It's Friday!

Yep - He's a malamute! They were even laid back before the races!

Finally! This has been one crazy week! Not for any one reason that I can pinpoint. Just busy all around so I am glad that we finally have a couple of days to recoop. Steve and I just finished watching the documentary , "Parrots of Telegraph Hill", or something like that! Pretty good. It's about the flock of Cherry Conures that lives in San Fransisco. The man who befriended the birds is an interesting fellow! I think I'd like him!

I promised pictures of the dog race last Sunday but was a bit windblown and sleepy on our return. We had a great time! It was cold but we didn't really notice. When we first arrived, it was the sound that caought my attention. Those dogs get you hooked! I love how excited they are to get out and run! The howling and barking and crying makes my hear swell with anticipation. As we were walking around admiring the teams I had a fleeting thought of wanting to be a musher - like I said, it was fleeting! As much as I love the sport, I don't like the cold and I am not that dedicated. I'll just continue to be a mushing groupie!

One little tidbit of info I learned this year had to do with the different racing breeds. The first time we went to Conconully I was shocked by how thin the dogs appeared. I had imagined mushing dogs to be malamutes that were full of fur and maybe even a layer of blubber! Not so - many of the dogs running in the races are husky mixes who are built for speed and endurance. Large dogs, like the malalmutes I had envisioned, are used for mushing but they don't have the speed for the races. They are strong and can go some distance but don't have the oomph of the smaller dogs. Makes sense! I actually learned this several years ago as I questioned Amy on her feeding practices but I saw it in action this year. Several teams had teams of 6 Malamutes. Boy are they lazy! Not far from the start, the course makes a turn and begins to go uphill. The husky teams pulled with all their might and managed to keep up their speed while progressing up the hill. The malamutes stopped! One dog even sat down! The mushers had to get off the sleds and push the sled up the hill to keep the teams going. It was actually quite humorous. The dogs were plenty strong enough but just didn't care to put that much effort into their work!

Anyway, this is the first year that we have made it on time to see my friend, Amy, start the race. She hadn't done so well on the previous day so was a bit disheartened but was still looking forward to being on the trail again. At the start, volunteers literally have to hold her dogs back! Amy raced with only 5 dogs and she had to have 2 adult men hold her team until the starter yelled, "Go!". Then they were off! It's such a thrill to see!


Amy's team - Gem and Ernie in the front


We hiked up the trail and played in the snow for several hours while we waited for the teams to return. The snow came up to my lower thigh so was very deep on the kids. They had a ball, digging into the snow, climbing the trees that bowed to the ground and throwing snowballs. It helped that Louis and Reily were there with mom, Lynell. During the wait, Dylan even got to mush a single dog team with Lyndsi and Reily in the sled. He was ecstatic! He'd ridden in the sleds before but had never been the musher.

Dylan's got the mushing fever!
Check out the fur on that dog!


Other than the Superbowl on Sunday, we don't have many plans. I think I'll get up late, drink some coffee and read a magazine. Hmmmm...we'll see!