A sleepy Monday morning.......

Slept in a bit until the kids started telling us it was time to get up! We didn't have a late nite but all the activity outside gets you tired faster and with me getting over the cold and Randy trying not to get it.....

As the race wound up yesterday and we were feeding dogs, a guy stopped by and said a bunch of dog sled racers were going out to dinner in a "real Alaskan restaurant"... we both felt pretty good so got the instructions and headed out - not too far away but farther north and he was right.....very Alaskan and rustic - made out of huge old school (the original one burned down) with way high wood ceilings and all things Alaska decorating the place - they are a sponsor for the Yukon Quest so lots of pictures of dogs and teams and drivers! Had my favorite.....Halibut and this time the breading was much thinner......if I keep ordering it will get better and better til I finally have it with drawn butter!! It ended up that we were the only people to show up and so we had a good time talking and getting to know Gary Markley - he actually finished just ahead of Randy in the Rondy and lives down near Salcha where many other dog drivers do (Arleigh Reynolds, Eric Lanser, and many more) he really peaked my interest when he said he had some halibut in the freezer that he would be happy to give us if we stop on our way through to Tok to race the weekend after the Open North American (which is the other big "Dream Race" for Randy and they are having here at the track (same as last weekend)because there is not enough snow to start the race downtown and the usual trails on the river are not safe -
Today Randy hooked up all the dogs that didn't run in the race and my 2 leaders (cause they knew their way around the 7.7 mile trail from racing it) and took off from the truck with 18 dogs........oh my gosh, I thought he was going to lose it when he took the first corner going into the starting shoot - I have never seen so much torque applied to a sled!!! wish I had had a video!!!! He lost his GPS on the trail but then went out on a borrowed snowmobile and found it - while he was out training a very nice woman whose husband is a Lietenant Colonel in the Army here (but deployed to GA right now) stopped and invited us to dinner - amazing how warm and cordial people are!!! Time to feed the kids dinner!!! Over and out!!! PS: it was fun talking to our DeKuiper grandkids (Aeja, Ocean and Oak) last nite and hearing Caitlin tonite!!!