15 and a half minutes of fame

Well, the land is all snatched up in Anderson. I arrived there at 5 a.m. on Monday morning and people were lined up outside at 35 below Celsius and had been out there for two days. Most were from 'Outside,' meaning not from Alaska although there were a few from within the state. Though there were only 26 plots of land, 44 people were in line by 9 a.m. People saw the AP article on Saturday, dropped everything, jumped on planes from Idaho, Oregon, Florida and Wisconsin and got here to stake their claims. It was pretty nuts. While I was there the phones at the city office were ringing non-stop. Calls from Canada, India, South America and Chine plus a whole whack of people calling from the Lower 48. I even got to answer the phone once. It was a retired woman from California asking if we could save her a spot. I said no, that the land was already spoken for by now and that you had to be here in person. She asked if I could let her know when they do this again so she could come, I said 'sure, what the hell.' I met some really cool people from all walks of life who wanted to live the Alaskan dream. I think the Harvard Law student said it best. "This is a brilliant and innovative way to create a neighbourhood," he said. "Because now we all know each other and we've been through this together."
Even Oprah tried to get in on the action. Apparently, she was trying to come to Anderson to do a 'Good things in America' segment for her show. She cancelled at the last minute.
I got a call from the BBC in London asking for more information because they wanted to do a story.
But later that day I got an email from the teacher whose students started this whole land giveaway thing. He said the community enjoyed its 15 minutes of fame but by 4 o'clock that day, it was like nothing had even happened. He said he walked out the front door of the school and streets were empty, except for the moose over by the swingset.
So, to all those who got their land, welcome to Alaska and for those who didn't, try Kansas.

Peace.
This guy got his plot and his marking his territory on a map of the subdivision.

People slept outside to save their spots in line.

People huddled around fire barrels and propane heaters to stay warm.

Moose are everywhere. Hazel barked and barked and barked at this moose, until the beast got too close and Hazel retreated to her dog house letting out the occasional growl.

Oh Buddy, will you ever change?

Today we had our annual tailgate party for the Open North American Championship. It's a three-day dog sled race that draws mushers from hither and yon to sprint around the trails here. It's pretty exciting and on the final day we get food and beer and park ourselves in a nice spot to watch the teams go out and back. Buddy Steeper from Ft. Nelson, BC, won it this year. CANADA!!! YEAAAAHHHH! Suck on that one Egil Ellis! So, here are some photos I took from the day. Fun was had by all. I have to leave for Anderson at 3 a.m. tomorrow for this land giveaway thing, so I'm going to bed.
Peace.

On the run. These are dogs on the go, people.
Team on the slough.
A steep downhill corner that teams have been known to biff it at. This guy stayed on.


Erin and Becky laughing at me.Sam watching teams from the bridge. The ever-quiet presence from above. Sam has three letters, god has three letters...can't be a coincidence.

Eric and Becky watching the teams go by.


Greg, JJ and Steve.
Shorty after the race, a woman came by with her two huskies and her pet poodle. They only went few hundred feet but the freakin' poodle was totally into it. Crazy.

I'll call ya, baby, I promise

Poor little Parker is lovesick. And also kind of a slut.
I don't want to get too graphic here, but the little dear has come into her first heat and Strider (who is neutered but still horny) jump her virgin bones as soon as she'd stand still long enough to let him on. Now, a day later, she's all over him and he's giving her the cold shoulder. She tries to get into his house and follows him around and he completely ignores her. It's funny and sad at the same time.
Parker: "But, Strider, you said you loved me."
Strider: "What's your name again? Yeah, I'll call you."
Ahhh, brings back memories, doesn't it girls?
In other dog news, I took Raven and Gus in to get spayed and neutered, respectively. Raven didn't do so well. It turns out she has an immunity to the anesthetic and she woke up in the middle of having her uterus removed. The two vets who were there, and are really amazing, gave her a little more drugs but soon they had given her as much as was safely possible but Raven wouldn't stay under. Needless to say it was traumatic for all involved. I tried to comfort my screaming dog who was paralyzed but could feel everything that was going on. The vets worked quickly to get the operation finished but were visibly shaken as was I. (I couldn't stop crying.) That has never happened to them before, they said. Raven is fine now, she's hopped up on pain pills and is living in the house and loving it. Bull, on the other hand, doesn't like having to share the couch but he's coping. The only funny thing about this is that Gus was huddled in the corner watching the hearing everything that was going on with Raven and was obviously reluctant to let any of us near him. Of course, removing the balls is a much faster, easier process and Gus was running around shortly after we got home. On the drive home, however, they were both knocked out cold and laying on top of each other which was actually kind of cute.
Anyway, here's a pic of Raven all messed up on pain pills and hopefully not remembering anything that happened.
Peace

Lance is loosening my grip on Bobby Orr

I can only hope that '07 Iditarod AND Yukon Quest champ Lance Mackey remembers the little folk in Fairbanks. I like to think that he would consider me a friend and not just a groupie or an annoying reporter. He did, after all, come to our wedding party this summer. And he, his wife Tonya, and their kids came to our Christmas Eve bonfire and tied one on. I've told him to F-off twice.

Ken Anderson, who I've told to F-off many, many more times than that, came in seventh. They both had great races despite horrid conditions.

Last night I shot one of my assignments for the Tribune. It was an event at the annual conference of the...World Clown Association. Jesus. Creepy? Yes. Actually, it was beyond creepy because I went there expecting the clowns to be all in-my-face-I'm-an-annoying-clown. But instead they were very subdued. A restrained clown is ultra-creepy.

I had another assignment this morning which didn’t go as well, so we won’t talk about it.

We ran out of heating fuel last night. It’s still 30 below here at night. Now the oil stove it broken. I chopped some wood today and started a fire. The wood stove is also kind of wonky. Water is gushing from the chimney as I type this. Cold or watery, those are my choices. I chose water. I waited as long as I could before starting a fire because I know it does this non-stop-drip thing, but then I started to lose dexterity in my fingers because they were so cold, so it was time to light the match. I guess this might be what you call roughing it: no heat and dial-up internet. Sigh. Life goes on, albeit at a cold, slow pace. It might even be the makin’s of a country song. No heat, no high speed…I just need my dogs to run away and voila!

Peace.

Here’s a pic of Libby interviewing clowns dressed as woman last night. Did I mention it was creepy?

Free land in the last frontier

Thinking of moving to Alaska? On the run from the law? Looking for rogue moose, hungry grizzlies and ravenous coyotes in your backyard? Well, come to Anderson! For free! Sort of. The village of Anderson, Alaska, located between the towns of Nenana and Healy (about 70 or so miles from Fairbanks on the Parks Highway) is giving away 26, 1.3-acre lots. It's a first-come, first-served thing with applications being accepted at 9a.m. on March 19. Applicants must dole out $500, but will get it back. The only stipulation is that if you get a plot of land, you have to build at least a 1,000-sq.ft dwelling within two years. The parcels already have electricity and phone hooked up. I got a call from the Associated Press yesterday, which is doing a big story on this and they need me to head down to Anderson to take photos of the people involved. The idea actually came from a group of students at the local school. They presented their idea of this land give-a-way to the city council that accepted it and will proceed to try and bolster the population of Anderson by giving away property to whoever. Crazy. So I'm heading there on Sunday and maybe Monday as well to photograph the teacher and some of his students. I talked to them on the phone this morning and they are so excited, which always makes my job a lot easier. I also picked up three photo assignments for the Chicago Tribune, one of which I've already done and two for next week. I was so excited that I ordered a couple of new articles of clothing online this morning. Yea!
For more info about the Anderson land, check out the village's website at www.anderson.govoffice.com
Here are a couple of photos of Anderson from my Denali Park trip this fall with Meg and John. Denali's about an hour down the road from Anderson.
Peace.
This could be you walking in front of the diddlin' bear sign in Anderson.

City Hall. I was actually taking a pic of the News-Miner box because Meg's 'goin' to iraq' photo was on the front. It was actually about a year too late, but whad'ya expect...it's Anderson! Oh Anderson, will you ever change? No. That's the great thing about it. It can only get better if (insert your name here) gets a piece of land and moves there.

Random dudes on a scooter in Anderson. This could be you! Look how much fun they're having. Weeeeee!

Warning: News-Miner may cause drowsiness

Note to Rod of Rod's Saw Shop: We need the chainsaws back as we are out of firewood and it's friggin' cold 'round here. P.S. Thanks for the discount on chaps last summer, you should see the scar. Yowza!
Ok. So, I'm officially a News-Miner (News-Minus, News-Moaner (my personal fav)) employee. I'm working three nights a week as a copy editor. I actually really like it (partly because I know it's temporary). My bosses are really nice and the work is such that I get be in a newspaper atmosphere while getting to be a little creative (part of the duties besides editing copy are to layout/design the pages) but unlike being a reporter at the paper, I don't take my work home with me. Once the night is done, it's done. This way, I can still freelance and write about things I like, while having my days free to run dogs AND having the extra cash AND the normalcy of saying things like 'I can't, I have to work.' or 'The funniest thing happened at work last night.' So, it's good all around. Last night the publisher and managing editor brought in dinner and dessert for the night crew. Yeah.

Sam's very professional at work. I call him Mr. Harrel, but I think that just turns him on.
The dogs are great, but I'm really looking forward to summer, mostly because Sam might actually get a break. He hasn't had time off since October and that was when he went to Kentucky or some far-flung place, to, you guessed it, work. I guess he had a little fun, but it certainly wasn't with me. That's why I'm excited for the summer; camping, rafting, canoeing etc.
It seems for the past several months, he's been going non-stop. Someone's always sick, or on leave of some sort or whining about something. Not Sam. He's so dedicated to paper it almost makes me feel a little ill. He has to work today, of course, on his day off. I offered to pick up an assignment, but we'll see. I'm just bitter because we had plans today and now, well, we don't. I'll get over it.
I sold an Iditarod story to the Anchorage Daily News and they put at the top on the front page. I wasn't expecting that. I've got a couple assignments lined up for March but I'm thinking it'll be an enterprise month. There's a lot going on from NCAA rifle shooting to a national clown conference...I'm sure someone will buy something. The big thing now is having audio with a photo slide show so I bought a new digital recorder and might try to put something together at the sled dog races next weekend. We'll see.
Well, Meg told me that I have joined the ranks of Mary H.
Meg had a layover at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago this week and got online whilst waiting in the terminal. She tried to log onto my blog but was denied because apparently my site contains 'questionable material.' (This happened to Mary's cojoin also, that's the connection...)
I guess I've also joined a million other women in their late '20s (I'm not 30 yet, dammit! Remind me to stick my head in the oven on July 5...maybe this is what they mean by questionable material) who say the word 'ass' too much...The Diet Coke of evil, just one calorie, not evil enough...
What else? The Iditarod has begun. Good luck Ken, Lance, Gerry, Sebastian, Hans and Aaron! Also the Canada Winter Games are going on in Whitehorse right now and the Yukon News (my old paper) is doing an amazing job covering it. Fun stories, beautiful photography...www.yukon-news.com
Our friend down south sent some photos of Sam back in the day. I just have to say thank-you. I laughed for days. Sam, cute as he was and is, had some mega mulitude. Oy.

The other day I bought a stuffed monkey for Sister. She likes to bury random things when she's inside so I thought I'd get her a little friend to bury in the straw in her house. She immediately ripped the arms off the monkey, so I took it away from her. That same day I wrote an email to Sam and, joking of course, made some threat that ended with 'do it, or the monkey gets it!' Sam wrote back saying, he wasn't worried because the monkey had been disarmed. Disarmed! Ha! Well done, honey. Very clever.

Well, that's it for now.
Peace.

Hazel and Sister giving Meg a ride down the driveway. She was too chicken to run in the real sled with a real team...I guess I should mention that the last time I took her for a ride (it was two years ago, I've gotten better since then) I dumped her out on her arse, lost the team and ended up running home...ha!

The moose here have no boundaries. They're always following me around, calling, emailing...enough already!
GUS! I forgot to post my newest dog. He's really sweet but he hates the yearlings and is always trying to hump the ladies...
His first time inside.

Pizza in Circle...

Whew! Sorry about the delay. I covered the second half of the Yukon Quest and got caught up in all the drama, whoopla etc.
So. Starting last Monday (a week ago today) I did two live radio hits per day with the CBC in Whitehorse. I have covered the race for several years, so getting the info and doing the interviews was cake, but going on live radio to a place where I used to live but kind of ran away from, was very, VERY intimidating. The first two 'hits' didn't go so well. I was so nervous about stuttering or making a mistake that I read my script verbatim and ended up sounding like a robot. But as the days went on, I loosened up and actually began to enjoy it. I realized though, that while I may have a face for radio, I'll stick to print journalism.
Traveling along the Quest trail, though slightly hectic this year because the leaders were moving at a record pace, is always fun, especially with my friend Libby. She works for the public radio station here (kuac.org) and we always have lots of 'I was so tired that I..." tales from the trail. Libby and I have been on the trail seven times each, six of those together. And it seems whenever we get together we can talk for hours about 'the time that French handler said this,' or when 'the musher showed me that in the bathroom'... I’m kidding.
The only thing missing this year was dear Trisha. Trisha covered the Quest for CBC for two years and could always be counted on for some raucous fun. Whether it was pulling the clerk over the counter by the scruff at the Downtown Hotel in Dawson City, or just enjoying some meat sticks that were always nice and warm from having been in her pocket for days, Trish is always nice to have around on the trail.
Anyway, now I have the arduous task of writing a 2,000-word article for Mushing Magazine about the entire race. Ten days in 2,000 words and it's due tomorrow. So, for the next 12 or 14 hours, I'll be sitting here, in the kitchen with my laptop and a pot of coffee wearing ratty long johns and a John Deere T-shirt. Ok. Time to focus. Wait. The dogs are barking, I better do see what they’re up to…
Oh yeah! Lance Mackey won and broke the 12-year-old record by nearly 14 hours.
Here are some pics from the trail, mostly so Trish over in Africa can get a little fix.
Peace.


Above, Libby, right, and Julie hanging out at the finish line. People kept getting them confused on the trail.

John Schandelmeier in Circle putting booties on his dogs.


Michelle Phillips at the finish line giving her dogs a snack.

Sebastian Schnuelle crossing the finish line in eighth spot.


A fan pets Aaron Burmeister's dogs at the finish line.

Bright lights, big city

Well, I arrived in Circle City unscathed. The Quest is actually more than half over and moving FAST. Lance Mackey is on pace to shatter the record of 10 days, 16 hours, 20 minutes. Tomorrow morning I have my first live hit with CBC. I was thinking that it would be funny, since it's live, to launch into my report and then say 'oh wait, can we start over?' Libby advised me not to do it. It's been so fun reunited with all my little Quest friends. I love covering the race. Right now Libby and I have hijacked the principal's office at the Circle school and are typing away. She's been really helpful with my radio voice. We've been giggling none stop. Where's Trisha and her pocket full of meat sticks and chocolate? Oh, the Quest. Love it. I had some great interviews as soon as I got here and am now taking a break from transcibing. It's 45 below. Hans Gatt is trying to make a move but unless Mackey goes over a cliff or something, he's got a six hour lead and will win for the third year in a row. He's on course to break the record by 20 hours. crazy. I'm going to dare John to chug a quart of half 'n' half for five bucks.
Here are a couple pics from the Circle checkpoint. The frosty chick is William Kleedehn's handler Miriam (standing around outside at 40 below does this to your face) and the dog is Gerry Willomitzer's named Joseph eating some salmon. Peace

I saw her on a beach of weathered sand

Today I took Becky and her mum, who is visiting from Michigan, on a dog sled ride. Fun was had by all and the dogs did really well. I wasn't sure how they'd react coming into the finish and then getting turned around and going out again with a different passenger, but they were all eager to go out a second time. Sam and I have boycotted Valentine's Day. It's a stupid made-up holiday for suckers. No offense to those who celebrate it. I hope all your flowery, chocolate, heart-shaped dreams come true.
Here's a pic that Sam took of Bully, the fearless leader, eager to get on the trail. The dogs jump and lunge while waiting to take off. He may like the couch, that Bull, but he's no potato. That's me getting ready at the sled and Becky in the sled.
Peace.

Me so black

Ok. The Quest has started and is actually nearly half over. With hard and fast trails, the teams are moving along at a record-setting pace. Read more at yukonquest.com
I will join the race on Sunday in Circle and cover it until the finish in Fairbanks a few days later. I really want to be out on the trail now.
Tomorrow I'm taking friend Becky and her mom who is visiting from Outside for a little dog sled ride. Should be fun. Entertaining to say the very least.
Sam and I took a swing dance lesson last week. Just one. Neither of us are very good. Sam was a little slow and I just wanted to bop along to the music without all the stupid steps. The whole thing was actually a little creepy. I think it was a singles hangout for middle-aged divorced folk.
What else? There was something else. My friend Sami who I worked with in Finland was doing the Quest 300 but was disqualified after bringing in two injured dogs on top of his sled instead of in the sled. It was dangerous and stupid and it cost him the race.
Sam and I met some friends at the folk festival on Saturday. Our friend Steve was playing. It was nice. They had beer so at least I didn't have to lose my buzz, which is more than I can say for the swing dancing.
Dogs are good. Weather's good. Sam and I are great.
Hope everyone out there is good. Good luck with the booty hunt!
Peace out.

My doppelganger is nobody's business!

So said Meg when I told her that her doppelganger was Dr. Phil.
Here are some musings from the past 24 hours:
Do they make adult diapers for dogs?
I guess it Depends...
(laugh)
Ruffles had a little 'accident' in the kitchen last night. I'm not sure if it's because she's old or if she's mad because I've been shoving pills down her gullet three times a day.
I hit the Alaska Coffee Roasters Co. two days ago. I don't mean 'I hit the coffee shop for a latte.' I mean I HIT THE COFFEE SHOP. The building. I hit the building with my truck. Needless to say it was slippery. No damage to building or vehicle.
I helped Ken with his Iditarod drop bags (bags that are sent out to the checkpoints containing food and supplies for the dogs and the mushers) by folding up 1,600 dog booties. It only took a few hours. I did it while I watched the first four episodes of Lost. Does anybody watch that show? I never got into it because we don't really have TV so I rented it on DVD. Anyway, what the hell is in the woods? A dinosaur? What is it? Wait. No, I don't want to know. Don't tell me. Ok. What is it? What's up with the polar bear. What did that girl do that was so bad?
Forget it.
I'm looking forward to the Quest, though I wish now that I had made arrangements to cover it from the start. This will be the first year in six that I haven't been at the start of the race. I hate not being on the trail.
Got an email from dear friend Trisha in Ghana. Things are going well for her and Graeme there. Oh. Except that Graeme may have accidentally given Trisha to a village chief as an offering. Oops. Check out their blog at www.whitehorsetowestafrica.blogspot.com
That's it for now. Dogs are good. Sam's good. I'm good. Frosty stinks.
Peace.

Make a point to make no sense

So. Quest preparations with the CBC are underway. I've got the numbers to call and a general idea of what they're looking for. I'll be on the radio at 7:15 a.m. and 4:50 p.m. Yukon time. (That's an hour earlier for me here in Alaska...gulp) I've been practicing my sultry radio voice. I tested it out on one of the producers today and he laughed...not sure if that's good or bad.
What else? I got a gig writing pre-Iditarod stories for the Anchorage Daily News. Very cool. And I'm working on a book review for Mushing Magazine. I've already read the book because, well, I've read just about everything that has to do with dog mushing. This is one of those 'I-started-with-nothing-and-finished-the-Iditarod' books, which are getting very tired, but this one was a bit different in that the woman who did it was absolutely terrified and fell off all the time (sound familiar?) and she finished it anyway. So it was a little inspiring for me. That's why I liked it.
Ruffles is hangin' in there. I had the dogs loose yesterday and Parker and Ruffles were fine together. Gwen suggested I tie the pups out instead of having them loose in a pen because they're getting a little wild but they play constantly and I really don't want them on chains. I removed the old-lady factory (Ruffles) so now they have no one to beat up but each other. Raven and Strider are also in the pen, but they won't tolerate much in the way of abuse from the pups. Eventually I want all my dogs in one giant enclosure, but that might get a little out of hand as Hazel tends to be a bit of a troublemaker.
It's warm here, still about minus 15 C in the mornings and hovering around five below in the afternoons. It's good weather for me to run dogs but still a little too warm for the dogs' liking. And yet we manage to trudge on.
Sam volunteered us to baby-sit a friend's toy poodle for a couple weeks so Frosty is now in the mix. He's weird and ugly and he stinks (Frosty, not Sam). He mostly sits in the corner and stares with his little bug eyes (Again, Frosty, not Sam). When he's not in the corner, he's just trying not to get stepped on. Ruffles has sat on him twice and Bull, well, Bull bulled right over him a couple nights ago. He's coping though. Sam took him to work today, because I don't have much patience for his incessant whining (Frosty's, not Sam's).
Ok, I think that's all. We're going for a run.
Peace.
Oh yeah, check out www.ap.org/alaska/ my aurora photo won top feature photo for the month of January in Alaska.
Here's a snapshot of Ruffles, Bull and Frosty chillin'...pun intended.

The Ruffles Report

Good afternoon. As we reported yesterday Ruffles was savagely attacked by the always adorable, but slightly bitchy, Parker. After 90 minutes on the operating table and many, many stitches, 13-year-old Ruffles, or Scuffy as she's known by her family, is recovering well. As of press time, Ruffles was hopped up on pain pills that left her a little shaky but feeling blissfully pain free. Though she has yet to eat a solid meal, she has gotten into the garbage once. What she was after is still under investigation.




Pool old bird. Ruffles, who is going deaf and blind and is very stiff because, well, she's in the winter of her life, is being a real trooper. I had to put a booty over her paw to stop her from scratching at her wound. Her face is swollen and all stitched up...she looks like Ruf-enstein. RUN! AHHHHH! So Ruffles is our latest house dog. The only problem is, she won't let Bull on the couch. Sigh. The saga continues.

Hi Gran! Hazel is always naughty but that's why I love her. That, and she's so darn cute. Ok. We're going for a run.
Peace.

Me against the world

Well, well, well. You know, I've freelanced for a few years now, but never for a wire service, so seeing my work all over the place on the internet and in print is pretty damn cool. CNN and MSNBC picked up the story on the Japanese tourists and used my aurora photo. It was also in the Anchorage Daily News and on the front page of the News-Miner today. Sweet. Life is good. Well, maybe not for Ruffles. Parker attacked Ruffles today when I had the dogs loose before heading out for a run. I heard the scuffle in the woods and by the time I got there, Ruffles (who's at least 13)was on her back with her face ripped open. I quickly put the dogs away and brought Ruffles inside to survey the damage. I cleaned the wound and got out the tools to stitch her up, but it was half her face and really close to her eye so at the last minute I opted to call my vet. I brought Ruffles over and she was knocked out, sewn up and wobbling around in the matter of one hour. I got scolded for attempting to sew her up myself. What? I've seen worse, I told the vet. She wasn't impressed. Lesson learned. Not sure what I'm going to do with Parker. She's getting agressive with mama Ruffles more and more. I think I might have Ruffles as an inside/loose dog from now on.
So I didn't run the dogs today because of the trip to ER, but tomorrow. Oh yeah, Ken wanted to run the yearlings that I've been training just to see how they're shaping up. He liked them so much, he took them back so he can race them. Now I only have three of his (I had 12) and five (running dogs) of my own. So I still have an eight-dog team but I need 10 for that race in March and he said he might want those last three back too. I kind of thought this might happen. So, I spoke with Quest musher Greg Parvin today (he was at the vet, too) and he said he a few dogs that didn't make his Quest team but are very runnable that I could use until March. They're village dogs, so they huge, but that's ok. I just want dogs to run. And dogs that I can give back when the snow's gone? Even better.
Ruffles just fell off the couch...she's still a little out of it. Gotta go!
Peace.

Assume nothing, you silly twit!

Ok. So, here's my very best SJP impression with an Alaskan twist:

In life, we make choices every day. And as we mush down this twisted trail, there are many obstacles to avoid. There are forks in the road and, on occasion, we choose the right path, but sometimes we take the wrong way and are stuck traveling over thin ice. Once in a while, you can turn the team around and get back on the right track, but only if you're a little lucky (ducky). So as I try to slow down around the sharp corners, I can't help but wonder: did I leave the oven on?

Ta da! Thank you, thank you. Now. Down to business. The reason for this post.

WANTED: A handler for the Chatanika Challenge March 9 and 10.
You must be kind, you must be witty
Very smart and fairly pretty...
Wait...no that's not right.
So, I do need a handler. Basically someone at the start and finish with the dog truck. Moral support would be nice too as this will be my first distance race and I'll be scared out of my mind. It doesn't pay anything except my undying gratitude because I can't really do it without a little help.
Pass it on and email me if you're interested. For friends on the Outside, if you were thinking about coming to Alaska for a visit...March would be a lovely time...wink.
Peace

Good news for people who love bad news

So, like I said previously, Sam and I went into the White Mountains on Sunday. I took 10 dogs and we went to 32 miles (to Moose Creek cabin and back). We stopped at the cabin to have a sandwich and some coffee (meat snacks and kibble broth for the dogs). It was really, really warm and overcast. The trail was nice and there weren't that many people out there, so it was a really pleasant day. I had a couple of major tangles, one with Phil Joy, a Quest musher who we tried to pass head on but his leaders, instead of going around my team, plowed right up the middle. I ended up letting about half the team loose just to untangle all the lines. Then, leaving the cabin, Sister turned around into the team and got all tied up. Another lesson in patience for yours truly.
Anyway, here are some photos that Sam took of me on the trail, at the cabin with Hazel on the kitchen table and feeding at the break with Gus jumping up to get his lunch.
Peace

Get outta my team Phil Joy!

I did not freak out on the waitress at Boston's. Believe me, I have freaked out on service people in my life and this was not one of those times. I will not return to that crappy, jock-filled, chain restaurant/lame bar in my life. LAME! Photos and stories from our trip to the White Mountains yesterday. Me on a dog team and Sam my moose-scarer-awayer on a snowmachine.
Stay tuned.
Oh yeah, the waitress who said I freaked out is Sam's new photo intern. Oops. I was in a hurry, she couldn't figure out how to take the green paper stuff I was giving her and give me some more green paper stuff back. Not my problem. I asked her to hurry up because my husband had run out of gas and was sitting in the cold waiting for me to come to the rescue. She got all squirrely and I didn't tip her. There. Does that sound like a freak out? No. There was no foul language and I'm 99 per cent sure I didn't even raise my voice except over all the jocks chanting at their favourite (random sport) team on the big screen. Yuck.

Holy Boardwalk, batgirl!

Last night Meg had a hankerin' to play Monopoly. Wait, it gets better. So, her and John went to the village to find a used a copy of the game. They found two. One was slightly heavier according to John so they bought it without actually opening it for 99 cents, what a deal! When they got it home and had the ol' 'I-want-to-be-the-shoe debate' they opened up the box and what to their wondering eyes did they see?
Well, the box was heavier because there was dried up play-dough in there. When they opened the board they were flabbergasted to see that some Jesus freak had whited out all the property names and prices and replaced them with biblical names. For example, there are disciple names, and places where Jesus preached or built bookshelves...whatever he did. Here are some choice examples: 'Peter denied Jesus three times, pay $10' and 'You gave a sacrifice to God, collect $50' and 'Camel Services.' Oh man, it is HIL-AR-I-OUS. Where it says 'Go To Jail,' it's been changed to 'Go To Heaven' and they drew a halo and wings on the cop. I have to stop typing to laugh...just wait....
Ok. There's 'Sabbath Day, lose a turn' and 'Galilee, $500' (that and Bethlehem are the most expensive, though Bethlehem edges out Galilee by $50.' I mean, this is creepy and all but isn't it a little sacrilegious?
Here are the creepy pictures. Peace be with you all.

Get that corn outta my face!

Today I had the run from hell. Hell! Worst run ever. I'm still reeling. Sigh. Bull is injured so I had Sister and Hazel in lead and it was like I wasn't even there. I'd say right, they'd go left etc. Sam was out on the trail trying to help me but nothing went right. Nothing. Needless to say, I freaked out. I yelled and screamed and lost my mind. Today was the first time I really wanted to just throw in the harness and call it quits. After an hour or so of fighting with the dogs to simply just go forward, I ended up at the musher's hall. The only problem was, I didn't start at the musher's hall, I left from my yard. So being at the musher's hall, which is where I usually start from, without a truck to load the dogs into was problem. Turn the dogs around and go home, you say? Well, yes, I tried. And tried. And tried. And tried. Eventually I phoned Sam, who probably should have just told me to take a flying leap, and asked (ordered) him to bring the dog truck over. Thankfully, he did. Sam is so good. So kind. I've been phoning him to apologize for my behaviour all day. I'M SORRY HONEY! It's all good. I phoned my friend and bona fide Quest musher Regina to whine and she told me what I needed to hear. The conversation went something like this:
Me: "Hi Gina, it's Jill. Boo hoo, Boo hoo. Cry, cry, cry. Whine, cry, sob, whine."
Regina: "Suck it up! Stop whining. S**t happens. You're fine. You need a leader? I have one for you. Come and get him tomorrow. Phone your husband and apologize!"

She's so wise. I'm heading to her kennel in Healy tomorrow to pick up Gus. A six-year-old, black and white, blue-eyed, lead dog from Charlie Boulding's brood.
Nice.
So, that's my day. I had an interview this aft. for a business article I'm writing and now I'm sitting at John and Meg's.
Oh yeah, yesterday I went into a local coffee shop with a small portfolio to ask if I could show my photos. The owner loved them and as of next week I'll have a selection of random pictures from the past few years hanging in LuLu's.
I think Bull will be fine, but I'm not running him for a while just in case. The crazy thing is, he didn't strain his muscle running in harness...he pulled it playing with puppies! I keep telling him he's too old to play like that, but does he listen? No.
Pictures of Gus will be posted shortly.
Peace.

Changing my life, five minutes at a time

Hey dudes! So this week has been really full of ups and downs. Monday morning the News crapped out on me saying that they would no longer need me to help cover the Canada Winter Games in Whitehorse next month. Bummer. Later that day I went grocery shopping with Sam and was convinced that the trip to Fred Meyer would be the highlight of my day. But later still, I got a call from the Associated Press in Anchorage. They had an assignment for me. Whooopeee! Things were lookin' up. The assignment was to drive the 60 miles (one way) to Chena Hot Springs Resort to photograph Japanese tourists who flock to Alaska each winter to get a glimpse of the northern lights. I drove out there under cloudy skies hoping for the best. But 4 a.m. rolled around and it was still cloudy so I drove home. These tourists wait up all night to try and seem them. I got shots of the tourists sleeping and playing cards and running outside to look up and check for the Aurora. I slept most of Tuesday then drove out again that evening. As I was driving back out there, sure enough, the Aurora blazed across the sky. I was tempted to stop and photograph them there, but no, the AP wanted Japanese tourists in the foreground with the northern lights in back. So, I hauled ass, driving as fast as my pickup would allow hoping to get out there, shoot and scoot. When I finally arrived, the aurora had fizzled out and it started to cloud over. DAMN! I thought I had missed my shot. Around 11 p.m. I was about to drive back home, but a translator (and Sam) convinced me that since I had already driven out there, I might as well stick around. I jumped on a snow coach that hauls tourists to the top of a mountain and when we arrived at the top, it was clear. Hallelujah! I set up my camera, tripod, and flash and waited. Around 1 a.m. green streaks started to flicker across the sky. With each blast of colour and twist of light, the tourists shrieked with delight. They spend thousands (some even take out bank loans) to come here and see this. Then it happened. Holy mother of god. Red and purple and green filled the sky. I have never seen anything like it. IT WAS CRAZY. The lights were moving so fast and changing and it just kept getting better and better and better...YES! I was shooting and shooting and then I just had to stop and watch. Then, just like that, it was gone. I flopped down in the snow and lay there for about half an hour. Tears in my eyes and huge smile on my face, I vowed there and then to be a better person. This was a sign from something. I was spent. Of course, my resolution was short-lived. I'm back to my old crabby, jaded self. But, man, I'll never forget that. I sent the pics off to the AP and editor loved them. He gave me another assignment right then. It's not for while and I don't know the details but involves me traveling to the villages later in the spring. Sweet.
I also got a call from the CBC in Whitehorse yesterday. They asked if I would cover the second half of the Yukon Quest for them. I love radio and am really looking forward to that assignment. Since I don't have any radio experience it'll just be phone hits to their morning and afternoon shows...sort of a reporter-in-the-field type thing. Anyway, life is good. Gotta go run the dogs.
Here are a couple photos that I did not send to the AP.
Peace

Sam's bringin' sexy back

I finished my second race today and bettered my time by 11 minutes. I came third. The winning team had 16 dogs! (nuts) I had nine. The trail is getting a little crazy because we haven't had any more snow but there has been a lot of dog traffic on it so the corners are more slippery and the bare spots are even more bare. I almost bit it around a few corners today but managed to stay upright. I had Sister and Hazel in lead but switched Hazel for Wie about half way through. I also ran Serena, Sorlie, Pikea, Puck, Wylie and Magnus.
So here's a run-down of my pre-race routine sans all the gory anxiety-caused trips to the bathroom. Enjoy!
Wake up. Drink coffee. Smoke a cigarette. Give the dogs their breakfast. Tell Sam I can't eat any of the lovely quiche he made until after the race. Drink coffee. Go over which dogs I'll take. Change the team. Ask Sam what he thinks. Change the team. Bull's in. Bull's out. I need Bull tomorrow but he really, really wants to go today. Bull's in. No. He'll get too tired and he's too slow. Bull's out. Fill a cooler with meat broth for the dogs to drink after the race. Get dressed for the race: long johns, synthetic socks, fleece socks, synthetic undershirt, fleece pullover, wool coat, insulated bib overalls, down parka, big arctic boots, balaclava, wool toque, neck gaiter, wrist gaiters, synthetic gloves and wool gloves. Now I have to pee again. Load the dogs in the dog truck. Drive to the racetrack. Sign in and get my bib. Unload the sled and dogs. Talk to whoever is around or whoever will listen. Talk. Talk. Talk. Gab. Harness the dogs. Hook up the dogs to the sled. Try not to fall off while bringing the team to the start chute. Deep breath in. Three, two, one...Go! And we're off. Flying down the trail past photographers and other gawkers. 'On by, Hazel. Good girl!'
So that's about it. We saw a moose on the trail today. I couldn't see very well and at first I thought it was a person so I didn't slow down. Then I saw it start running down the trail away from us and I slammed on the brakes. For the last several miles I was forced to scare away any other wayward moose by singing 'I'm brining sexy back' by Justin Timberlake which of course, I don't know the words to so I made them up. Next race is in two weeks but it's just a 35-mile fun run. Actually, it's passenger race, so I need a passenger. Anyone interested? Let me know. Sam didn't bring his camera today, so no photos.
Sexy out.
Peace.

I'm sailing away...from a moose

Hey y'all! Oh, man. I actually just typed y'all. I just did it again! Have I lived in 'Merica too long already? Anyway, where did we last leave off? Oh yeah. So this week it dropped to 44 below zero and therefore I did not take the dogs out. It's just not worth the potential injuries to the dogs when it's that cold and, let's face it, being outside for hours in that bitter temperatures is not fun for anyone, especially the thin-coated dogs who have a tendency to get frostbite on their, er, twigs and berries. So we sat around and complained about how cold it was. I fed the dogs more often and started giving them turkey skins and fish oil in their daily meals to ward off the effects of the cold. Even though they were sitting for several days, they were still losing weight and we just can't have that, so it was fat, fat and more fat for the dogs. Finally, today we got back on the trail. Ken and Gwen's current handler, Forrest, met me at the track and we ran two teams 20 miles. He took my second string and though he can be a bit of a D-bag at times (who can't?) he did a great job today. So all the dogs were run and I really appreciated his help. Bull and Wie ran in lead for me and did an amazing job, even with all the traffic (skiers, walkers, mushers, skijorers) on the trail. We came across one moose but she wasn't interested in sticking around to see what the crazy girl (me) on the dog sled was screeching about. After that, I sang at the top of my lungs to warn anything else up ahead that we were approaching. Mostly I made up lyrics to the tune I'm Sailing Away by Styx. It went something like this...ahem...'I'm SAILING away...but I don't know the words to this song...so I'll just say stay away from me you big, dumb moose...' And so on and so forth. At one point I came winging around a corner and a group of skiers had stopped on the trail because they heard me coming. They tried not to burst out laughing when they saw me, mid-belt, singing on the sled. I tried to tell them it was the moose, the moose are making me sing, but then we were gone, whizzing past them. I guess you can tell by now that I did not go to the Copper Basin with Ken. He withdrew a couple days ago and opted instead to compete in the 200-mile Cantwell Classic, so I stayed home. Sunday we will race another 20-mile event and I hope we can better our time from last week. We'll see. Time for bed.
Peace.

A for effort

Busy, busy weekend. Saturday I took eight dogs into the White Mountains by myself to do a 32-mile training run. All went well. The dogs were pretty tired at the end but they all worked hard the entire time. Bull and Hazel were in lead. We stopped at the halfway point (Moose Creek Cabin)for about half an hour and I gave the dogs some broth and meat snacks before heading back. On the way back we were slogging up another endless climb when the dogs lunged forward...at a freakin' moose! A big cow was standing on the trail about 20 feet ahead (I didn't see her earlier because it was around a corner) Just as I was about to drop dead of a heart attack, the big beast sauntered off the trail into the woods. Of course I didn't have a gun (I still don't feel comfortable with them) but I had a hatchet, which probably would have just annoyed her, but it was something sharp in my hand and that made me feel better. For the rest of the trip back to the trailhead, I looked behind me every five seconds and sang songs really loud to warn other moose that, not only am I there, I'm also a really bad singer.
Ok. So yesterday I did that 19-mile race. I came in second. I was really, really nervous in the morning and with the temperature hovering around 25 below F (minus 32 Celsius) I thought the race would be cancelled, but it wasn't. So I froze my ass off for 20 miles but we made it and it was actually really fun. The dogs did amazingly well. I had Sister and Puck in lead and despite a few pile-ups, there were no major catastrophes. So, the dogs will get a couple days off and then it's back to training. My goal now is a 200-mile race in March called the Chatanika Challenge but we'll see. It's a qualifier for the Quest but I've resolved that even if I don't do any major races this season, I'm ok with that. This weekend I'm handling for Ken at the Copper Basin 300 in Glennallen. I'll be gone for five days so that will put a glitch in my training. Anyway, gotta run. Here are some pics from the White Mountains on Saturday and the ADAM race on Sunday. Check out my hottie handler.
Peace.
My computer's gone wonky so I can't tell which photos are which. There's one of Sam holding out my leaders, one of me kickin' it to the finish line, another of me coming into the finish, one of my frosty self shortly after parking my team. One of my dogs just before we left the start (that's Wie and Gretzky with Strider yelling 'Let's go!' behind them. Then there's two that I took in the Whites before my camera froze. Enjoy. It's 30 below right now! (35 below for you Canucks).

On the right track

Today was magnificent. I went out on the Alaska Dog Mushers Association track with a six-dog team and we flew! It feels so good to be on a sled again. Sam came with me to help hook up the team and off I went. On the way back my dogs (Sister and Puck in lead) didn't know the command: 'back to the truck' so instead they dragged me over to Curtis Erhart's truck. For those who don't know (or care) Erhart is a big name in sprint mushing here and I was a little embarrassed to have to call out to him to grab my leaders. I've met him a couple times and he actually remembered me from an interview I did with him some time ago. Back then I wasn't mushing so he was surprised to see me on a sled. I believe his exact words were: 'when the f*** did you start mushing?!' We chatted for a few before I watched him hook up 14 dogs and take off down the trail. Tomorrow I'll take eight...maybe 10.
Tonight I had an ADMA meeting where I signed up for Sunday's race. I drew bib #1, which means I go out first. Luckily there are only two of us in the 19-mile class. There are about six different classes from a few miles to 19. I need to do the longer distance for training and also, my dogs are not sprinters so I'd get schooled if I tried to keep up with those guys. Although 19 is actually a sprint...
I'm just using it as a training run and also to get used to bringing a team through an official start chute with all the people, announcers, other dogs etc.
I'm not nervous yet. I know Sunday morning I'll be a wreck. Even those this will be my third race; the first two don't count because they were strictly recreational races. Sam's coming to the track with me tomorrow to get some pics for the blog, so stay tuned.
Peace.

12 more bundles of joy

They have arrived. The dogs that is. So now in our yard we have 20 sled dogs. I feel like a real musher now. Two buckets of food each day, two buckets of crap, fixing houses, fixing lines, canoodling...it's a big chunk of the day. This morning I got out on the sled...finally! Sam helped me hook up and we left right from the yard. Because there still isn't a whole lot of snow I started small. Just a little four-dog micro team. It's really not as fun with that few dogs, but I really had no idea what I was in for. I had never been on these trails before and heard they were pretty bumpy. There was some fresh snow, which made for slow going, but it was fun and dogs got a good workout. I got turned around a couple times and had no idea where I was or which direction I was heading. The trails are directional and I knew a couple times I was going the wrong way on a one-way path. Meh. The worst that could happen is that I have to head-on pass another team and I would get yelled at. I was prepared for that but we saw no one out there and no signs that anyone had been out that far. Tomorrow I'm going to load up six or eight dogs and drive to the trail head so I can start from the beginning and get my bearings. The new dogs have settled in nicely with exception of one big boy named Hawking. Sam calls him Squawkin' Hawkin' because he whines all night long for some reason or another. Usually it's because he's tipped his house over. Last night I got up twice and stumbled down to the dog yard to see what he was yelling about. I'm sure he'll calm down eventually.

So. My new additions are: Gretzky, Pikea, Serena, Hawking, Magnus, Boo, Puck, Maggie, Wylie, Sorlie, Jordan and Wie. Yes, there is a sports' theme to some of these dogs' names. Anyway, tomorrow I'll take out another team, start from the musher's hall and try to find my way home. If I don't post in a couple days, I'm still out there...call for help.
Peace.
Photos of the new ones are on the way.

Happy New Year

Happy Happy! 2007. Man, where does the time go? Meh. I hope everyone's nursing their hangovers well. Bonfire was good. Lots o' fireworks.
Peace