November 10, 1999

Well hello to all. Things are going pretty well here. We had another good weekend of training on the dogs. On Monday I went to the Kikino Metis Settlement, about 1 1/2 hours from here and talked to the kids. One of the pups, Odie, and Lyra came along for the trip. We all had a really good time.

Yesterday I wanted to get a run in on the dogs, but ended up returning phone calls, booking airline tickets, and doing some trip planning. It is only 6 weeks till I head up to Alaska, so I can't let details get away from me. This morning Mark and I were counting how many days we are going to be in Alaska and trying to figure out how much kibble and meat we will need for the dogs. Then, of course, we are working on the food drops for Iditarod. We need to cut up and package all the meat for the trail, as well the rest of the dogs food, my food, extra gear, etc, etc. I can't wait till all that is out of the way and I can get on the trail!!!!! I think that is a pretty common feeling among mushers!

I did also get one fun chore in yesterday - it was a Straw Day!!! The dogs just love straw. It is like Christmas in the yard when I drag out the skidder and start dividing up a bale. The pups hadn't seen straw before and it is so scattered across their kennel that it won't offer much insulating value for them, but they sure had fun running around chasing each other through it! The older dogs aren't much better. They bounce and bark, grab mouthfuls out of my arms and dash around their areas shaking their heads and sending straw flying! After dinner there was a lot of satisfied 'sighs' as the dogs bedded down in their houses for the night! I think the mental benefits of Straw Day are just about as good as the physical ones!
Well, I need to get outside and get the dogs fed, so I can run later this morning. We give the dogs 2 hours after their breakfast to digest their meal before asking them to work.