I promised to research this. In doing so, I found the move is much more rare than I had realized. It only happened once before, in 2003. Following an article from the Anchorage paper's on line edition, I read some snide comments by various armchair quarterbacks who have lots of "opinions" (mostly not based on fact or concern for the welfare of the dogs and their drivers!) Most I would take with a grain of salt. They do not seem to know jack about the real race.
There were more of the same by global warming fanatics and that ilk. Really, what relevance does fossil fuel use --or limitation--have on the lives of racing sled dogs and this most prestigious race?? Please, take your dang soapbox somewhere else and leave this arena alone. No, I am not going there. I do not question that there are climate changes although I may question the proclaimed causes--which I am pretty sure are a lot broader and more complex than popular opinion tends to credit --but that political type discussion does not belong here. I will say no more nor accept any comments about it unless they clearly tie directly to the race issues. There is not enough snow; the temperatures have varied wildly this winter. Enough said. Too bad they cannot run in Massachusetts!
At any rate, the entire current ITC voted unanimously to move the race. That is good enough for me. The board consists of experienced mushers and people with long association with the race who flew out to look at the trail including the notorious Dalzell Gorge and Farewell Burn areas and pronounced them impassible. Sled dogs have to have snow; well, the sleds especially as the dogs can run on bare ground, of course!
Like the committee, I feel we do not need to potentially kill or maim dogs and mushers out of some stubborn adherence to tradition or the financial concerns of certain villages and checkpoints on the normal trail. I think even the late great Joe Reddington would go along with that, may he RIP. The Committee announced the change now so the logistics could be managed and everything made ready for the official start on March 9 in Fairbanks. There is trail marking and some grooming, checkpoints to be set up, musher drop bags to be distributed and so on. It's a big, no a huge, logistical job. I for one applaud their decision and will definitely not try to second guess them.
It is going to make for a different and interesting race I am sure. Good mushers and good teams will do well as they always do. Perhaps without the terrible conditions of the last two runs to contend with, even the rookies and those who do not try to win but merely run for the adventure and experience will fare better as well. There will still be hard areas, ice, weather and all the normal issues to contend with. I'm sure it will not be a sissy race! It never is and pray never becomes so. If there is ever a 1000 mile paved and plowed road for the trail, I will lose interest fast!
Anyway that's the facts, ma'am, as far as the northern start goes. I think I got my data from reliable sources and I have no complaints. The race will head off in the opposite direction--south and west--from that which the Yukon Quest follows--out in even years and in for odd ones, like this year, on the Chena River. The Iditarod will follow the Tenana River for the initial route. The influx of visitors will be a boost for Fairbanks' economy, at least. Oh darn, but I want to be there!
Friday, February 20, 2015
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
Yukon Quest Wrap-up
It's over although not all the racers are in. It'll be another day or two--maybe even more. Of the twenty five starters, forty percent scratched at various points along the trail, most citing the welfare of their teams. It was a very tough race with brutal cold for the first half-plus and then a sudden rise in temperatures to near or above freezing.
The leaders--two teams-- got in to Fairbanks late last night (right behind the site of my background photo here!) at temps in the upper twenties with freezing rain/snow mixed slushing down on them. Brent Sass got his win; I cannot begrudge him. He ran a fine race and was in the lead much of the time. Allen Moore came in second. He was briefly ahead but could not hold the place. The next two are far behind and will be in late this evening--Ed Hopkins who is "Mr. Michelle Phillips" and a guy I do not know or had not previously heard of although he may be a regular racer in Canada. He's not been on the Iditarod roster that I can recall. Hugh Neff is a distant fifth place.
Slower than the Iditarod, this race crosses several mountain ranges and is known for the brutal cold. At times it has been as low as 60 below zero. It wasn't quite there this year but the cold lasted--very little easing even during daylight hours. The run time was just under ten days for the two top places. I think that is about par for the last few years. I'll have to research the speed record.
Moore and the Black Team ran a good race. I can't armchair quarterback but I do have a theory. The last checkpoint and stop was at Two Rivers, the community north and a bit west of Fairbanks where Allen and Aliy have their kennel. Although the stop was not right there, the dogs had to know with their keen sense of place and direction that they were not far from home. They were tired and had already run some 950 tough miles. Why was Dad asking them to get up and go some more?
They are good loyal and willing dogs and they went but their hearts could not have been 110% in it. Also, Quito was leading, I think. She is an amazing dog but she is Aliy's dog and many of these huskies are very much one-person dogs. She works well for Allen but maybe not with that tiny extra bit of will. Then, as a YQ multi-winner, I doubt that Allen was quite as hungry for that win as Brent was plus for Brent's dogs it was just another checkpoint. Who knows? That's just my very amateur analysis.
So we've one big one down and the other to go. The Iditarod Trail Committee has recently announced that the official start will be in Fairbanks this year. They will do the normal ceremonial start in Anchorage but then take an extra day to trek north because the area around Wasilla and Willow and even farther north and west just does not have any snow. This has been done a few times before--I'll know exactly by the time I report again--so is not unprecedented but it will put a very different twist on the race as about a third to half the trail will not be the familiar one. How this will impact the top ten or fifteen racers and teams who know the normal route well remains to be seen. More on that in the next couple of weeks!
Anyway my congratulations to Brent Sass--who is single, gals, if you have ambitions to move to Alaska and get involved with mushing! He's 34 and lives in Eureka, AK although originally from Minnesota. His kennel is called Wild and Free and he's working hard to make a name for it and himself. Congratulations as well to Allen Moore and the Black Team, many members of which will be running in Aliy's Red Team in three weeks. The real start of the Iditarod will be on March 9. There is little doubt second place in these big races is no small feat and deserves serious kudos IMHO! Anyone who finishes in whatever order is a real champ; it's something so many could and would never even try. So no second place finisher needs to hang his or her head!
Here's a shot of Allen last August when I visited SP Kennel. He was talking about dogs and racing and equipment, all subjects clearly near, dear and very important to him! He is a really nice guy, kind of droll but as charming in his quiet way as is Aliy. They are just great folks! I feel so honored to have met and talked with them and hope to do so again. Hike, hike!
The leaders--two teams-- got in to Fairbanks late last night (right behind the site of my background photo here!) at temps in the upper twenties with freezing rain/snow mixed slushing down on them. Brent Sass got his win; I cannot begrudge him. He ran a fine race and was in the lead much of the time. Allen Moore came in second. He was briefly ahead but could not hold the place. The next two are far behind and will be in late this evening--Ed Hopkins who is "Mr. Michelle Phillips" and a guy I do not know or had not previously heard of although he may be a regular racer in Canada. He's not been on the Iditarod roster that I can recall. Hugh Neff is a distant fifth place.
Slower than the Iditarod, this race crosses several mountain ranges and is known for the brutal cold. At times it has been as low as 60 below zero. It wasn't quite there this year but the cold lasted--very little easing even during daylight hours. The run time was just under ten days for the two top places. I think that is about par for the last few years. I'll have to research the speed record.
Moore and the Black Team ran a good race. I can't armchair quarterback but I do have a theory. The last checkpoint and stop was at Two Rivers, the community north and a bit west of Fairbanks where Allen and Aliy have their kennel. Although the stop was not right there, the dogs had to know with their keen sense of place and direction that they were not far from home. They were tired and had already run some 950 tough miles. Why was Dad asking them to get up and go some more?
They are good loyal and willing dogs and they went but their hearts could not have been 110% in it. Also, Quito was leading, I think. She is an amazing dog but she is Aliy's dog and many of these huskies are very much one-person dogs. She works well for Allen but maybe not with that tiny extra bit of will. Then, as a YQ multi-winner, I doubt that Allen was quite as hungry for that win as Brent was plus for Brent's dogs it was just another checkpoint. Who knows? That's just my very amateur analysis.
So we've one big one down and the other to go. The Iditarod Trail Committee has recently announced that the official start will be in Fairbanks this year. They will do the normal ceremonial start in Anchorage but then take an extra day to trek north because the area around Wasilla and Willow and even farther north and west just does not have any snow. This has been done a few times before--I'll know exactly by the time I report again--so is not unprecedented but it will put a very different twist on the race as about a third to half the trail will not be the familiar one. How this will impact the top ten or fifteen racers and teams who know the normal route well remains to be seen. More on that in the next couple of weeks!
Anyway my congratulations to Brent Sass--who is single, gals, if you have ambitions to move to Alaska and get involved with mushing! He's 34 and lives in Eureka, AK although originally from Minnesota. His kennel is called Wild and Free and he's working hard to make a name for it and himself. Congratulations as well to Allen Moore and the Black Team, many members of which will be running in Aliy's Red Team in three weeks. The real start of the Iditarod will be on March 9. There is little doubt second place in these big races is no small feat and deserves serious kudos IMHO! Anyone who finishes in whatever order is a real champ; it's something so many could and would never even try. So no second place finisher needs to hang his or her head!
Here's a shot of Allen last August when I visited SP Kennel. He was talking about dogs and racing and equipment, all subjects clearly near, dear and very important to him! He is a really nice guy, kind of droll but as charming in his quiet way as is Aliy. They are just great folks! I feel so honored to have met and talked with them and hope to do so again. Hike, hike!
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
YQ Update
Aliy and the Red Team finished the YQ300 in second place, behind Michelle Phillips, another fine lady musher. The Yukon is Michelle's home and she knows that area well. She deserved a win and I can't begrudge her!! Her husband, like Aliy's, is running the full YQ and the men have the best, toughest dogs for their teams. Aliy was running some young and less experienced dogs but they did an awesome job with a couple of veterans to help them stay on track. This was one tough race, temperatures well below zero the entire time, a lot of ice, and just generally a hard course. Congrats to both ladies! Women mushers rock!!
Meanwhile Allen and Ed Hopkins, Michelle's hubby, are trucking along not too far from the Alaska/International Border in the top ten pack which seem to be running a pretty tight grouping and probably yelling a lot of "on by" as they ask for the trail to pass one another. Near the halfway point and the race could be anyone's in that group when they reach Fairbanks later in the week. Right now Brent Sass is in the lead; he was ahead when he had to scratch due to an accident last year. But Allen and Ed are close behind as are Hugh Neff and Jeff King. Must be pretty exciting! Five racers have scratched so far. I expect unless there are accidents most now running will finish the race.
This is a photo by Aliy's support team (copyrighted I know but it's too pretty not to share). She and the Red Team were leaving Pelly, the "final" turnaround YQ300 checkpoint, at midday yesterday. Like the old Johnny Horton song said, "When it's springtime in Alaska it's 40 below." Yukon Territory too. It might have been just -30 about this time...but it looks like a Christmas card!! I notice Aliy is not ski-poling here as she usually does in the Iditarod. I think because it is icy and fast.
Meanwhile Allen and Ed Hopkins, Michelle's hubby, are trucking along not too far from the Alaska/International Border in the top ten pack which seem to be running a pretty tight grouping and probably yelling a lot of "on by" as they ask for the trail to pass one another. Near the halfway point and the race could be anyone's in that group when they reach Fairbanks later in the week. Right now Brent Sass is in the lead; he was ahead when he had to scratch due to an accident last year. But Allen and Ed are close behind as are Hugh Neff and Jeff King. Must be pretty exciting! Five racers have scratched so far. I expect unless there are accidents most now running will finish the race.
This is a photo by Aliy's support team (copyrighted I know but it's too pretty not to share). She and the Red Team were leaving Pelly, the "final" turnaround YQ300 checkpoint, at midday yesterday. Like the old Johnny Horton song said, "When it's springtime in Alaska it's 40 below." Yukon Territory too. It might have been just -30 about this time...but it looks like a Christmas card!! I notice Aliy is not ski-poling here as she usually does in the Iditarod. I think because it is icy and fast.
Thursday, February 5, 2015
Listen for the howls!
Excitement is ramping up as the YQ start is only a day and hours away now! Just waiting for that "Ready, hike!" command.
From the SP Kennel's page I know for sure that Aliy is running the YQ300 while Allen will be defending his championship in the big one. It starts first and then the 300 miler a few hours later.
It's cold but I can just feel the tension and urgency from White Horse as they racers get ready, the press, fans and camp followers gather and food and drink flow freely! I won't know which SP dogs are running in the Black (Allen's) and Red (Aliy's) teams until after the race is on probably, but I hope some of my favorite dogs will be among them. I met several this summer and some are real characters. Quito, of course, plus Chica, the SPK Ginger's and the four other pups mom and Olivia and Willie and Waylon and --well, just a bunch of awesome marvelous canines!
I can't share pictures from the YQ or the SPK site but you can go there and look. Here is one of me with Olivia, anyway! It was her birthday when I was there in August. She's a sweetie.
From the SP Kennel's page I know for sure that Aliy is running the YQ300 while Allen will be defending his championship in the big one. It starts first and then the 300 miler a few hours later.
It's cold but I can just feel the tension and urgency from White Horse as they racers get ready, the press, fans and camp followers gather and food and drink flow freely! I won't know which SP dogs are running in the Black (Allen's) and Red (Aliy's) teams until after the race is on probably, but I hope some of my favorite dogs will be among them. I met several this summer and some are real characters. Quito, of course, plus Chica, the SPK Ginger's and the four other pups mom and Olivia and Willie and Waylon and --well, just a bunch of awesome marvelous canines!
I can't share pictures from the YQ or the SPK site but you can go there and look. Here is one of me with Olivia, anyway! It was her birthday when I was there in August. She's a sweetie.
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
The Big Ones are getting close!
It's not even two weeks now until the Yukon Quest starts, this year in White Horse, Yukon Territory, Canada. I was just reading on the SP Kennel blog about the preparation of their drop bags which were just delivered to the Fairbanks HQ of the quest. I know Allen Moore will be running the Black Team this year. I am not sure if Aliy will have her dogs in the YQ 300 or not, the shorter version of the race. Then in just four weeks more, the Iditarod will begin. They start this year on Feb 7 for the YQ and March 7 for the Iditarod.
There are no flowers around the YQ Headquarters today. On their web site and Facebook pages you get a snowy current view but this was how I saw in in August. It was about -30 in Fairbanks today but I still wish I was there to be getting ready and helping in some way. I am praying and hoping and working to make that happen next year! Meanwhile you can bet I will be keeping very close tabs on each race as it progresses and sending lots of good vibes and energies out to my favorite teams and their drivers!
I recently read the to-date life story (he's too young for a biography!) of Dallas Seavey, the young man who has beaten Aliy in the Iditarod twice in the last three years. I figured it was important to know as much about him as I can for my future book, a bit of how and why he is a champion. Of course it does run in the family. His grandpa Dan was in the first Iditarod and his father Mitch has competed a number of times and beat Aliy in between Dallas' two wins.
But what really piqued my interest was how Dallas met his main sponsor, a couple from Michigan vacationing in Alaska. J.J. Keller is mainly in the transportation business but was impressed with Dallas who was a champion wrestler before he got back to driving dogs competitively after some injuries in his other event. Keller saw something in the young man that won his respect and he has supported him for the years it took to make that first win.
Well, on a long shot I thought hey, maybe they would be willing to invest a bit of support in an old dog with a new trick and help my project so I have written them a letter. No reply so far but eventually I have to hit the right spot and find someone for whom my story will resonate. I keep trying but meanwhile keep slogging along on my own as best I can. You do not mush a thousand miles in a day or two.
I'll be posting more as the races take place, I am sure, probably duplicating what others are saying but sharing it all from my own perhaps peculiar perspective! Ready, hike!
There are no flowers around the YQ Headquarters today. On their web site and Facebook pages you get a snowy current view but this was how I saw in in August. It was about -30 in Fairbanks today but I still wish I was there to be getting ready and helping in some way. I am praying and hoping and working to make that happen next year! Meanwhile you can bet I will be keeping very close tabs on each race as it progresses and sending lots of good vibes and energies out to my favorite teams and their drivers!
I recently read the to-date life story (he's too young for a biography!) of Dallas Seavey, the young man who has beaten Aliy in the Iditarod twice in the last three years. I figured it was important to know as much about him as I can for my future book, a bit of how and why he is a champion. Of course it does run in the family. His grandpa Dan was in the first Iditarod and his father Mitch has competed a number of times and beat Aliy in between Dallas' two wins.
But what really piqued my interest was how Dallas met his main sponsor, a couple from Michigan vacationing in Alaska. J.J. Keller is mainly in the transportation business but was impressed with Dallas who was a champion wrestler before he got back to driving dogs competitively after some injuries in his other event. Keller saw something in the young man that won his respect and he has supported him for the years it took to make that first win.
Well, on a long shot I thought hey, maybe they would be willing to invest a bit of support in an old dog with a new trick and help my project so I have written them a letter. No reply so far but eventually I have to hit the right spot and find someone for whom my story will resonate. I keep trying but meanwhile keep slogging along on my own as best I can. You do not mush a thousand miles in a day or two.
I'll be posting more as the races take place, I am sure, probably duplicating what others are saying but sharing it all from my own perhaps peculiar perspective! Ready, hike!
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
2015 Sled Dog Racing Season is in progress!
Although there are some other odds and ends of races, the Copper Basin 300 is pretty much the official kick off of the annual racing season in Alaska. This year's race took place this past weekend starting and ending at the community of Glennallen in southeastern Alaska. (SE although not down on the long southern arm. It is north and east of Wasilla/Palmer in a rather mountainous historical mining area.) The race has been in existence for several years and is one of the qualifiers for the Iditarod. Yes, it is 300 miles long and takes about three days to run, not quite a third the length of the big ones. It is reputed to be a challenging race although not quite on a par with the big two.
About fifty teams entered this year. A few scratched out but about forty-four finished. The first team across the finish line was the SP Kennel Black Team driven by Allen Moore. He was defending his championship as last year's winner and will be competing in the Yukon Quest next month as well. Aliy Zirkle (Mrs Moore) was driving the SPK Red Team and came in sixth. Their protegee Spencer also ran the 2015 Copper Basin and I do not have his placement at the moment.
I may be out of order here but my observation has been that Aliy and Allen may both enter a race but they do not directly compete. One of them will have the special light and strong sled designed and built by Allen (pictured at right) and the most likely dogs in harness while the other will be giving experience to some younger dogs and training, testing and assessing dogs in various places in the lashup. Aliy won the Yukon Quest once several years ago but does not now compete in it--except for the shorter division--while Allen has won it several times to include 2014 and will be back to defend his title again this year. He also runs the Iditarod but usually well back in the pack with young and developing dogs.
The past few years Aliy has been very focused on the Iditarod and, as we all know, has come in a closer second place finish each of the last three runs. I am sure she'll be giving it her best again when the race heads out of Willow the first Saturday in March and I will be with her in spirit! I'm hoping this will be her year but there is a huge element of luck as well as many other factors at play. Sometimes the best team does not actually get there first...
But meanwhile I will follow some other three hundred milers and the YQ, which kicks off early in February. How I would love to be in Fairbanks when the first racers come in--maybe Allen Moore again or any one of some very notable mushers who are among the twenty six competitors running this year to include such well known names as Jeff King and Lance Mackey. I saw about six or eight women in the list of entrants posted on the YQ site. If you want to go take a look for yourself, the YQ site is at http://www.yukonquest.com/ and the mushers' portraits scroll in the upper left hand corner. You can click on them to read a bio and information.
Another Copper Basin racer whose placing I do not yet have is Paige Drobney who I met this past summer. That's her on the left with one of her dogs. Her kennel outside of Fairbanks is named Squid Acres as she's a marine biologist by trade and schooling, working summers to support her dogs and racing. I do not think her partner races although he supports her efforts with a lot of hard work! And I can vouch that keeping a kennel and training and racing dogs is one big job--if you are not supported by big sponsors and able to afford an extensive staff of many assistants, you are going to be one busy person--or two or three.
That is what makes the feats of rather independent and initially little known racers of earlier times so amazing. Libby Riddles did not have a big team of backers and got most of her training from Joe Redington and a one-time partner, Joe Garnie, who was also a racer in the early Iditarod days. Susan Butcher did not start big either. Of course things have changed a lot in the past twenty years or so. Still, there is a lot of brutal work and tedious hours involved. You have to really love this to put in the effort and dedication required even to complete races, much less win them. That is yet another reason for my deep admiration of these folks, especially the women.
About fifty teams entered this year. A few scratched out but about forty-four finished. The first team across the finish line was the SP Kennel Black Team driven by Allen Moore. He was defending his championship as last year's winner and will be competing in the Yukon Quest next month as well. Aliy Zirkle (Mrs Moore) was driving the SPK Red Team and came in sixth. Their protegee Spencer also ran the 2015 Copper Basin and I do not have his placement at the moment.
I may be out of order here but my observation has been that Aliy and Allen may both enter a race but they do not directly compete. One of them will have the special light and strong sled designed and built by Allen (pictured at right) and the most likely dogs in harness while the other will be giving experience to some younger dogs and training, testing and assessing dogs in various places in the lashup. Aliy won the Yukon Quest once several years ago but does not now compete in it--except for the shorter division--while Allen has won it several times to include 2014 and will be back to defend his title again this year. He also runs the Iditarod but usually well back in the pack with young and developing dogs.The past few years Aliy has been very focused on the Iditarod and, as we all know, has come in a closer second place finish each of the last three runs. I am sure she'll be giving it her best again when the race heads out of Willow the first Saturday in March and I will be with her in spirit! I'm hoping this will be her year but there is a huge element of luck as well as many other factors at play. Sometimes the best team does not actually get there first...
But meanwhile I will follow some other three hundred milers and the YQ, which kicks off early in February. How I would love to be in Fairbanks when the first racers come in--maybe Allen Moore again or any one of some very notable mushers who are among the twenty six competitors running this year to include such well known names as Jeff King and Lance Mackey. I saw about six or eight women in the list of entrants posted on the YQ site. If you want to go take a look for yourself, the YQ site is at http://www.yukonquest.com/ and the mushers' portraits scroll in the upper left hand corner. You can click on them to read a bio and information.
Another Copper Basin racer whose placing I do not yet have is Paige Drobney who I met this past summer. That's her on the left with one of her dogs. Her kennel outside of Fairbanks is named Squid Acres as she's a marine biologist by trade and schooling, working summers to support her dogs and racing. I do not think her partner races although he supports her efforts with a lot of hard work! And I can vouch that keeping a kennel and training and racing dogs is one big job--if you are not supported by big sponsors and able to afford an extensive staff of many assistants, you are going to be one busy person--or two or three.That is what makes the feats of rather independent and initially little known racers of earlier times so amazing. Libby Riddles did not have a big team of backers and got most of her training from Joe Redington and a one-time partner, Joe Garnie, who was also a racer in the early Iditarod days. Susan Butcher did not start big either. Of course things have changed a lot in the past twenty years or so. Still, there is a lot of brutal work and tedious hours involved. You have to really love this to put in the effort and dedication required even to complete races, much less win them. That is yet another reason for my deep admiration of these folks, especially the women.
Thursday, January 8, 2015
Slogging along...with miles to go
Although the Go Fund Me page does not reflect it, I did get a couple of very generous and special off-line direct donations during the holiday season and the savings account took a pretty nice jump. It's not enough to get me there yet but its growing! Now that there is a new calendar year, I will work extra hard on some grants and similar sources for further help. Most of them go on a yearly cycle and the earlier your request gets there the better your chances. I know this is still a long shot but I am going to give it all I can.
Here is 'sunny' New Mexico it is mostly dry but the weather is bouncing all over-and driving us nuts. One day it is 60+ and we can sit out soaking up sun and then all at once it is gray and a high in the lower 40s with hard freezes at night and no sun to speak of. It seems like everyone in town is sick with one or a combination of 'bugs' that are going around. I'm no exception--cough, stuffed sinuses, aches and mild fever--just totally yucko and it wants to hang around. If iron, zinc, L-lysine, echinacea and vitamin C won't kick this thing, I guess I'll just have to wait for summer. Curses! It is slowing but not stopping me.
Whenever I get a little bit down about this project, I read some more in the books I am collecting. Right now I'm in the middle of Joe Redington's story--what a guy! He was born three years before my Mom (1917). He grew up in the lower 48 in a very rough life, maybe good background for the future. Without him the Iditarod would never have happened and would never have continued to become the incredible event it is today.
The often zany and astounding things he did and the tireless way he worked to get it started and keep it going forward when there were a zillion obstacles in the way are really an inspiration. You just never say never and absolutely refuse to take no for an answer. That was the way he operated and bless him for that! So I've got to take a cue from him and from Libby Riddles who mushed on through a fierce blizzard to win and many others whose stories may not get fully told if I don't hang in there and make it happen!
Hike, hike, hike! Team, we've got a long way to go but we can do it!! Hang in there with me.
Sunday, December 21, 2014
At perhaps checkpoint two...
http://spkenneldoglog.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2014-08-19T07:30:00-08:00&max-results=10&start=50&by-date=false
Sorry it is so long; I need to learn how to do the mini-link versions! But this is a powerful story for us dog lovers.
In terms of my personal race, I'm maybe just past the second checkpoint or so. It is cold and dark and the long, hard trail stretches out into the distance, mostly unseen and only imagined for the hard and the smooth spots it holds. As Tolkien said, the road goes even on. My far distant place waits ahead...
I've almost finished Mary Shields' book and have a new order from Amazon coming in the next few days of a number of relevant tomes. I read Murder on the Iditarod Trail by Sue Henry which a friend turned me on to. As a mystery it did not seem to be on a par with some of my favorite authors' work such as Hillerman and J.A. Jance or Margaret Coel but she got most of the race stuff right. I will give her an "E" for effort and perhaps an A- for research and making the atmosphere live. Mysteries are hard to write; so far I have not managed one!
Yesterday a friend and I had a book signing at a small local store which sells used books to help support the city library. We gave a donation from our sales although they were not colossal. The highlight of my day was a lady who bought a book but then saw my poster about The Admirable Snowwomen which is kind of a working title for my book. She picked up my brochure about this project and read my poem aloud; we both teared up. I do not think she has ever been in Alaska as I hadn't this time last year but she wants to and is another desert rat Iditarod fan. That poem was a gift to me, channeled from the minds and spirits of many who've run that incredible race. I do feel a lot from it and most readers seem to as well. Thank you to the folk whose hearts and spirits shared the emotions and visions with me. I pray for your continued help as I go on with this effort that means so much to me.
If you missed it the first time, here it is again:
Iditarod
Iditarod: far, distant place.
A dream. A myth. A trail. A race.
Beneath aurora blazing bright,
Through cold and wind and long, dark night.
Cheering crowds at start and end
But in between, rare is the friend
Who braves the wild to aid or say,
They’re with you in spirit along that way.
Out on that trail, just you and your team
The elements battle to chase this dream.
Those dogs on which your life depends,
Now closer and dearer than kin or friends.
Together, such trust and faith you share
For only true teamwork will get you there.
There are no losers; all winners complete.
Your goal you’ve reached and it feels so sweet.
Despite the pain and the tears you spend,
Somehow you hate to see it end.
Iditarod: far, distant place.
A goal, a dream, a test, a race.
© GMW 25 Aug 14
Saturday, December 6, 2014
"Homesick" for Alaska
Even if I have never lived there, I really miss the place!! My friend and heroine Mary Shields quoted from Robert Service in her book, Sled Dog Trails which I am reading: "And I want to go back -- and I will," Yes, oh very much yes!!
By the way, Sled Dog Trails is a delightful read, full of Mary's humor and unique outlook on everything. She's a treasure! The children's books Mary wrote are precious too and I've got a set for my great granddaughter over in Tucson for Christmas. They are about kids and dogs, of course!
It is ironic that the gray dull days here depress me--but then they are not 'normal' or expected. I think I could handle them better in Alaska where they are a rule rather than an exception. We seem to be having quite a few which make the fair and warm ones even more treasured.
I feed my Alaska longing by following some of my other heroines on their blogs and Facebook pages. It is a busy time for the mushers as they work and train their dogs, deal with injuries and the special care needed to get their teams up to peak performance for the race season which will be starting very soon. There is not a lot of snow down around Wasilla and Willow yet and not a huge amount near Fairbanks but they are all working. I read and absorb every word!
Right now it is looking iffy to get to Fairbanks for the ending of the Yukon Quest but I have not given up hope. I got a private donation of sorts that boosted my account from the rather discouraging level on my Go Fund Me page although surprises appear there periodically for which I am fiercely grateful. If it is to be, it will work out. Maybe the Iditarod in March will be possible.
It is still mostly fall here in south central New Mexico, "the promised land" as my equally desert rat brother calls it. I took photos of the golden cottonwood trees in the town's Alameda Park yesterday and then went to another site to get a picture of my Ginger, the future sled-dog Ginger's doggie God Mother pretending she, too, was going to be a sled dog. No, not snow although the white gypsum sand at the White Sands National Monument almost looks the same. But for the blue mountains in the background instead of white capped, it could be the north lands... I want to go back--and I will!
By the way, Sled Dog Trails is a delightful read, full of Mary's humor and unique outlook on everything. She's a treasure! The children's books Mary wrote are precious too and I've got a set for my great granddaughter over in Tucson for Christmas. They are about kids and dogs, of course!
It is ironic that the gray dull days here depress me--but then they are not 'normal' or expected. I think I could handle them better in Alaska where they are a rule rather than an exception. We seem to be having quite a few which make the fair and warm ones even more treasured.
I feed my Alaska longing by following some of my other heroines on their blogs and Facebook pages. It is a busy time for the mushers as they work and train their dogs, deal with injuries and the special care needed to get their teams up to peak performance for the race season which will be starting very soon. There is not a lot of snow down around Wasilla and Willow yet and not a huge amount near Fairbanks but they are all working. I read and absorb every word!
Right now it is looking iffy to get to Fairbanks for the ending of the Yukon Quest but I have not given up hope. I got a private donation of sorts that boosted my account from the rather discouraging level on my Go Fund Me page although surprises appear there periodically for which I am fiercely grateful. If it is to be, it will work out. Maybe the Iditarod in March will be possible.
It is still mostly fall here in south central New Mexico, "the promised land" as my equally desert rat brother calls it. I took photos of the golden cottonwood trees in the town's Alameda Park yesterday and then went to another site to get a picture of my Ginger, the future sled-dog Ginger's doggie God Mother pretending she, too, was going to be a sled dog. No, not snow although the white gypsum sand at the White Sands National Monument almost looks the same. But for the blue mountains in the background instead of white capped, it could be the north lands... I want to go back--and I will!
Thursday, November 20, 2014
Sled Dog Quilt is done
I put the binding on it today and did the tying through to secure the layers. I probably could quilt on my heavy duty Singer machine but I do not try to; I mess up too much as it is! Well, I'll just say I have learned from the Navajo women weavers who always put a small subtle error into their rugs because if they ever make a perfect one, it will be their last!
Usually I sell or give away my quilt projects but this one is going to stay with me "forever." Several special pieces of fabric in it were bought in Wasilla, Talkeetna and Fairbanks on my summer trip. I'm entertaining the idea of taking it with me on my next trip and getting the autographs of some of my favorite lady mushers in the lighter colored solid areas. Like all my quilts, this one is two-sided so there is no "front" or "back".
Anyway I will share some pictures of it. I also will share that I have enough fabric left that I can probably make a second one in the near future and that one just may be raffled off via my gofundme page or elsewhere to add some much needed funds to that slow-growing stash for the future trips. Yes, I continue to look for potential help--most of the grants for writers are really not well suited for this project but somewhere there is someone who will take a chance on an older lady and her big dream, on this very special project that I know needs to be done! Just as I know I am the one who needs to do it.
Be sure to follow Aliy's great blog at the SPDoglog (http://spkenneldoglog.blogspot.com/) and her facebook page. Lisbet Norris also has both as does Paige Drobney and several of the other lady mushers. I'll share some URLs next time for those.
It's getting cold and snowy around Fairbanks now and of course down around Denali Park so the dogs are starting their training. The race season begins with some shorter runs after the first of the year. The Copper Basin 300 (miles) is one of the early ones and Aliy, her husband Allen Moore, and a new dog handler they have on the staff are all going to run in it. You can bet I will be following the action! Then Yukon Quest kicks off in February--the "other big race" which is often billed as the toughest race on earth for good reason so expect to hear a lot more about that one! Allen has won it a number of times and will start as the defending champ this time. Aliy won once several years ago, one of a very few if not the only woman to do so (need to research this some more) but she now concentrates on the Iditarod.
Usually I sell or give away my quilt projects but this one is going to stay with me "forever." Several special pieces of fabric in it were bought in Wasilla, Talkeetna and Fairbanks on my summer trip. I'm entertaining the idea of taking it with me on my next trip and getting the autographs of some of my favorite lady mushers in the lighter colored solid areas. Like all my quilts, this one is two-sided so there is no "front" or "back".
Anyway I will share some pictures of it. I also will share that I have enough fabric left that I can probably make a second one in the near future and that one just may be raffled off via my gofundme page or elsewhere to add some much needed funds to that slow-growing stash for the future trips. Yes, I continue to look for potential help--most of the grants for writers are really not well suited for this project but somewhere there is someone who will take a chance on an older lady and her big dream, on this very special project that I know needs to be done! Just as I know I am the one who needs to do it.Be sure to follow Aliy's great blog at the SPDoglog (http://spkenneldoglog.blogspot.com/) and her facebook page. Lisbet Norris also has both as does Paige Drobney and several of the other lady mushers. I'll share some URLs next time for those.
It's getting cold and snowy around Fairbanks now and of course down around Denali Park so the dogs are starting their training. The race season begins with some shorter runs after the first of the year. The Copper Basin 300 (miles) is one of the early ones and Aliy, her husband Allen Moore, and a new dog handler they have on the staff are all going to run in it. You can bet I will be following the action! Then Yukon Quest kicks off in February--the "other big race" which is often billed as the toughest race on earth for good reason so expect to hear a lot more about that one! Allen has won it a number of times and will start as the defending champ this time. Aliy won once several years ago, one of a very few if not the only woman to do so (need to research this some more) but she now concentrates on the Iditarod.
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