Copper Haul Twister Finale

Well, I finally made it out to one of these damned races.  I really hate going anywhere on the weekends, even dog races because I love my home time with the dogs... but this is a particularly fun bunch of races with loads of good people, good food and most importantly - great dogs!   So it was great to make it out once again.

This was a fitting start to the trip to town for the race - three dog teams on the side of the highway.  

Ok, you can only see people, so you're gonna have to trust me on this one. I always laugh when people stop and/or take pictures of me running dogs down the ditch, then I go and do the same thing... doh! I can't help it I guess.

For real race and series results (and more pics/video), go to the CHT website.

The kids race - notice a little walking two-legged being down the hill? Poor Keegan lost his team (they came back fine, wayyy ahead of him) and he walked a long way back.  Kids don't stop to pick up other kids stranded on the trail, no way! Ha.  What a trooper. However he was not impressed on the way back, but who is after they lose their team, especially when you're about 9 years old. That's ok, he went into his parent's truck and ate most of the Timbits they brought for the potluck.  I hope he felt better after that. :)

The walk of shame... we've all been there.

It's not like THIS guy doesn't get enough press (front page of the Yukon News yesterday, I think he bribes them to put him in there!), but I'm doing it for Asha (the rottie). She's lovely!

Carolynn the trusty vet takes off with Brody, who yaps his head off hilariously as they get going - too freakin' funny!! And I tried to get this head on pass on video, but they were almost too close to me!

Keno eyes


Heather and Keno (and that Dave guy):

Keno is looking right AT the camera... haha. She is one freakin' funny dog!

A kids team comes in first here, then Heather and Keno take of FLYING down the trail.  I was hoping for a head-on pass, but Heather opted to wait till the kids team crossed the finish line, oh well. Disaster averted, dammit.

And they're back!

Now, I'll probably get in trouble for these... but they never read this blog.

Hey, the chili was good thanks to Simi! Gene seemed to like it.

Laura seemed to like it too! I hear Dave liked it slopped on his face too!

Erin's team takes off!

The brand new Yukon Quest Executive Director for the Yukon side - Wendy (& her skijor team extraordinaire).


Happy musher


Skijorer in the 12-mile.

Laura relaxing after her big run. Like she did any work!


The LOOT! It pays to race in this series that's for sure.

Gee, guess who won some beer?

I haven't seen a smile on her that big... well, since a few nights before when she had a growler of Lead Dog Ale in front of her.  It's all it takes really. 

So what happens when Laura's beer accidentally goes "missing"?

"Heyyyy... where'd my beer go??"

She looks around frantically for it, getting all jittery and ready to rip someone's head off...

Eek! Caught! Damn, like she can't spare a 6-pack or two?? She won a ton of beer! Oh well, she did share after the race, so I can't complain... :)

And this year, Jon takes the lovely championship trophy! See you all next year!

Spring Skijoring

NOW it feels like spring! The roads are getting a bit wet as the snow melts in the day as the temps rise above zero degrees, but the trails are still going strong in the bush. And will be for awhile, yay.

Here's a trail I hadn't got to for a week or so and look at all that fresh powder!!

The dog train is going strong.

Jack and Harris drag me down the trail, it's about time, they've had a pretty slack year in terms of pulling this year.  More free running than ever for this crew, but they tell me they're ok with that, since the lack of local trails has made it difficult to get too far.  It is still nice to get out with them, as they're not total freakin' maniacs who try to drag me when I'm down like some dogs I won't mention... 

RIPPER!!!.

Oh god yes, we started the dreaded fetch game again - and that crazy-assed glint in his eyes shows how INSANE he is for the game.  Although, tonight we lost both balls in the deep snow, so we started a new game that I kind of just stumbled upon: "Chuck Pooh Bear! in the snow!" - she looooooves it when you throw her in the snow and she is completely buried and has to "swim" out. Stay tuned for some video of that. :)

The three monsters (Lucy's butt, George, & Gracie) & Kuna chase us as we skijor to get the hell away from them!

All three on the move.

I can't get enough pictures of this, they would do this forever if I could keep it up.

And you can't really appreciate it until you see the video. *Motion Sickness Warning Ahead* 

I hear it's spring...

Everybody seems to be raving about spring lately, and I'm just happy we broke the many nights of -25. But hey, those things happen in March up here!!  And this snow is easily going to be around well into mid-April. However, I am eager to get to spring mode, as much as I love the snow, I have stuff to finish up on this cabin this summer. And I know a lot of stuff is hiding UNDER the many feet of snow. It's like Christmas with the spring melt, I can't wait!

But the great thing is:

is that the highways people have started doing the "spring shoulder cleaning" - when they do a major push to get the snow right off the shoulders.  With the amount of snow we've had this year,  and with my commute, I think YG hwys has done an amazing job of keeping up with it. Thanks from us who live in the boonies!!! :)

And you know what clear shoulders mean?? A hint... after it melts the sweepers come out and clear the gravel out... and that means...

Time to obsess about cycling! This is Jon on the race down at Marsh Lake last August.

And Laura after the final leg 8 at the Kluane International Bike Relay two years ago:

I think she was tired.

Here's Katrina from the team, Laura (upright now, we offered her beer and that helped her become vertical) and Heather from the team. Steph was our support person and is always the person with the best stocked truck! (booze, food, morphine, you name it!)

Steph at the campground - now that's not water in that Nalgene is it??!! Oh I hope we have many summer days like that one this summer... HOT (ok, warmish) and DRY (ok, dryish - I'll just be happy with no constant rain! Especially when mom & dad make their return trip up here in late summer. No rain means I can put them to work outside)

Our bike team is already solid and we can't even sign up yet. Everyone's bikes are in for tune-ups, as we eagerly anticipate the first road ride. The hwys out by my place are still quite snowy so it'll be a few weeks I'm sure. But!  We are wayyyy ahead of the game this year and are planning an early long team road ride by the first weekend of May. Let's hope Mother Nature makes that somewhat pleasant for us. If not, all the winter gear won't be too far away.

But... back to reality. This is where we stand right now in mid-March!

Great offer, act now!!!!

Have you ever found yourself with too many pillows in your house? Do you ever stop and say to your spouse/partner/lover/"friend"/soon-to-be-ex-whatever:

 "Hey ____, I'm thinking we need to cut down on our pillow usage in the house."

Well, do I have the solution for you!  I have two models, both weighing in at about 35lbs, that will take care of your needs. And the best part?? They're FREE!!! Let me tell you a little bit about them. One is brownish-red, slightly quiet (at times) and the other is white and maddeningly screechy (all the time). They are high maintenance but it's worth every penny. They can be silenced, albeit briefly, with Icy Waters Arctic Char (frozen heads & racks preferred). 

Whichever you choose (I will pay YOU to take both! What a deal!!) they will help you rid your household of any unwanted pillows. See Exhibit A:

Exhibit A

As you can see, they especially love to rid the household of FEATHER pillows.  Now I have to tell you, this whole process is EASY and requires very little work on your part.   All you need to do is let them loose in your home, go outside, over to a neighbour's for coffee, and return about 10 minutes later. They will have effectively eradicated your home of all the nuisance pillows you've been meaning to get rid of.  I don't see how you can refuse this offer!!

However -  I can't guarantee that they won't rid your household of other things (cats, goldfish, toddlers, couches, steaks marinating on your kitchen counter, etc).

Exhibit B:

Now, one warning - they do NOT clean up after themselves. I repeat, DO NOT clean up after themselves.  In this photo, it may appear that this dog is cleaning up, but nooooo. She is just spreading the feathers around more. Having wet feet helps with that.

I also will throw in an additional Ripper FOR FREE who is great for eliminating any unwanted wool (or otherwise) socks.

One more warning:

You might not be able to resist the fun in joining in on the pillow-destroying fun. It is rather entertaining to play with thousands of feathers on the loose in your home. In the above photo, I thought it might be fun to give Lucy the little-known and underrepresented in the canine world  "canine feather tiara" - it isn't easy to do! Try it! See how far across your living room you can spread the feathers. 

Act now! I ship anywhere. 

(Is it spring yet?? I think I might need hellllp....)

SAGETRACKER

Ok, here we go! Episode #328 of "What's Sage Watching?"

This week, it's MANTRACKER!

Ooh, this is a new show I have yet to see. I'm intrigued! Plus I like horses, they visit my meadow and they stare at me when I bark at them. One day I'll scare them away.

That is one freakin' cool cowboy... I need a hat like that.

Run prey run!!! God, you bipedal mammals are slooowwwwww....

Geez, now he's walking.  MANTRACKER should try tracking something that challenges him - like me and my stealthy ways.

Ms. almost-in-heat, Esther slides up next to Sage. Apparently tv is much more interesting to this neutered male.

MANTRACKER is closing in on them... yo, Esther outta the way! Why do you keep sticking your butt in my face?!?

As I'm taking pictures I feel something boring into the back of my head and turn around to see this two inches from my face:

Ivy stares me down as she telepathically tries to get me to pet her.


Mmmmm... that's my favourite beer, except Stacie rarely shares. Something about "this precious cold foamy liquid is NOT for dogs..."


Why does Stacie keep drooling and giggling and then tell me to" get out of the way Sage!" when they show THIS cowboy?? And what does "sexy" mean?


Ahm... what do YOU want? MANTRACKER is tracking, do you mind?

Is this dog smart or what? He even reads subtitles!!

Note the cocking of the head to concentrate harder. Yes I raised this canine genius.


Shocker, the man on a freakin' HORSE caught the tragically slow homo sapien. 


Wow MANTRACKER must have been off in the bush chewing tobacco or something to let this one guy win.

Well, that was pretty good. I'll give it a few more episodes before I make my final decision though.

Then we test Sage's tv endurance after an hour of MANTRACKER:

On... The View. He instantly loses interest, but can you blame him??

Oh Elizabeth, man I can't STAND her and her ultra-conservative ways.

Sage really did get up after about five minutes of The View, and walked to the door and sprawled out. He is one picky tv viewer.

Meanwhile, Ripper is just looking for something to eat.

Hmmm, that lamp looks appetizing.


Esther misses all the action while napping on the floor. Such is life in this horribly stressful kennel... :)