Livin' The Dream.. ALASKA

Loved every minute of my Alaska Adventure.  I managed to put my fear of flying to one side and with a great friend by my side, Christine and I had such a great experience.  There's just too much to put into words but the place, the views, the people, the dogs, the race, the atmosphere, the welcome, the food.... ahhhhh..... all of it.  Loved it !  We had a cute cabin to ourselves with comfy beds and thick duvets.  The sky was mostly dusk or night with a few hours of daylight. Didn't bother me at all.  I loved the walk from Aliy and Allen's home to our cabin, listening to the silence with the exception of the squeaky snow beneath my boots.  The dogs were so friendly and the routine was quick to learn. We had so much conversation and laughter, felt so welcomed and invited to participate in all the preparations even the last training run when I had the honor of riding in Allen Moore's sled on a small part of the Yukon Quest trail.  Driving the truck on the ice roads between checkpoints, being a huge part of Aliy's race, she was so trusting and so kind always.  I went days with little sleep and sometimes no sleep but somehow it didn't both me like I thought it might.  Infact, I felt great and often got a second wind.  I was surprised how well and good I felt on as little as a couple of hrs of sleep and occasionally, no sleep.  The photos below tell just a small part of my journey and I know I will return to Alaska and I know I will see Aliy, Allen and their dogs again.  I'm so grateful for their friendship and trust and equally so to Christine who was just the best co-partner. We made an a great handler team!

Arriving at Fairbanks Airport.. exhausted but happy!

Getting on with things, bagging kibble for the Yukon Quest

Lidia and Lydia

Christine bagging kibble for the Yukon Quest

Technical wear for the river crossing

This was Allen's team coming in 1st at the CB 300

Chores at the homestead

Gorgeous Mac, fell in love with him!

Some of Aliy's dogs

Heading out with Allen Moore's team

On the Yukon Quest Trail

Last training run before the CB 300

Ice Road Truckers we were!

Watching out for moose and caribou

Aliy's awesome dogs at the start

Melting snow for water

Prior to the start, working on Aliy's sled bag

Going over tons of gear and stuff for the race

Me and Nita taken at Mike Ellis's homestead

Me and Lidi-Bug

Gunsmoke at Brenda Mackey's

Taken just after Aliy Finished the Copper Basin 300

Me and Brenda Mackey

LOVED every minute of it !

ALASKA

Can't really believe I'm leaving for Alaska..... back in September I attended the Northern New England Trade Fair.  I particularly wanted to hear Aliy Zirkle and Allen Moore speak.  Having watched videos of them and followed them on FB, they always struck me as super nice people with impeccable dog care.  Little did I know that we would end up friends with an invitation to be a part of their dynamic team of handlers for the upcoming Copper Basin 300 Sleddog Race in Glennallen, AK.  My bags are almost packed, dogz will be resting somewhat while I am gone and then we'll be right back into tours and training for some upcoming races. We'll have a little bit of ground to make up which is a bit frustrating as the dogs have already done some good miles and some long runs, but I'll get them back up par again fairly quickly.  I'll be returning from Alaska with yearling from Mackeys Distance Alaskans.  A young dog I've been following for quite a while and again... little did I know he would end up being mine and coming home with me to New Hampshire.  Many wonderful things to start the New Year with and as always, with much gratitude.

From Wheels to Sled to Wheels to Sled !

Training and  tours were a mix of experiences as we had to switch from using wheels to sleds a few times.  Still, it's all part of our authentic experience and guests learn how we adapt to mother nature and go with flow.... we've had some wonderful people, many participating with harnessing and helping out.  It's always a joy to share our dogz and passion with guests who understand dogz and connect with them as we do.  Baby Tuliq will be in harness in a few weeks and she'll start out with some fun puppy runs.  Looking at how active she is here at the homestead, I think she'll take to it like a duck to water or rather ... sleddog to snow !

Busy Few Weeks at Valley Snow Dogz

Our friends Team Kelim

Our gorgeous view !

Waiting for our guests to arrive

Back home just hanging out, love our boy Dougie

Richard hooking up his team

Gone Camping... Checkpoint Style

Great time with friends and their wonderful dogs.

We covered a lot of miles and got the dogs used to camping out

and resting the same way we would in a long distance race.

Great learning experience for all.

Couldn't have been prouder of all the dogs!

We did lots of passes, head on passes and then a few sandwich passes
in true Boot Camp style

Teams were super geed over
Proud of my leaders as they are both natural lefties !!!

Taken at the beginning of the day

Loaded up and ready!

Wishbone and Sofiel ready to get going again

Everyone was waking up
They all looked so cute and snuggly in their blankets

Hana and Tumac had to turn around to face me



Lovely friends... Christine and Sally

Valley Snow Dogz Annual Santa Run in Waterville Valley NH

Another successful fund raising event.

As always, the dogz touch the hearts of many

 

 

 

 

Sofa Time For Hana

Valley Snow Dogz Waterville Valley Resort Sleddog Rides

Waterville Valley is now taking bookings for our winter season sled dog rides right from the center of Waterville Valley Ski Resort. Check our the link below or call them directly on 603-236-8175 to make your booking!


http://www.waterville.com/village/dogsledding.html

Valley Snow Dogz Squam Lake Tours

Gorgeous scenic photo from last season's excursions on Squam Lake NH
We are taking bookings now for this winter season
you can email us at valleysnowdogz@gmail.com
or call us on 603-340-2390

Time to 'Up' The Miles

Dogz are doing great in harness this season and we've quickly reached our goal despite a bit of delay in starting out this season due to the warmer temperatures.  The free running in our secret garden has totally helped the dogs maintain fitness which has boosted their ability to move through their early season mileage.  We love running this time of  year with the fall colors and how the leaves are highlighted as the sun goes down during an evening training run.  We have many leaders this season with some of the yearlings in training. So much fun to hook up a young team with some seasoned dogs tucked in next to the pups and watch how they teach the young ones while keeping an ear turned towards me as I assist with some instructions.  The Valley Snow Dogz are in training for what we hope will be a very cold and snowy winter for all to enjoy!

Baby Tuliq Turns 6 Months Old

She is just like her mamma Rosie
An old soul with eyes that just melt you
A spunky pup with a lot of skin to grow into!
She weighs 50lb already