutting wood for the rest of the day.
Peace.Bully and Capiche, the best lead dogs ever! The pups, Sneaky Pete and Parker behind them, then Sister and Happy, then Sally and Hitchcock and Strider and Hazel in wheel. Ten dogs with my little sled and 40 pounds of weight was a good amount of power and weight. I could set a hook and steer on the downhills pretty easily. The only time I broke a sweat was a bumpy downhill with corner at the bottom, but we did it and I stayed on the sled despite the dogs' best efforts to buck me off. Photo by Julie Stricker.

Here we are coming up a big hill. The vistas were great on this trail. Photo by Julie Stricker.