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!)