Helloooooo from the UP!!! It is Monday, January 28 and just yesterday we decided where we were going to go (at least for the immediate future………………) and the lucky race is………………Preeceville, Saskatchewan!!!!! We heard from Fast Eddy Streeper that he was going and he thought we might stop and do the race on our way to Alaska (which by yesterday’s reports still does not have enough snow to even train at the Tudor Track in Anchorage…….Ken Chezik and Laurie are having to truck their dogs up to Montana Creek to train (whereas they usually can train right from their yard at the house they own in Alaska) and the temperature has been very cold – like -30 to 40 – so they are still on hold deciding about having the Fur Rondy which is Rind’s favorite race – and if they cancel it we may not even go to Alaska = so this is the plan: to Kevin Cook’s race (whom we met last year at the Rondy with his parents) in Preeceville (which is, by the way a 6 and 10 dog race, 10 and 23 miles respectively……………and ……………a mass start!!!!! – Randy already decided he would run both the races which takes me off the hook for “very likely physical abuse and trauma……….”) and after this weekend we will go to Edmondton, AB to see our friends the Hartum’s = we also have a pup to deliver to them that we got out of an old well-bread male that he gave to us. So that is the plan right now………….. Got everything packed (including walking the 25 dogs all the way from the kennel to the house (about50 yards one way) because the truck was parked up there on a slight incline and we thought it would be the best chance of getting out of the driveway without getting stuck…..which worked good. On the road at 3:30 (it takes a long time to shut the house down including the water, propane, etc..) and over the bridge at 7:30 to drop and feed dogs. Things going very well…………… However, just in the last 15 minutes (about 9pm)ran into a glitch with the temperature gage going bonkers/high – Randy has not yet figured out what the problem is and has added a gallon of water to the radiator. We are parked just south of Newberry in a church parking lot….more to come…………… Well Randy figured out what the problem with the radiator was………whichever poltergeist that last put antifreeze in forgot to put the cap back on so it was running without pressure and evaporating – 3 gallons of liquid later we were back on our way. Made it to a rest stop that Randy likes that is just outside of Seney for the night – the dogs are getting the hang of the in and out; you can sure tell which ones are on the trip for the first time! Randy built a ramp for the back ½ of the dogs so they can walk/trot up to the boxes and it’s working well unless you get it wet with rain or snow and then it’s a bit slippery! Went to bed about 11 and not long after a semi pulled in and not only let his diesel run but he had his even noisier refrigeration unit running – by that time one of the first time dogs – Al (short for Almond from the “spice” litter) decided he was bored, afraid, restless, nervous…………etc. and began howling and talking and chewing his box – that went on for what seemed like hours (and of course he is in a box right next to the “people quarters” until Randy started our generator for the furnace to work and then he finally quieted down! I think I probably got 2-3 hours sleep tops! Up this morning about 9 with it raining and very very slippery dropping dogs for both the humans and the canines! We got on the road after cereal by 10 and the roads are not bad – it was a good thing we didn’t start out at the crack of dawn cause the county trucks have been busy with the salt. Think we might make it to North Dakota today………….