Two years ago, when Paul grabbed third place in the 1,100 mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, a subsequent television movie about the event was titled, "Mother Nature's Turn to Dance".  Well, I would have to say that the way our season has progressed this year, she has her shoes back on and keeps switching the radio dial to find the beat she is happy with!  While we had a brief window of early season snow that offered hope for the welcome switch from training with an ATV to using a dog sled, those hopes vanished like the veil of white under warmer temperatures and rain.  Since then we have had mud, bare frozen ground, ice, and last night - with our Christmas lights blowing in the wind - pouring rain again.  Believe me, more than ever "I'm dreaming of a WHITE Christmas"!

Since late November, Paul has been forced to seek out points north in interior Alaska in search of snow and trails he can train the team on.  His last run directly from the kennel here was actually on Thanksgiving evening.  We were experiencing winds well over the 60mph mark and absolute pouring rain.  The normal trails winding through the forest and near the roadways of our Kenai Peninsula kennel here were impassable for the dogs then due to ice and frozen rutted ground.  So Paul turned to his last option, and least favorite, the extended shoreline of the Cook Inlet beach near our home.  With the rain drilling down in sheets, and the wind kicking up sand and saltwater, Paul and our helper Tyler, ran the dogs along the shoreline well into the hours of darkness. The timing of the run had to coincide with the tides of Cook Inlet, which are well known to be the second highest tide turns in North America.  From over a mile of silty exposed beach at low tide, the water swallows up ground in a matter of minutes when the tide turns and will leave no beach to travel on next to the high bluff on the shoreline. Coupled with the wind-driven waves of the inlet, it is a deadly situation if not timed correctly.

Paul did not have problems with the tides on this run, but the miles of beach, the rain, the wind and then mudslides that the dogs would cross pulling the ATV made the whole event less than enjoyable for everyone involved - dogs and musher alike.  When we were watering and unharnessing dogs in winds so strong they blew the bowls away and the hats off our heads, with rain pouring down our backs and soaking through our rain gear; Paul said he kept looking at the dogs' eyes and he knew he had to do something different for them.

Since then, he has been up near the area where the Copper Basin 300 Sled Dog Race is each year, in the Glennallen area of Alaska on the edge of Lake Louise.  Together with Tyler, they have all of the race dogs there, and are staging from a lodge that is dog-friendly.  They are running the dogs along the extended 30-miles of frozen lake surface available, as well as through some of the area trails.  There is about 10 inches of snow on the ground there, which compared to the bare ground that got washed by yet another night of pouring rain here at the kennel, seems like a mountain of snow.  This certainly is not the ideal situation for training. The drive is 8 hours one way to reach the area, plus being away from home for dogs and mushers alike.  But they are getting some long runs in, which is very important at this stage in the game.  Right now, they come home about once a week and regroup with supplies.  The dogs are home in their own houses for a couple nights and I am happy to see Paul rather than just talking briefly on the phone.

I still have all the young dogs as well as Red Dog and Seal at home with me to care for.  Our daughter, Kristin, is home for December, so she has been able to help me out with the remaining chores which is a real blessing. We have very little daylight this time of year, so virtually all of our chores are done in the dark.  The absence of snow really absorbs any light, making even the hours of mid-day seem dull and gray right now.  In a few weeks we will see the pendulum swing to the opposite direction, and with it, a welcome increase in daylight hours.  Although it is mere seconds that we gain initially, it is always nice to know that brighter days are ahead.

I guess that is just life in general.  As you know, we are still in mourning the sudden loss of Paul's awesome lead dog, Governor.  Perhaps these gray days are not as dark as then seem to us right now.  To answer the question so many have asked, yes - Paul is working to develop other leaders from within the ranks of the team.  The best illustration I can use is to say that if the basketball team lost Michael Jordan, they would still have a team, but it certainly would be a team minus incredible leadership and talent.  Governor was that caliber of lead dog, and we were just very blessed to have had him in our lives.  It is sad that just at the prime of his life he is gone.  Paul is regrouping, and we do have Governor's offspring in our kennel, so we know these gray days will come to pass.  We appreciate all of the thoughts and prayers that have been sent our way.  

The leaders that Paul is working with are Governor's brother, Marshall, as well as Bear, Skunk and Thor.  Houston is still holding his own and doing great.   Maybe in the grand scheme of things, God knew we would need Houston more than ever now, and that is why Houston slipped in that hole that hurt his shoulder in the Iditarod two years ago and was sidelined from the beginning of that journey. Perhaps his reserves from that period of recovery are what will push him forward now.  I sincerely believe there is a reason for everything.  Remarkably, we do have a couple of yearling sons of Governor's that are just in training this season now.  There is one that looks so much like Governor, it takes my breath away sometimes.  He was a young dog we had actually sold as a pup to another musher who was just getting into mushing.  When that venture did not quite work out for the other fellow, he offered the dog back to Paul for training until he was able to re-group.  The circle of circumstances makes a believer out of me.

I am also a believer that despite these less-than-favorable training conditions, the heartbreak of loosing his best leader, and a shoulder that is requiring medical attention for Paul, the goal on Paul's horizon of winning the 2008 Iditarod is as real and true as it has ever been.  I cannot describe what I see in his eyes, other than to call it a determination, a hunger.  Paul's mental fortitude is his strongest ally, and it is an element that we have seen time and again come to play when the going got tough.  At times when the rest of us would curl up and sleep, sit down and cry, or maybe give-up altogether, Paul has persevered and stood tall. He has the knowledge, the ability and the team to win this race folks. So don’t second -guess, just believe.  I think we are in for an exciting season ahead.

I will highlight the mid distance race agenda in my next update.  Let's hope for a little snow… well, okay, lets hope for LOTS of snow before then!

Until later…. LIfe is a journey, enjoy the ride - Evy