I was working in the lab, late one night

Happy Halloween, y'all!
I don't have much to say except that. Oh, and I've gotten two sponsors so far! Hooray! They're listed over here >>> so check them out!
Peace

This is from last year. Pumpkins tend to freeze and last all winter, so at Christmas we just plop a santa hat on this thing and call it good. I didn't carve a tiny pumpkin this year because I've been way too lazy busy.



Here's a prototype of the bumper sticker. Too much? Let me know.

Restless Spirit Wandering

The four-wheelie is busted, yo. So, yeah, if it's not working by tomorrow, the dogs will pull the dead machine. Which is fine with a big team, except I'll have to alter my route slightly so that I don't have to go around any sharp corners. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I've been letting the dogs loose just to stretch out and have a little fun. Yesterday, Lars and I walked a whack of dogs down to the chain of lakes behind my house. The good times are killing me. I'm stressed because this is their third day off. Oh well, such is life with machines, I guess. OK, more later, I have to go outside and make a cozy little tent for our dear four-wheeler to try and warm it up so it will start. I might offer it some tea and salmon around six. Poor little dove. (I'm trying to be nice to it now...it might work better than kicking it and calling it a massive piece of shit.)
Peace and hippie hugs

Will you be stickin' with me when the money's gone?

Oh, Christ.
Before I get into that, let me just preface by saying that things are good here. Sam's back, Roy's butter farts are lingering, training is going well, and the weather is cold and clear.
With that being said, I repeat: Oh, Christ.
I signed up for the Yukon Quest 300 on Friday. It's official. I'm nervous already. There's so much to think about, I can't imagine how I'll be when it's time to do the 1,000-mile version. Follow the link below to see my hilarious profile and gorgeous self-portrait. I must get back to chopping fish and cutting up pork fat. Yes, my life is glamorous.
Peace
http://www.yukonquest.com/site/yq300-mushers/

Upon request, I added a donation button over to the right. We'll see how this goes, but really, I'm not expecting much. I will list sponsors on my blog and anyone who donates will get something in return. In the near future I will be making signed photos, t-shirts, bumper stickers ("Honk if you love tail - Spitfire Kennel, Fairbanks, AK") and also, I will be offering a guided trip at the end of the season for a couple lucky sponsors. So, here we go.

All of the angels would sell off your soul

Training has been going so well, I'm finding it hard to believe. My dogs are champs. I love each of them so much, just when I think I can't adore them any more, I see something that makes my heart explode. I love the way Hazel plays coy on top of her house and then groans when I scratch her back. I love how Capiche's bark sounds like a flooded car. I love how Strider pouts until he's hooked up and then screams like mad. And Summer is the sweetest dog off the line, but on, she's a freakin' maniac. Drake is super sensitive but a fearless leader. Doyon is silly but is so focused on the team I want to stop and hug him every five seconds. And so on and so forth. Anyway, here are some photos of the last few runs. Rich was here for a few days and today John showed up to help. Roy has eaten two and half sticks of butter in the last two days. I think he's acting out because Papa Sam is gone. Who knows.
Peace.


A couple days ago on a 10-miler with Rich.


Today with John.


Teeth marks in the butter taken just moments ago. Roy has a new addiction besides being annoying: butter.

I'm never lonesome when I'm by myself

So Sam's gone to Indy for the FFA conference and it's just me and the dogs. My friend Rich is in town getting some dog stuff done, so at least I have some company, even if it is Rich.
I've been running the dogs often and we're up to 8-mile runs. I think I'll bump them up to 10 or 11 today. The weather's been cool and clear. Perfect for the huskies. The dogs are doing really well. I think running them this summer was the best thing I could have done for them. My new dogs are really fitting in nicely and the trails are perfect right now. I can leave from the yard and run over the frozen swamp on the sprint trails with the ATV.
Not much else to report, really. Here are a couple of photos from yesterday's dog run. Sam came with so I could take out 18 at once.
Peace

It's hard to hear over the Wet Thunder

I was SO excited yesterday to go out to Fox to the Howling Dog Saloon and watch this crazy lesbian jug band called the 'Bac'untry Bruthers - All night dRAGTIME Revue' (Long name, I know but you get the idea) These girls are so good, it hurts...especially the next morning...
So, Sam, me, Mark, John, Bob, Jessie and even Tamara showed up to watch and drink and dance. As soon as we walked in the door, we knew something was off. We looked around for the lesbian-jug-band-crowd, but instead saw the same whithered, old locals and some college kids who were way too drunk at that early hour. Hmmm. Then we saw hairy, fat guys setting up the stage...Hmmm, again. They didn't look very lesbionic to us. Finally we asked someone and sure enough, The Bac'untry Bruthers played the night before...and tonight? An 80s/90s heavy metal band called Wet Thunder. Oh. My. God. Hilarious. And shitty. All at the same time. Sam, Mark and I wound up staying way too long but, you know, it had been a while since I've heard Warrant. I'm pretty sure there were some good songs mixed in there, but they sucked, so it was hard to tell.
Anyway, it's snowing like mad right now and the dogs and I are really excited. I've been training on the four-wheeler but would obviously like to get on the sled ASAP. Speaking of sleds, I ordered my first brand new sled yesterday. It's a limited edition Nitro 64 made by Prairie Bilt. Ok, so with shipping from North Dakota, I dropped $3,600, but I need a good sled for racing this year and it is an investment. Right? RIGHT??
I went to the Yukon Quest rookie workshop, a seven-hour affair, on Friday and it was amazing! I learned so much. Hans Gatt, Gerry Willomitzer, John Schandelmeier, Brent Sass, Kelley Griffin, Gwen, and Ken (the angry Teletubby) were there to answer all the usual rookie questions and concerns about the Quest. I'm not doing the 1,000-mile version this year, but hopefully next.
Anyway, I've rambled on long enough. More later. Later.
Peace.

Every girl's crazy 'bout a sharp-dressed man

As promised, here are some photos of the final days in Skagtown.
But first: Happy Birthday, Gran!! I miss you so much and will keep the foul-mouthery to a minimum from now on. (Yes, a titty bar is the same as a strip club.)
OK, here are some photos with a longer update coming soon.
Peace


Ahab, one of Rich's dogs. One blue eye, one brown. The tourists loved it.



Two of my new dogs. Doyon on the left and lil' Crush on the right. Love them! They are both so sweet and work like crazy.


Hitchcock doing her usual 'woo woo' routine. The tourists loved, and I mean loved, her.


My fearless leaders ready for their last tour of the season. Bully on the right and Capiche on the left. They're waiting, poised, for the 'Ready? Let's go!'

A firm grasp on what little she knows

If I hear the word Maverick one more time, unless it's accompanied by 'Goose or IceMan,' I'm going to set something on fire. Oh yeah. You betcha. *wink*
Some are calling Palin's performance at the VP debate 'A win for low expectations.' I mean, I guess it's good that she didn't spontaneously burst into flames (is it?) but that's about all she managed to accomplish: not dying. Low expectations indeed.
It was embarrassing and that's all I'm saying about that.
Now, on to more important things. Me!
It's taken a few days, but I am settling back into my comfy life in Squarebanks. Pooping in an outhouse instead of the woods is heaven. Having a wood stove that keeps the cabin warm though the night? Luxury! A full size propane stove and a sort-of real kitchen? Forget about it!
It's 5F right now and I'm stoked to start training. I took the new four-wheelie out yesterday to scope out the trails. I got stuck twice, had to walk three miles home to get the come-along and then walk back to winch myself out of the bog. Needless to say the swamps aren't quite frozen enough for training. Any day now, though.
So I got some new dogs and am up to 22 now. 19 of those are potential race dogs.
Here they are in no particular order...
Bully
Capiche
Hazel
Hitchcock
Strider
Sneaky Pete
Sally
Happy
Kat
Summer
Sispi
Sister
Drake
Brady
Monty
Lucky
Surprise!
Doyon
Crush
Plus Roy and Gus and Carol who are too freakish, too fat, and too old, respectively.
The rest of the mongrels are in fantastic shape but are getting antsy to get moving again. I've been letting most of them loose each day but I need to get them in harness.
I've put in an order at dogbooties.com for 1,500 booties and already spent $900 at Coldspot on dog food and a couple of houses.
(Segue neatly into the sponsorship plight.)
I want to try and get sponsors this year. But am still mulling the idea of how to offer the most for my potential sponsors whilst not consuming all my energy on making donors happy. I want it to be win-win for all involved.
Jodi - gal pal, marathoner, musher - was talking about offering guided trips at the end of the race season for those who gave a certain amount of cash. I might steal that idea. Any ideas or thoughts are more than welcome on how to get this ball rolling. For example, if you gave money or time or an in-kind donation, what would you want in return? If anything, of course.
Meanwhile, I'm getting ready for winter. Setting up ganglines, mending harnesses, etc. Now all I need is a sled...no pressure!
Well, on with the photos.
Peace.