Just as we thought............

 Not any good for training on Sunday or Christmas but did get a couple of inches of snow on Monday - which covered up the icy parts just enough for the dogs not to get hurt - so ran a 9 dog team 20 miles ome today and they were looking like they were enjoying the ride!!!

Yesterday because we couldn't train we ran around some of the parts of the race trail for January 8th that hadn't been packed yet - close to getting stuck again but didn't do that and have to walk back home again!!!  The loggers are plowing more of the trails that were supposed to be part of the trail for the race so don't know at this point whether we can just re-route or they will be done logging those areas and not plowing up the roads by the time we need them for the trail!

Hope you all had a glorious and Blessed Christmas!!!

 We didn't train today because we got a slug of warm weather and it softened up the trail yesterday and then overbite got cold so it got icy and would have been unsafe for the dogs - so everybody got a day off!

We did go into Mass last evening to a 6:30 service and then today (even though the road was quite icy) went in to help at our church's free community Christmas supper     - it was a good thing  - we met many people while there and now will have more people we can recognize when we go to church!!  They had asked people to sign up for a designated time in advance to minimize the chance of exposure to covid.  So this year they only served about 100 versus years past when they served 200 and magnificent turkey dinner!!!

So it was hard to pass up the dinner at church but we went home and picked up our dishes to pass and went to Jan Shaw's for a turkey dinner!!  Regina and Frank Caldwell were also there and we had a delightful dinner with good company!!!  Stayed from 5?30 until 10 so we got a lot of quality visiting done!!!

It is looking iffy for training tomorrow unless we get and inch or two tonight of snow - will just have to check it out in the morning!!

Snow.............snow............snow!! As they sing in its "White Christmas"!!!

It's here!!  actually too much to train today on Wednesday!  Over all in the last few days we have probably gotten about a foot of snow! the trails are back to looking good again and needing Randy to go out and run the pipe drag to get some of the air out of the snow and pack it down again - we never lost all of the trail with the warm weather and the recent snowfall has made everything good again........except where the loggers keep grading the road and bringing it down to almost dirt again!!  But even that is looking good again because they can't really get all the way down to dirt with as much snow as we have gotten!

Didn't train today because of so much snowfall - we went into town to get some provisions (and some secret candies for Randy for his Christmas presents, who has the biggest sweet tooth and has not had any since we started on our weight loss program in September - and he had lost 28 pounds!!)  I have to sneak/hide anything that I buy for him because we are always together!!

Tomorrow should be a good training day but maybe a bit cold!!

Never a dull moment!!

 Without power again!!  We thought we were going to miss having any power lines down from the 35 mph up to 50 winds overnite (almost made it to daylight………) and then when we got up the power and most or at least ½ of the snow were gone!!!

Over the last 3 days we were having some soft trail issues but the trail held up pretty good and we trained 12 miles the last 3 days until today………..now we are pumping out puddles (because they will never freeze solid until we get temps below 0 – with our sump pump – at least 3 huge ones without any way for the dogs to go around them!  Then tonite after dark, once it gets down to freezing again, we will drag the trail and try to get it smoothed out before it freezes!!

Went to town and had lunch – there won’t be any cooking going on at least until maybe tomorrow when we get power back- at Mickey D’s – we saw where the tree had come down over the power line and cut it in half!!!!  It’s pretty obvious that’s the problem but there was no  body working on it……………….

Went to the post office and mailed the last of the 4 holiday packages…………may not be coming down south to west Michigan until after Christmas to do the Baldwin dog race, so thought I would send everything to have there early!  We did enter 4 DeKuipers in the race on the 15 and 16 of January:  Randy in the 8 dog, Aeja and Oak in the 4 dog, and Aurea in the 3 dog – none of them have driven a sled before so they are going to have to get some practice in by visiting Jim Moe Moyer – they all wanted to try so let’s hope the snow is back by then!!!

Speaking of snow – it rained hard last nite with the warm temps and right now at 2:30pm it’s getting cold and snowing – so maybe it won’t take too long to get the trails back in tip top shape!!!

The remainder of daylight we spent changing out the straw in the dogs' boxes and giving them one of the 2 required shots needed to participate in the Wyoming stage race.

Up in one of my "middle of the nite can't sleep moments" and lo and behold, the power is back on!!!!   It's always nice when it happens before you think it should happen!!!  Now we have to see in the morning if there was enough snowfall during the nite to make it safe for dogs' feet to train on the trails today!!

What I neglected to say in the previous blog............

 was that when one is alone in the dark in the remote forest, one does many things for the 2 hour journey.............I was able to say the rosary, review my Christmas present list, and most importantly, think about what one does when they encounter a wolf in the remote forest.....does one scream......just yell "get away", wave one's arms like a windmill, play dead, run (even if I had been able to run) or believe that I didn't smell appetizing and therefore a wolf attack was not likely!!!!

I should have know..............

 13 inches of snow predicted Friday through Saturday..............heavy wet snow...........as expected we lost power about 11............Randy "invited" me to go out with him and look at the trail at about 2....we drove the trail until about 4 and Randy wanted to open a path off from the trail that Bruce had already packed and groomed with his equipment............so we turned off the packed trail with our snow machine into the deep snow...........and immediately tipped over!!!!  I "jumped" off (more like fell off....) so the machine wouldn't land on my leg......then we got upright again and moved slowly through the 13 inch deep snow going up a rather steep hill..............and proceeded to get stuck!!!  Not just a little stuck,,,,,,,,,,,,,really stuck!!!  We tried forward's, backward digging out around the tracks with the blade cover for the chainsaw, lifting the back, lifting the front........made little headway once and moved about 6 feet -- but after that, nothing!!!!  Randy gave up and said we were going to start walking..............now Randy had just done this very similar walk of 8 miles with the other snow machine dying just a week ago - it had taken him 2 hours to walk back near our house and have Bruce pick him up on his 4 wheeler!!!!   Mind you it's about 4:30 by now and the sun is starting to set - we start walking and not far into it I tell Randy he better walk ahead cause I can already tell that I won't be able to keep up (mainly because of my groin injury in September - usually I "outwalk" Randy but now my steps are quite a bit shorter.........and the fact that I thought this was going to be a fun ride and wore the 8 pound mickey mouse boots)  You're right.............it's getting dark and I'm out walking in the woods by myself where Randy saw wolf tracks last week and the guy doing the clear cutting/logging said he heard wolves 3 days ago............  Thank goodness part of the time the clouds cleared and there was a half moon out that made it much easier to follow the snowmachine track instead of sloughing thru the deep snow!  And only 8 miles to go!!!  I stopped often and sat down on the snow banks but felt bad I was making such slow progress - and hoping that I would see headlights soon----I did see headlights about 4 miles into my walk - Randy came on the other snowmachine and not the truck because he was afraid with the temp getting warmer that the truck would get stuck -   I was amazed on our way back home how far I had yet to go and knew then that I would have taken all night to travel that far - my body was having competition with which part was yelling loudest...........foot, tendon, back, knee or groin!!!

So, tragedy averted and more lessons learned and I have told Randy he doesn't need to create any more of these situations so that I might have something fun to write about on the blog!!!!!!!!!

That nite was recuperation and so the next day - lots of muscles we both haven't used in a long time but better today!

Took one team out and the weather was a bit warm but they only went 12 miles!  We did have one glitch----Randy went out on the sled for the first time this year ahead of me......When I was trying to catch up to him after taking time to get my coat and gloves on, I came upon the turn off from 7 mile fire lane leading into the woods and the rest of the trail, only to find out that the logging crew had once again  graded 7 mile fire lane and had left a bird of 4ft tall hard snow bank that somehow Randy had managed to go over with the team and the sled!!!! (I found out after that it wasn't that way just one hour before we took off with the dogs and that he did have trouble getting the leaders to climb up the snow bank and pull the sled with them!!!)

So I punched the snow machine to get up and over the bank to follow Randy and was afraid I was going to tip over but didn't1  the rest of the run went good until Randy motioned me to pull around him and the team and I couldn't hear what he was telling me but imagined that he wanted me to make the bird less difficult for him to get back over the snow bank with the team and the sled - so I drove fast, like 23 mph back to 7 mile fire lane to try and crush the bank with the snow machine - went over once, no problem - turned around in the road , no problem, back over no problem, tried to turn around to over the bank a couple of more times and got stuck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Stuck almost all the way across the trail with only 2 foot for the team to go around me!!!!  In the interim I had shoveled out most of the bank to make it easier for Randy to cross and our team went by me and down the bank without a problem!  A nice young guy from New Hampshire here to train out of Bruce's yard came back after he saw I was stuck (his 2 teams had also gone around me) and the young, strong guy lifted the rear end of the snow machine and pulled it over and then the front and got it turned enough so that it would go down the trail straight!!!  By the time I got back to our dog yard Randy was just jumping on the other snowmachine ready to come and unstuck me!!  He had gotten back and unhooked and unharnessed all the 8 dogs! 

So enough excitement for this week -planning to train again tomorrow unless it gets so warm it will be "punchy" (where the dos feet sink into the snow which can result in injury)

Happy birthday and love to Donna yesterday, Kay today, and Lydia tomorrow!!!!

Even more snow!!

 Didn't really technically measure it but it seems we have about 8 to 10 in of snow on the ground!!! 

Randy seems to have given up on the "loser snowmaking" so today and yesterday we ran the dogs with our"wimpy" snow machine (which I might as has no back rest for me)

It was not as cold today temperature wise but I still managed to get cold feet out on the trail!  I had ordered some new Sorel boots good down to -100 degrees but had some trouble getting them to apply the 15% discount through PayPal so I ended up cancelling the order and instead today found a Sorel outlet supply store and got the same boots that sell for $180 for $55 (including shipping of $10)  Randy thinks they won't turn out to be the same quality boot but we shall see!!

We trained today with 8 dogs and the snow machine - Bruce and Laura are training with the sled but we don't feel confident the sled could be stopped with putting the snow hook down but don't think the trail is hard enough for the hook to hold - so still with the snowmachine

Went to Newberry again last nite and went to the hardware - it took us 45 minutes and they were just about to close but it's good Randy got what he needed!

After the hardware we went to the board meeting of the Tahquamenon race committee as we often do just to see how things are going - and offering advice if asked for.  this was the last meeting until the week before the race when the draw the bibs for starting sequence - they are going to have the meeting/draw at Waltman's so we will be there!!

We asked for it and we got it!!!

Snow to be exact!!

We need some snow to cover up the ruts of ice that several vehicles had left by driving over the trail while it was slush = so we had hoped that by Sunday morning there would be enough snow to cover up the icy parts and we did get a couple of inches in some places and managed to train on of the 2 teams of 9 - it went well and Randy got in a 28 mile run!!!  so he was very happy!!  We don't like to have the weather change our training schedule but he was thinking that we are well on our way to being where we need to be at the end of January for the stage race in Wyoming so it wasn't as "painful"!

So today on Monday we get up and we've been hammered with a ton of snow!!!  Like 6 to 8 inches in some places- so Randy feeds the dogs and then says he needs to go out and pack the trail so the dogs wouldn't need to be running in such deep stuff and that he might easily be gone 3 hours to do the 28 miles of trail and for me to come looking for him if he is out longer than 3 hours...........well that was the first clue that things were not going to go well for the day!!!

2pm came around and he was not back and the 3 hours was up so I got all my clothes on (which at this point with the temp in the mid to high 20's is like 5 layers !!!) and started out on the 4 wheeler to see if he was in trouble=  no sooner did I get across the road and about a mile down the trail and here comes Bruce on his snow machine and Laura running a 9 (?) dog team on the sled behind him, and who should be on the snow machine with Bruce...........you guessed it!!!  Randy!!  The snowmachine that we bought used 4 years ago and that has broken down every year since then (as both Ocean our grandson and I can attest......) broke down again!!!  Just stopped going down the trail 8 miles out and then wouldn't start again!!!  so Randy starts walking back (wearing his white Mickey Mouse boots which probably weigh 4  pounds each or more..........) and gets all the way shy of 2 miles back to the house and Bruce picks him up and is bringing him back to the main road we live off from when I see them going out to find Randy on the 4 wheeler!!!  He is so sore from walking that far and with those heavy boots on!!! When he gets on the 4 wheeler with me he has to stand up and drive because his legs are cramping!!!  and then has to change every layer of clothes when he gets in the house because he sweated so bad walking through the 8 inches of snow and 6 miles in those boots!!!!!

Bruce offered to go out with his snow machine and pull ours back in but Randy opted to take our pick up out and pull it back - when we got to it and turned around to hook onto it we had one big hill to pull it up and then it was pretty much flat going - so I got on the dead snowmaking and Randy pulled me up the hill and even with 8 inches of snow I got a dirt bath with the truck trying to get a grip going up the hill!!!  By the time we got back it was too late to train dogs so we had another lost day and the team that was supposed to run today will have had 5 days off............

More snow tonite and will probably have to pack the trail before we train tomorrow but this time I am thinking I will have to be the "escort" vehicle to make sure he doesn't have to schlepp it back home again!!!!

No training for 2 days and maybe even not tomorrow

 Depending on how much snow we get tonite it may not be in the dog's best interest not to train again for the 3rd day!!  Yesterday Randy knew that if he ran the dogs they would sink into the slush and maybe hurt themselves and surely make the trail a dangerous one when it froze overnite.

So no training yesterday and then today as predicted, anywhere someone rode over the trail left and icy treacherous course for any dog..........it will take a couple of inches of snow and for Randy too smooth it out with the drag before it will be safe for the dogs to run on again............So today we went to Sault Ste. Marie to do a Walmart binge!!  One and a half hours there and spent $300 and still didn't get all the things on the list!!!  It did snow a bit on the way home but not yet the blizzard they are predicting!!! 

We will see what it looks like in the morning to know if we will be able to train safely tomorrow!!!

Rain, rain, go away ====come back again some other day.................

 Like in the spring!!!

We trained today early afternoon knowing that is might rain overbite an mush up the trail - and it is and we won't know how bad the damage is until tomorrow.  It was about freezing when we ran the 9 dog team and the trail was good!!  We are a bit worried about the loggers dropping off their machines right near where we train but so far haven't seen too much impact - we think we can change our training routes to avoid them and still get in the miles we need!

So at this point we are 2/3d's into our training season and are pretty happy with how the dogs are handling 24 miles - they come back not breathing hard and seem happy to go every day!!!

Probably are not going to train tomorrow because this heavy rain will puddle plus when it freezes overbite it will make the terrain frozen and sharp and hard for their feet!!

Will have to think of something fun to do tomorrow!!

Winter is here............will he stay???

 So far since Thanksgiving we have had snow intermittently and it is still here out on the ground!!  It has been just enough to keep us from having to run the dogs on frozen dirt and has saved their feet............not quite enough to pack but Randy did even the snow out once or twice using the pipe drag -   we are going 24 miles now and traveling out to the trail that goes around Ready and Rainy lakes - the most beautiful part of the training trails in my estimation - the dogs are still very happy to get harnessed and run and come back without breathing hard at all!

We did find a Christmas tree from one of the trees that were going to end up coming down over the trail so that has taken up much of my time since Sunday!!!  Though I don't have all of my ornaments and decorations from home, I have accumulated things that are special to our home in the UP and enjoy seeing them again each of the 4 years we have been here for the holidays.

Randy just communicated with Greg Janders near Escanaba and he is going to be putting liver in the beef that we order and mixing it and putting it in the square buckets that we have the fit under the floor in the dog part of the trailer - so that's lining up food for the rest of the dog racing season=  I also means that we will be going thru Escanaba again in a week or so and that means stops at Aldi's and Walmart!!!  Places that I can get foods and cheaper that around here!!