Still cold...............but less wind!

Friday already………….we have only been gone a week but it somehow seems like forever!!  Yesterday was too cold and windy to train so we did the dogs manicures and then about suppertime Kevin came and wanted to know if Randy wanted to ride with his to get a trailer for hauling the pigs (his main enterprise) and if would be about a ½ hour ride – so they left at 7 and about 8:30 I started wondering what had happened = Randy got back about 8:45 and said he thought maybe he was bad luck for Kevin as they had gotten stuck the nite before with the big tractor and then tonite the trailer  air valve was leaking so they couldn’t hook it up –

So we got a very late start on feeding dogs and finally went to bed at about 11 –

The Cook’s are in the same predicament we are as far as deciding whether to go to Alaska – their original intent was to leave from here on Monday and travel fast enough that they planned to make it to the Exxon race in Anchorage next weekend – so they will make their decision probably on Sunday nite – we, on the other hand, cannot make it to Anchorage from here fast enough to enter the Exxon even if they have it – so our next option would be to get up there in time for the Raven Electric 10 dog race – which isn’t really long enough to prepare the dogs for the Rondy anyhow – and then still not know if they will have snow for the Rondy – just have to go with the flow…….

Today Randy is going to train all the dogs that won’t be racing tomorrow and Sunday – it feels warmer today and there is little wind – we will still have to dress him warm though!!  After training we will come back here for water and then go downtown to the race site to park for the nite so that we can have our trailer parked without having to jockey around any other vehicles.

 Training went well but Blanche who has a cold didn't want to lead very good today - Randy tried 5 different leaders and finally got back to her to finish the training trail - already fed supper and off to park at the race site for the nite!!!

 Love you all!!  will update tomorrow if I can find a place to post - Randy is running both the 6 and the 10 dog race - should be about the same temp tomorrow!!

Colder than a welldigger"s ____!!!!!

This is Wednesday – yesterday we trained 2 9-dog teams with cold but sunny temps – everybody seemed to do well with the exception of Erin that developed a fissure on her rear hind foot – we did the other 9 today and it was much colder and windy – so Randy just trained the ones that didn’t go yesterday – the trail was good both days and –mind you, this is just the training trail up by the Cook’s cabin – not the race trail.  The training run went fine although Randy got much colder today  - should have had a face mask on and got cold hands even with the hand warmers in his gloves –

Got done training and came back the 20 miles to Preeceville and went to the hardware that Ray Cook recommended to buy a  new microwave (actually the only place in town to be able to buy one…) the hardware in Preeceville – they have eveeeerrrrrrrryyyyyything!!!!  We also noted when we got out of the truck downtown that they have an impressive park in front of the Preeceville elevator (many of these towns in the prairie were built around the place where they could transport the grains they grew – and very nicely they had a tribute to the Cook family for the years they had put on the dog race and how well both Ray and Kevin had done racing in Manitoba and Alaska and Saskatchewan.

Last nite had dinner with Kevin and Rhonda at their home and delicious and what an ambiance!!!!  They too are Harley drivers and the living area is all black and orange “Harley”!!!!

After getting back to Kevin and Rhonda’s today we saw this monster tractor in the drive = John Deere green – it was ordered from the local dealer to get the “monster” drifts out of the trail for the race this weekend – Randy volunteered to ride with Kevin to groom the trail so I set about tidying the trailer for the next one and half hours – when he got back Randy had quite the story to tell – This huge huge huge huge tractor had broken through the ice in the swamp on the race trail while Randy was riding with Kevin trying to level the trail from the drifting – by the time Kevin’s son Wyatt brought Randy back here  to the trailer they had all the city employees out trying to   get the tractor un-stuck   and even a payloader and a backhoe coming – not a good day in the life of Kevin Cook…………….

Back here at the “camp” – new microwave set up and ready for a hot dinner of peas, mashed potatoes and chicken!!!!!

- 7 here this morning with wind and Randy has decided that it's too cold to train - so a relaxing day at home - get the other 1/2 of the dogs toenails trimmed.....fun huh?????

January 28, 2014

Yesterday we got on the road about noon and headed north on hiway 9 – new territory for us – never been on that road before – and probably never will again……now that we know what the road is like!  You may never have been on the Alcan going around Destruction Bay in the Yukon, but this road rivals that!!  Talk about frost heaves!!!!!  We only had one casualty……the microwave……may it rest in peace – it bounced its way right off the counter onto the floor and spilled its guts – now it will work with the door open – and no, we are not using it!

The good part about the trip is that we saw a pheasant and 3 moose!!! Quite clost to the road!  But not pictures – not quick enough on the “draw”.

We stopped at the gas station to ask directions and found the place where the race is to be held this Saturday but nobody was there and it was getting dark and thought we would try to find Cooks so we stopped at a restaurant named aptly “Chris’s Place” and not only did we find out where they lived but Kevin was there having a meeting with all the people putting the race on – it seems they got a bit much snow and have a 10 foot snow drift blocking the trailer and needed to talk about how to get rid of it – they decided to get a bigger trail groomer from another town – and I guess more money too…

We drove to Kevin’s “yard” which is essentially a semi truck and trailer yard with a big semi truck wash – he exclusively hauls pigs for a farm and can haul nothing else – the trucks need to be sanitized between hauls, thus the truck wash.

Slept well and got up late – fed dogs and it seemed a lot warmer outside.  The sun is out and that helps!  Followed Kevin and Rhonda up 30 miles to where his mom and dad have a trapping cabin and where they train their dogs from.  There is no electricity or water but they love it up there and spend most of the winter trapping and staying in the wilderness!

Helped Kevin’s friend, Jerry and his dad, Ray get hooked up and train and then went back to our truck on the snowmobile with Rhonda- we had to park about a mile away from the cabin because our truck/trailer are too big to turn around at the cabin.  Once Randy backed out of the road about 1/8 mile we parked on the side of the road where the training trail crossed the hiway.  Randy is out now with a 9 dog team going 17 miles I think – first time on the sled this year!!!!

On the road again!!!

After an uneventful night and having watched two movies on the computer and having cheese and crackers and pepperoni for dinner, got up this morning to still very cold, but at least not so windy weather with the sun shining - so after we fed breakfast Randy says "lets pack up and go" - so this is going to be goodbye for a little while until I find another place to "blog" - we will be heading up almost directly north to Preeceville, Saskatchewan to Cook's race - they emailed us back to say that the blizzard Sunday had blown his race trail in and most likely would again today but that we would be able to train dogs on it by Tuesday - so over the border today - say prayers that we have no hassles!!!!

funny sidenote...

when I was in Target I bought a jug of water with a spout (2.5 gallons) to have as a convenient way to dispense - guess where it's from ?????????  Evart, MI where we go to church!!!!

minute to minute news update...............

We are sitting in the trailer at the back side of the Target store (which I found out shopping is attached to a huge mall with ~ 50 stores and a food court when I went shopping for a few items I forgot..) having cheese and crackers for an afternoon treat.  When I went shopping and turned the corner I almost got blown over ----physically blown over, the wind is so strong - Randy made the wise decision to stay here today and wait and see what tomorrow brings in the way of weather - I can only imagine how the visibility would be on the open prairies of ND with this wind if it's this bad sitting protected by Target!!!  At this point we are thinking going to the race in Preeceville north of here is a good idea - then we can decide what to do after that - more news later!!

What a difference 10 hours can make!

Got up this morning and our "Miami-like" weather had turned back in to "Alberta Clipper" - it was only 11 degrees in the dog part of the trailer and sooooo windy outside.  To feed breakfast we had to set the dishes down on the ground and feed immediately or the dish would blow away!!!  We are parked next to the Target store (which on the one hand is nice because I have wifi to be able to look up all the weather and condition reports) next to an access road with stores all around us and it is still extremely windy - we haven't heard a Minot recent weather report this morning but I don't think this was expected!  It is probably now what they were predicting for over by Grand Forks - and it's raining up in Edmondton!!!

So now we are in a conundrum-  they have no snow in Anchorage with only ice on trails, there is training in Fairbanks, there is rain in Edmonton, and there is a race in Preeceville, Saskatchewan this coming weekend with the temp of 4 on Sat and -4 on Sunday....right now it is looking like we are headed to the race and will have to change plans if it looks like they might get snow in Anchorage - Randy's favorite race is the Rondy and right now they don't have the snow or the prediction of snow to look like it will be a "go" - decisions, decisions....this is the same thing that happened to us last year - and this year if we hadn't had trouble with the old trailer not fitting the new truck we would already be up in Fairbanks without having to make the "big decision" of "to go to Alaska or not to go".  Will keep you up to date with minute to minute (well not really....) coverage!

weirdest weather I have ever seen.............

as we arrived into Minot ND it was almost blizzarding and very cold - after we came out from McDonald's the wind had majorly kicked up and felt warmer........like much warmer.....like when we dropped to feed the snow and ice started melting off the truck!  we had just heard on the radio 2 hours before that Monday was going to be -30 degrees  - then we saw on the computer that it is raining in Edmonton, AB, CA!  so we don't know what to do - we just got an email from our friend Pam in Anchorage and from Ken and Laurie Chezik saying the trails were gone in Anchorage and everyone has gone up to Fairbanks to train - what to do????

Day 2 and 3

Friday - Got all 17 dogs rabies shots and were on our way – stopped to drop dogs the other side of Marquette at a place out of the bitter cold and wind inbetween a mall and a “mountain” (well a small one…).  Half way across the UP we ran into a weird thing – even though the temp was about 12 degrees, it started sleeting!!!!!  It kept freezing up the windshield so fast that we had to stop on the side of the road to let the defrost catch up to how cold the windshield was from the cold temp outside!  We saw several people stopping to scrape their windows so it wasn’t just us – that lasted for about 2 hours and then of course, the roads got icy – good time to have 4 wheel drive!!!  Forged ahead and wanted to make it through the expressway spaghetti in Duluth before dark – we just made it going about 40 miles per hour across the UP.

Fed dogs the other side of Duluth behind a gas station out of the wind – the temp actually had risen to about 29 – had gas station sandwiches for dinner and back on the road – it was about 10pm when we drove around Grand Rapids, MN to look for a place out of the wind to drop dogs and spend the nite – found a place between a grocery store and another business – still windy and -8 degrees but better than in a big parking lot.  Thought this was a good time to re-arrange dogs for weight distribution so we put all the light dogs (<45 and="" axle="" back="" front="" heavier="" hoping="" in="" it="" of="" off="" ones="" pounds="" some="" span="" style="mso-spacerun: yes;" take="" the="" tire.="" trailer="" weight="" would="">  Then we moved the back1/4 of the 25 pound pails of meat from under the floor to the big dog boxes on the back of the truck and switched it with the hay Randy had stored there – for the same reason.  It was 17 pails so that 425 pounds should have made some difference – this morning Randy says it’s not noticeable but that surely it must have helped.  So now both the dogs and I have a new pattern to learn with new box assignments, just when we were getting used to the routine!

Got up earlier today per Randy’s request (only once at 5am did I hear a distinct crunching noise like someone or something eating Fritos…..) at 7:30am and on the road by 8:20 – it was -12 degrees and still windy and the dogs didn’t drink very well for breakfast – they were excited to get back in!!!

Stopped at Bagley, MN for dog drop and roads were pretty icy all the way till just before Grand Forks – finally got to put it back in 2 wheel drive- way better gas mileage – I am thinking we get 10 mpg in 2 wheel and ½ that in 4 wheel drive – we just went by a gas station and diesel was $4.20!!

We have made it to Minot, ND by 6:30 Michigan time and are trying to decide whether to go farther or not – it looked like the snow had stopped but now it is bad again – so while we are here at Micky Dees we will decide!

Keep us in your prayers the next 5 days going thru Canada –lots of “challenges” on the roads!!  We love you!!

It's D-Day (departure day)!!!!!!!

Yeah!!! We had to make a decision on whether to leave on Thursday or Sunday in order to be able to get the rabies vaccines done on the way thru the UP with Dr. Tim Hunt - he gives us a kennel cost for the shots - so we thought we could be ready by Thursday with help from friends (kukals) and family (Jess) for loading and figuring out what the wiring/lights problems were - the lift kit of 10" seems to be working and the steps are now waaaaaay high for both the truck and the trailer!!!

We left about noon-thirty and drove to Seney before stopping to feed and then made it all the way to the casino near Marquette - it was cold when we went to be but we were snug as bugs in the trailer with the generator and furnace running all nite - we awoke to brutally cold temps - 0 degrees without the even more brutal wind chill caused by 30 mph SW winds - we were parked in the lot by the building but the wind could build up crossing the parking lot - those dogs were quick to get back in today!!!!!  We left with 27 dogs - left some with Kukals due to injuries and another one with Dee along with the 11 pups.  At at first Randy wanted to have all the lighter dogs at the front of the trailer thinking he wouldn't have to lift so many pounds in to the pass-through door - but after needing to stop at a garage and fill the back trailer tires to 110 psi, he is thinking anything we can do to lighten the back load we should - so now, even though they were all labeled and assigned to their own little houses, we have to move them all around the next chance we get so all the heavy dogs like Echo and Donna and Kimmy are in the front boxes.

We are sitting at the Welcome Center in Downtown Marquette waiting for the vet to come over to give 15 rabies shots - we tried to do in their parking lot last year and almost didn't make it out so they agreed to drive the 1/4 mile down here to do it - Tim Hunt has the day off so it will be someone else - whoever it is will be very glad they can do all of it inside the trailer and not out in the wind off Lake Superior!!!

Well I was a bit sad to leave my house for the next 2 and 1/2 months, but the one thing I was looking forward to was not having the scratching noises in the wall above our bed in the middle of the night..............once again this year we are plagued with either bats or flying squirrels in the walls!!!!  It doesn't bother Randy because he can't hear them but it wakes me up not to mention, giving me the creeps!!!!!  So here we were the first nite sleeping in the trailer and I thought, good, no scratching sounds................and what do you think I hears about 5 am?????????  It could have been the wind but I swear it sounded like we brought a passenger with us in the trailer!!!!!!!!   When I brought one of the bags of clothes from the back room to the trailer I noticed there was one of the rat traps that we have caught about in the bag and some suspicious looking poop in the bottom so I had Randy unload the bag............not wanting to be surprised by a "discovery" - and there was nothing - now I am wondering if I carried one of those squirrels out to the trailer in the bag and now he has taken up residence with us!!!!!!  I will be looking for the tell-tale signs.................and maybe have to invest in another rat trap!!  You know they have those huge eyes so they can see at night - almost cute but not when they surprise like they did showing in the ceiling beam it the bathroom!!!!!! 

Don't know how far we  will get today - maybe to the other side of Wisconsin or Minnesota - the roads are very slippery so we are in 4 wheel drive (per my request) and it's not snowing yet but might today as we cross the UP - I have to say I feel much more cømfortable and safer in this truck - there is not wind whistling in around my window and 4 wheel drive is much safer on these icy roads - more when I can!!!

It's a really good thing that our trail is so good here in Michigan cause we still haven't left!!!

I am sitting in the parking lot of McDonald's in Fremont while Randy is over at Field Welding "picking up our new (well new to us - 2005...) truck and the trailer that had to have a lift kit put on the axles because it was 10 inches lower than the new truck hitch!  more money....more frustration...  We still go back to our mantra "if we arent' on the road when we wanted to be it must be for some good reason......"  We are hoping to leave Monday or Tues but I will keep you updated - still training every day - 2 14-dog team for 18 miles and again, the trail is beautiful - we had to do some repair work from snowmobiles that ran on it when it was soft for 2 days but it's back to very good!!!

Talk to you soon!!

Welcome 2014 and Happy and Blessed New Year to you all!!  Time to get my fingers back into "typing mode'!!!

We have had good training this year with good snow and the ability to make a trail that vaguely  resembles the wonderful trails in Alaska!  Today I was informed by "the Boss" that he plans for us to leave in a week - so had to do the regular "getting ready to leave stuff" = order meds, change the mail, etc.......
We have a new vehicle to safely take us on our 4,ooo mile trip.........Chevy 5500 duramax 4 wheel drive - so high I almost need a step ladder to get up into it!!!  Hopefully it will enable us to get through all the snow/obstacles we have gotten stuck in for the last 5 years!!!!

Will post as often as possible and put pictures up as soon as I find/or buy a new camera!!! (it's really a challenge getting older!)