Final thoughts.....

We made one more trip a week ago to Quebec to see our friends, the Bellerives and deliver some dogs from Terry Streeper. We enjoyed a Sunday of visiting and looking at their "crop" of puppies - 26 I think - the winter of 2010 can be summed up with Randy's response to Claude when he asked him if Randy thought it was important for him to go to Alaska to race - Randy said "every serious dog driver should race in Alaska at least once" .........and in our case, probably at least twice because he is talking about next year's trip already!!

Hooray!!

Home again!!! We awoke this morning to a snow storm just outside of Marquette - spent the nite in the parking lot of the casino and got up to find 3 inches of snow on the ground!!! quite a change from having shirt sleave weather in North Dakota!! Got home to see daffodils in the garden and snow falling - unloaded all the dogs and they were so happy to be in their own circles again!!! Good to see the house didn't burn down and
Randy got the pump running again after a fashion - have some of those evil Chinese oR oriental ladybugs coming to life around the house but everything is good!! I will have some "thoughts to share" yet in the next couple of days.........

Now to Wisconsin!!

Pardon me if my typing is not so good- bumpy roads! Out of Duluth and starting through Wisconsin!! Good nite last nite at a beautiful road side park in MN - right by a lake...though I didn't know that last nite in the dark when I walked the pups!

This is the bird that almost landed on my head he was so tame - camping on the ALCAN

 

The DeKuiper Curse/Blessing!

Bet you can't guess where I am sitting!! In the trucker's lounge at a truck stop in Minot, ND!! Amazingly they were able to take the truck in and start working on it this morning already 8am. So even though we have a problem, once again we were in the ideal location to have the problem fixed!! Still no word on the air bag- Randy said they were having trouble getting it out to see what order number for getting another one - so I am working in the lounge where they have WiFi - a little hard dropping the dogs this morning because we had to take the trailer off from the truck so that means almost half as many places to tie out around! - so only half the dogs at a time. We are hoping to be back on the road yet today but don't know..........

Caribou at Watson Lake.....hitting the brakes!!!

 

Lynzie's puppies

 

We slept here on the ALCAN - beautiful!!

 

Herd of buffalo on the roadside on the ALCAN

 

Back in the USA!

Finally back in the US!!! Crossed the border into North Dakota late on Easter afternoon! Not too much trouble at the border – only about 15 minutes but they did look in the truck and in the trailer with the dogs! Got to Minot North Dakota by dinner time and while Randy was in paying for fuel ($500 worth) I felt like somebody hit the truck……ran out and looked around and then Randy figured out that the air bag blew (for those of you like me that have no idea what that means they are like the springs for the truck – without them would be damaging the truck every time we hit a bump). Once again, as luck and blessings would have it, we are at a truck stop with a garage behind the service station so maybe we will be able to have someone look at it/fix it bright and early in the morning. Saw 2 pheasants today in the fields…….not so much wildlife for a long drive the last couple of days.

On the road again ..................

Missed the turn off for Mark Hartum’s house (we thought) so stopped at the first rest area; got up in the morning to start feeding breakfast and who should show up but, Mark Hartum!! (he was returning from Regina and saw us parked at the rest stop- the realy positive thing about having a distinctive truck!!) He and his youngest son, Noah, had been down to the border of North Dakota to pick up yearlings he has had Eddy Streeper training and was on his way back to meet up with his wife at his in-laws in Canmore for Easter– he treated us to a wonderful breakfast at his house – which is newly built and beautiful! Off to go down the road at 1:30 and won’t quite make it to North Dakota tonite but tomorrow back in the USA!! Happy and Blessed Easter to all of you!!

Off the ALCAN!!!!!

Whew!!! made it in one piece!!!! no breakdowns, no injuries!!! We will almost be to Edmonton tonite and will stop to see Mark Hartum at his house a half hour out of the city - time for me to feed the dogs supper - more later

Lots to write but no time and sometimes no coverage!

Randy had a not-so-great Sunday at Tok - the dogs were flat and didn't seem to want to run very bad - we left Tok after the awards ceremony and crossed the border that nite - made it to Whitehorse and stopped to work - saw Kenny Chezik drive by and Jan Fairbanks stopped to say hello on her way to Minnesota when she saw our distinctive truck - stopped to feed later and saw Dawn Brown, Jerry Mulvey and Steve Long stopped to feed/drop - stopped at a beautiful spot on the roadside for the nite -pictures will be forthcoming - drove to Watson Lake - had to stop in a restaurant to use the computer - took off into the mountains and the road was dry and it was snowing and raining- all of a sudden it turned into a blizzard and the road to ice and snow - we were on a steep mountain incline about 2/3rd the way up and - you guessed it- the truck would not go ahead any more!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! spinning and sliding backwards - we cannot tell you how scary - so I had to hold my foot on the brake cause the emergency brake was not enough to hold us, we needed the trailer brakes also - and Randy put the chains on and then I let it go back a little, and then adjust the chains and let it go back a little - finally with the chains we could go forward and stopped at the next pull off - we got 6 inches of snow during the night - we waited till we thought the snow plows might have cleared the mountain pass and asked some guys coming from the East how the roads were - they told us not to take the chains off! So with much trepidation we set out for Ft. Nelson - bad, bad, bad - drove with the chains on for 2 and 1/2 hours until one of them broke, replaced it and then finally the roads began to warm up and clear much of the way to Ft. Nelson - saw buffalo, caribou and eagles in the last 2 days - pictures soon - made it to Ft. Nelson and was working and Terry Streeper knocked on the door (there is really something to be said for having a distinctive truck - by the way a picture of it is on Sled Dog Central under the truck section) and he invited us to dinner - met his lovely and funny wife, Debbie and the 2 handlers (one from Quebec and one from Germany) that have been here all winter (they have the Streeper International Dog Handler Exchange Program going here!!!!) We are staying the nite in their drive. More tomorrow!!