Iditarod (Cont’d)
“Everyone except Arizona where you are sprang forward last night,” Admin says on the phone.
Through the speaker. “Correct,” says Spence.
“Just getting up, then?”
“Correct again.”
“Then you’ll be anxious for the report from Rebecca, CEO of Snowhook, our team in the greatest sled dog race on earth.”
“I am.”
“Here it is – many thanks, Rebecca.”
While AJ and the team have been traveling the mighty Yukon River today, the temperatures have dropped to the twenties. It’s not a large drop in temperatures, but it is a welcome drop. AJ dropped two more dogs today, now running with eleven dogs from the original sixteen. Even with fewer dogs, they’ve made better time running on the Yukon than they did the previous hundred miles; this is likely the result of moving from snowy trail without a good base to ice.
I received word from a friend of the kennel who is on his way to the coast to volunteer at the Elim checkpoint— the same friend that drove the team in a race earlier this year—that he saw Doc and Charlie in the dropped dog lot in Unalakleet waiting to be flown home. Philip reported that he couldn’t tell why either was dropped, but said both were in good spirits. He spent some quality time with both, giving love and attention. I am grateful for Philip’s update as well as the kindness he showrd our dogs.
Last year, we had to replace four key dogs with last minute substitutions, all of which were unproven in long distance racing. Doc was one of the replacements and Charlie was one of the replacees. Charlie showed signs of a sore wrist two days before the race started; in hindsight we might have been okay to run him but we didn’t want to risk anything. Dear Doc was at the most, on the ‘B” team, but desperate times… Three of the four replacements crossed the finish line in Nome last year and Doc was among them. I was so proud of them.
There is still no word, official or otherwise as to who the other two dogs are that dropped or when I might pick up any of the dogs.
“Plus here’s a link to a story Rebecca wrote about those troublesome hills on the southern part of the route.”
Spencer Quinn today at the Tucson Festival of Books:
10AM – signing at the Poisoned Pen – booth # 230-231
10AM – signing at the Poisoned Pen – booth # 230-231
1PM – panel: The Dog Did it. Koffler room 218
3PM – signing at Clues Unlimited – booth #286-287
Tags: appearances, Iditarod, Justin Savidis, Rebecca, Snowhook, Tucson Book Festival
This entry was posted on Sunday, March 10th, 2013 at 10:16 am and is filed under Chet The Dog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
10:25 am on March 10th, 2013
Greetings and Happy Egg Day!
These time changes kill me!
Spence hope things went well in Tucson and that nobody threw anything!
Rebecca: Please know how proud we are of you, AJ and the dogs. We at this here blog of so proud of Snowhook and all the things you do! Thank you for your reporting! Sending hugs, love, and head bumps from New York.
Belle Starr : The picture the Prof took of you and your mama Luna is on my desktop saver. Miss you!
10:26 am on March 10th, 2013
We will be on the old time until we catch up with th old time change. That’s because we have old software. We like this old software so no problem.
10:30 am on March 10th, 2013
Each of Rebecca’s stories becomes more compelling than the last. It almost feels like being with the Snowhook team, only warmer 🙂
10:36 am on March 10th, 2013
Charlie! Wonder what happened. AJ left Eagle Island at 05:50.
Daylight savings time is pointless.
Have a good session today Spence.
Good morning all.
10:37 am on March 10th, 2013
HOH: Rebecca is a wonderful writer. She has the rare quality of making the reader part of the story and stir the emotions.
10:47 am on March 10th, 2013
Mom and I talked about moving to Arizona this morning in order to avoid this blasted time change. It is cooler in parts of northern Arizona than it is here.
Excellent reporting, Rebecca, Thank You. We will read your story about the hills a bit later. We are looking forward to it, but are not functiioning so well right now because of the stupid time change.
Good Morning All
10:51 am on March 10th, 2013
We LOVE daylight savings time! It give Mom and Dad more time after work before dark to do “things.” After a day or two of adjusting, we are fine with eating at an earlier time. Other than that, we don’t really care. Sleep is sleep after all.
10:53 am on March 10th, 2013
Go SNOWHOOK!!
11:00 am on March 10th, 2013
Gus&BooBear, It is nice to have a voice of cheer this morning.
GO SNOWHOOK!!!
11:07 am on March 10th, 2013
Happy Egg Day!
We here are with G&BB. We love Daylight Savings Time. Now it will be light out when the rents come home, so they can take us for walks or ride their horses.
Thanks for the update, Rebecca. We will read about hills right after they are finished their pancakes.
11:25 am on March 10th, 2013
Even before I retired I didn’t like daylight savings time because it was so dark in the morning…until summer vac. Of course, I’m not a morning person.
11:28 am on March 10th, 2013
Spence: I would love to be in Tuscon for the day.
Admin: Thanks for posting the update from Snowhook. Run, doggies, run!
Zelda up top with Silly Gilly the Show Off Dog.
Princess Sam: Did you get an egg for breakfast?
Doc and Charlie are dropped but nothing major wrong. Thanks to Philip Walters for giving them some pats and scritches.
The eagles and the Native American Veterans have sent the Snowhook team on their way to Kaltag.
Go Snowhook!
12:01 pm on March 10th, 2013
We love Bella’s story of the hills. We’re glad we didn’t think of that story while the team was on those hills.
GO SNOWHOOK!
12:03 pm on March 10th, 2013
No news really about Mae.
Another dog has now gone missing…one of Gerry Willomitzers dogs. He and others are looking for it.
12:09 pm on March 10th, 2013
We just read Rebecca’s story of the hills. The writing is so good I am very tired right now. Well done, Rebecca!
12:25 pm on March 10th, 2013
I had to have a nap already this morning. And Dad is just getting up. He was very tired this a.m. when I woke him for his eye drops.
My nephew posted a picture of his lovely dog Garii on his facebook page. I stole it for you.
12:26 pm on March 10th, 2013
If you click to view it large you can see all the snow crystals gleaming in the sun. So beautiful!
12:26 pm on March 10th, 2013
Oops Rio will notice immediately!
12:29 pm on March 10th, 2013
Very pretty dog! The face and body language is that of a white wolf.
12:29 pm on March 10th, 2013
Garii is beautiful and so is the snow.
12:33 pm on March 10th, 2013
Alice or Staff, Love the picture! Hope Dad is feeling better today.
Thank you Rebecca and Spence for the update.
Most of our snow is gone, due to heavy rains during the night.
Did anyone ever find out if Spence was on tv yesterday?
12:41 pm on March 10th, 2013
B.Stover, I am also not a morning person. I passed this on to my guys. OTAS doesn’t speak, except in grunts, until he has had his caffeine. His MIL was convinced that he was playing her and asked me about it the first time we met. Snort! I told her the three of us had trouble with mornings. She found that out the next morning when she tried to hold a conversation with me before Coco.
Garil is beautiful. I thought she/he was a White Wolf.
On the trail again! This is a long haul. Glad it’s on the ice instead of soft snow.
Patsy had a bath. After that I had my second shower. snicker
12:46 pm on March 10th, 2013
Time!…grunt!groan!…The Tucson Book Festival is going to be on CSPAN2 again today – we will be watching for Spencer (again) …snort!…Right now I need to fire up the GPS Tracker and see where our Team landed…heh!heh!
12:54 pm on March 10th, 2013
The front part of this race is getting really interesting because who is in the lead keeps changing.
12:55 pm on March 10th, 2013
Greetings all.
Bee – we are so glad to know that even great Leaders in Ivory Towers are not morning people. Mama would much rather stay up til 2 or 3 in the morning when she is working on pots and such, and she says she sleeps 8 hours, no matter what time it is that she goes to bed.
Is the Gorgeous Garii an Alaskan Eskimo dog? Or a Samoyed?
Rebecca’s story of the hills truly brought us right to the scene. We wanted to be there with AJ, helping him. This is a man who absolutely loves his dogs.
Gotta go do errands – see you all later.
1:00 pm on March 10th, 2013
Errands!….Someone here thought she was all done with errands but forgot our favorite kibble..grunt!…That last crap she bought at the grocery store is giving Beau more than usual gas erruptions …heh!…So she says she must go out again right after the laundry is done…sniff!…What do you bet that is when Spencer will make an appearance…grump!
1:01 pm on March 10th, 2013
Opps – we also wanted to say that we blew up the GPS tracker really big so we could see the terrain. As far as we could count, AJ was in 27th position. Woo hoo – that’s a big come back from 35th where he was for a while.
Safe and happy running Snowhook!
1:03 pm on March 10th, 2013
Twenty-Seven!….Woooo Hooooo!….Awesome!
1:12 pm on March 10th, 2013
Did anyone find out what time Spence is using? We just turned on CSPAN2 at 1:00 our time and it has on Sonia Mayier (sp).
1:13 pm on March 10th, 2013
Mornings are for sleeping, then feeding birds, then drinking coffee and reading the NYTimes.
Rebecca: I sent an email message to you.
1:14 pm on March 10th, 2013
T&G: When you zoomed in on the GPS tracker, did AJ wave at you?
1:15 pm on March 10th, 2013
Musher profile shows him in 31st place
1:18 pm on March 10th, 2013
SiberH: It’s like a slow motion horse race! My new picks are Mitch Seavey, Joar Leifseth Ulsom and Aliy. It would be fun if the rookie took it all. I cannot believe the talent on the Trail.
I always thought I was a morning person…then I retired. Now, if I wake up before 7, I roll over and try for more.
1:24 pm on March 10th, 2013
The current standings seem to be slow to update.
Here is Patsy before her bath. Every night for about 10 minutes she is running in her sleep. She did not start this until the Iditarod.
1:25 pm on March 10th, 2013
And then just because . .
GRACIE!
1:25 pm on March 10th, 2013
I know, Dawson. I am cheering for Joar and Aliy. I know this won’t happen, but it would be really something if Joar won the race. On the other paw, I would like it if Aliy won the race.
1:28 pm on March 10th, 2013
Garii is a Samoyed and according to my nephew has recently discovered croissants. He loves croissants. The photo was taken by my niece-in-law. She calls the photo Wolf Pose.
Garii came to visit us at the farm on his way moving to Washington State many years ago. I got a nice photo then. He loved the farm, he rolled in a deer carcass! hehehe heheheheh. And he was attacked by mosquitoes. (It was a bad mosquito year)
I have never been a morning person. THe hardest thing about living with the transplant is that I HAVE to take pills every 12 hours and I HAVE to get up every morning at 8 to do that. That is why I have to have so many morning naps.
1:34 pm on March 10th, 2013
Wolf pose is the perfect name for that picture. He looks like a completely different dog in the other pic, but still very beautiful.
1:39 pm on March 10th, 2013
Well I am now friends with many people on the Iditarod site but have no idea what that means or how to talk to them on it. Funny.
1:46 pm on March 10th, 2013
Staff, ask Alice. She is the one who invited me to be her friend. I was hoping she knew what she was doing, because I didn’t. I just accepted and thought how nice of Alice.
1:50 pm on March 10th, 2013
Mel: you’re giving the HOH fits! Our newf sissy gets ripe this week and mom is going to get her. Hope it is soon, because she keeps showing us newf fotos and telling us about the new baby. We get it, why doesn’t she.
P.S. Patsy & Gracie are very pretty.
1:51 pm on March 10th, 2013
Melanie, we didn’t realize two Newfs could look so different!
1:59 pm on March 10th, 2013
They have some guy on at the Tucson Festival of Books talking about Social Security. I’m getting very tired of his hand motions. (I have the tv on mute.)
2:13 pm on March 10th, 2013
My Dad always listens to Car Talk and at the end of it they pushed an article about buying a car by a former car salesman. I learned a lot and recommend it highly if you are thinking about buying a car soon. Also read the 3 comments.
http://www.cartalk.com/content/secret-tricks-car-salesmen
2:16 pm on March 10th, 2013
Siber-H, I mean, Mr.Husky. Alice has no idea and neither do I. I will try some things and find out what happens.
2:26 pm on March 10th, 2013
I thought it was very nice of Alice to ask us to be her friends. Have no idea what it means. Newfoundlands are like people; they may be related, but not look exactly alike.
B. Stover, finally caught up with Elemetary and a new episode comes out March 14th. Woo hoo!
Did a lot today. Foot is elevated, heating pad on back. Time for a nap.
2:30 pm on March 10th, 2013
Trying to imagine how big a Newf puppy is.
2:38 pm on March 10th, 2013
Elementary is my favorite show. March 14 is this coming Thursday!
2:56 pm on March 10th, 2013
LARGE
3:05 pm on March 10th, 2013
But CUTE.
3:30 pm on March 10th, 2013
AJ hasn’t rested much on this leg. Guess the river is a rest after the past terrain.
GO SNOWHOOK and AJ!!!
3:41 pm on March 10th, 2013
Most of the mushers have been like rockets oyt of Eagle Island.
3:42 pm on March 10th, 2013
OUT not oyt…jeeze.
3:45 pm on March 10th, 2013
Okay. I think we are finally caught up reading the posts.
Have been following the race on facebookie with our little Go-phone.
Latest(?) on Mush’n Mon’s lost team member:
Update on Mae from Anna (Jim Lanier’s wife): “I flew to McGraph (THANKS TO IDITAROD FOR COVERING THE COST). A wonderful family in Nicolai gave me a snowmachine and went with me to look for May….. I have to run to catch a plane to Rohn. May was spotted there again..”
It looks like Miss May is now in Rohn. Hopefully the next report we hear from Anna Bondarenko is that she has May and will be bringing her back to the Northern Whites Kennel in Chugiak. Fingers crossed and prayers made. Thank you all for your kinds words and concern for May. As soon as we hear more, we’ll let everyone know.
As Siber said, another dog has gone missing near Shageluk. No news yet. More prayers for both.
3:50 pm on March 10th, 2013
We just got back from horse riding (well rents ride and we trail blaze) . We didn’t get a chance to catch up yet, but were wondering how close to Miisha & Sasha’s checkpoint our team is.
3:53 pm on March 10th, 2013
Poor puppies.
C. Hobbit, when we would finally let our puppies go to their homes, they would weigh around 30 pounds.
Going to check on our fearless Team.
3:56 pm on March 10th, 2013
O’Howlers, Mr.Husky and Bear Spirit I sent you a private message by Iditarod…what happened at your end?
Rio! I want to send you one but you won’t friend me. sniff sniff sniff…
4:03 pm on March 10th, 2013
I can’t figure out how many miles. Right now my brain is not doing math.
Weather for Keltag, AK
Currently . .Cloudy. 18° RealFeel® 20°
Hourly Forecast
Today
Mar 10 . . Cloudy . .Hi 25 . .RealFeel 27°
Tonight . . Clear to partly cloudy. . Lo 0° . .RealFeel 3°
Mar 11
Plenty of sunshine . .Hi 22° . .RealFeel 28°
Turning warmer late tomorrow night
Kaltag
4:07 pm on March 10th, 2013
Unalakleet looks pretty good. Today it’s snowing but clear and below freezing for the next few days.
4:07 pm on March 10th, 2013
Great Photos of:
Jasper & his beautiful mom.
Garii the Samoyed Wolf Dog.
Mom & dad of Staff, Dawson, A Catty, the Turtleman
and brother Chris (it’s no wonder you are such a Lovely Family with parents such as these.
River Bears Patsy and Gracie (true…no Newf looks the same…as each member of the nation within has their own Special Look & Personality)
Hope No One has been Forgotten, but if so…it’s because we have landed in a Different Time on this Day of Leaping Forward.
Staff: Please let Alice know she has passed the “test”. Heh.
4:10 pm on March 10th, 2013
Oh good. Thank you Bear. Did you get it on you personal SDD or was it somewhere on the Iditarod site and if so, where?
4:15 pm on March 10th, 2013
Staff, I am going to go look for mine now. I just got back to the computer.
4:15 pm on March 10th, 2013
Staff!….Sorry, I thought you were Alice…snicker!
4:18 pm on March 10th, 2013
Requests!…Staff I just checked and I have no requests from anyone here to freind me on the insider site…grunt!
4:18 pm on March 10th, 2013
Oh, That was easy. I got an email from the Iditarod at my usual email address and I clicked on a link that was in their message to see the message from Alice.
That is a cool avatar of Alice that goes with the message feature.
4:20 pm on March 10th, 2013
Staff!…I just lied through my crooked teeth to you…heh!…I clicked the “requests” link and there was Alice knocking on my door…sniff!
4:43 pm on March 10th, 2013
Staff: I received my message the same way as Siber-H did.
4:55 pm on March 10th, 2013
I received the friend request but I haven’t received a message.
5:16 pm on March 10th, 2013
BStover, I just received notice that you have allowed Alice to be my friend. It was dated hours ago so they are having a few issues with this service.
Heh Rio you will love the avatar…I thought of you when I saw it.
5:19 pm on March 10th, 2013
Right now I think AJ and the team are about 17 miles or so from Kaltag. Probably just a couple of hours more. It is amazing how the leaders keep changing. Got Alice’s message but haven’t had a chance yet to respond on a computer, but will definitely friend her, whatever that means.
Go Snowhook!
5:25 pm on March 10th, 2013
OOps, Dad is up. Off to see if he will eat.
BBL
5:30 pm on March 10th, 2013
Staff, AtC sent us a private message that didn’t have a way to respond, and also another message to which we responded.
5:36 pm on March 10th, 2013
A little travel music for AJ and Snowhook (except the second or third verse)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huOT6zCgZEU
5:37 pm on March 10th, 2013
This was Zoë’s suggestion!
5:38 pm on March 10th, 2013
Dropped dogs! My mama just got the call that three dropped dogs are ready for pick up. Jem, Bjourn and Marco!
5:40 pm on March 10th, 2013
Ah W-L, your son Marco won’t be making it to Nome this year. But there is always next year. Good job, Marco, Bjorn, and Jem.
We have most of our leaders yet, don’t we? YAY? How about big strong wheel dogs?
5:42 pm on March 10th, 2013
Hip hip hurrah! They are coming home to love . .
5:42 pm on March 10th, 2013
And Junior! He is still going strong! And Orion, one of our favs. Not to mention leaders Quig, Twig, Elim, Fritz, and The Winsome Louisa Mae!
5:48 pm on March 10th, 2013
Is Charlie still on the team?
5:51 pm on March 10th, 2013
No, Bee. harlie of the earodynamic ears was dropped with Doc. 🙁
5:51 pm on March 10th, 2013
Alice, you clever kat you.
(whispering) how did you do your avatar?)
5:51 pm on March 10th, 2013
No, Bee. Charlie of the earodynamic ears was dropped with Doc. 🙁
5:56 pm on March 10th, 2013
Home again, home again, jiggity jig.
Now, if only internet will stay functioning for the rest of t he night. Seems our wireless router has “issues” and needs to be replaced. They will come Tuesday afternoon to do that, but until then, our internet is as questionable as a Siber protecting a flock of fat, tasty chickens.
Wearing barbeque sauce.
HOH – we have seen the puppies that have left Melanie’s house on their way to new homes. They are bigger than us! We only weigh about 25 pounds, and those pups make us look like Chihuahuas.
Wookie’s Family – we hope you are right about mileage. We can’t make heads or tails of the mile markers and where they are.
Bella – when we zoomed in on the GPS, we yelled and waved to AJ, but he had his earphones in and was apparently blasting his ipod, cuz he never even looked up. But he was smiling, and so were the dogs, so its all good.
6:16 pm on March 10th, 2013
Thanks, Zoe! Good Travel’n Music.
Wow. Pete Seeger will be 91 in May.
Updated Favorite Mushers to: AJ, Ally, Ulsom, Mikhail and Cindy Abbott.
6:20 pm on March 10th, 2013
Is anyone my friend at the Iditarod site (under akclh)?
Crap. Discovered flooded floors. Septic has failed. Emergency call out (of course). Awaiting a call back. Laminate floors I installed two years ago are puckering at the seams. {{{{sigh}}} Had a different emergency repair a couple of weeks ago (my fault). $364 bill. $4 parts and $360 in emergency labor (10 minutes of work and 75 minutes in travel time). Maybe I’ll rent my next place rather than buying it.
6:23 pm on March 10th, 2013
I replied to Alice on Iditarod.
6:40 pm on March 10th, 2013
T&G At least your internet company is coming out to take care of the router problem. When we had to have a new one, our internet company sent mom to Best Buy to purchase one.
Say, Where are those chickens?
CHarris, Our sympathies with the septic tank problem. We also have a septic tank.
6:50 pm on March 10th, 2013
We have been away from the computer for awhile. Kids visiting, chores being done, lunch out. Now home for the evening. Hope we can stay awake for a bit!
C.Hobbit, hope the septic problems are easy to take care of. We want you to get to a place that is more manageable. Our little place here gives Barb peace of mind. So nice!
6:54 pm on March 10th, 2013
C.Hobbit. We would be your friend, but we have no idea how to send you a request.
Buser has really burned out it seems. And Berkowitz had a bad run with his dogs getting diarrhea.
6:56 pm on March 10th, 2013
Okay Plunderers, why do emergency house repairs, doctor visits and such ALWAYS come on the weekend?
Mile 615. Woo Hoo!
7:04 pm on March 10th, 2013
I think AJ is 9 miles away ? ? Maybe ? ?
I know that I’m beginning to watch too many crime dramas in a row. I took the recycling out using the large dolly and two cars pasted me. All I could think was, “I hope they don’t think I’m carting around a dead body.”
7:05 pm on March 10th, 2013
Pasted me? PASTED ME?
Jeeze Louise. It’s time to go upstairs.
7:06 pm on March 10th, 2013
Cheery!….My friend worked on a cheerful project today…sniff!…Seems she is in the dumps thinking about having to go to the busy-place tomorrow and wanted to make something bright and cheerful…snort!…Too bad the lighting was crap when she finished – the photo is not showing the bright colors very well…wheeze!…Plus it still needs some glue picked off with a sharp pointed knife. The kind she doesn’t let me or Beau near…heh!
7:26 pm on March 10th, 2013
Rio: Tell your Friend thank you from us for her latest Cheery Creation.
Such a Nice Lift for the end of this Long Day. 🙂
7:28 pm on March 10th, 2013
Bear!…Did you and Maskers watch the latest episode of Justified yet?…snort!
7:35 pm on March 10th, 2013
Hey everyone – we know you are all busy watching green flags move, but we are going to ask you to take time for a quick history/social studies lesson.
The next checkpoint AJ and the team will reach is Kaltag – which is dedicted to Sasha and her Moonman. This is very appropriate, based on the history of Kaltag itself.
This area was originally a cemetery area for all the local Native communities. The shifting river eventually reclaimed the land that held the graves, and the actual cemetery was no longer there. But to this day, Kaltag is home to Stick Dance Festivals, week long celebrations to remember those who have passed away, to mourn them one last time, say farewell and celebrate their lives. Festivals are hosted by the families who have recently lost loved ones. Many guests come, all bringing traditional foods. There are nightly gatherings where people eat, and sing ceremonial songs, and dance around a beribboned “stick” which is actually a small tree that has been stripped of all bark and branches. On the last full night of the festival, the tree is taken to the river and thrown in, to carry all sad memories away, and to carry prayers out to sea where the Whale People can hear them, where Eagles can pick them up and carry them away.
The last day of the Festival is the big Potlatch. Gifts are given to every single person there by the hosting families. They believe that by giving away gifts, they are honoring not only their loved ones, but all the ancestors who knew that in order to survive the Arctic, all must share.
AJ will be coming to a place that is very special to the Native people. We know that he is an honorable person, and we know he shows respect to the Native people he meets. He will be welcomed in Kaltag, and there should be a feeling of goodwill and sharing in the air, from all the Potlatches that have been held there over time.
In honor of Eileen and Ray who have lost some very special beings in their lives this year, we would like to act as their voice in a small Potlatch. We will be sending a gift to each Plunderer who has come to Kaltag tonight, for you are honoring not only AJ and the team, but also honoring Sasha, Moonman, Sheik, Wookie, MollyPop, Katie, Ellie, Howard, all the other dogs of Snowhook, along with the Raven, and Staff and Dawson’s mother and brother, CHobbit’s dad and every other member of our family who has gone on.
If you would like to place a special honoring on AJ, all you need to do is give a gift to someone tonight or tomorrow or in the next few day, and say to that person that you are giving this to them as an honor. It does not need to be anything big, or expensive or even material. You can give a kiss, or a smile, or a favor. You can give to Salvation Army, or Goodwill. Just be sure to state that you are giving this to honor AH and know in your heart that you give on behalf of Eileen and Ray.
Surely will all the honors heaped upon him, he will feel the pride of all the ancestors smiling on him and his team.
We’ll be back in a little bit with a short prayer for tonight.
7:38 pm on March 10th, 2013
I really like the latest project Rio.
7:38 pm on March 10th, 2013
You got it, Sweetie!
7:45 pm on March 10th, 2013
Gifts!…I like gifts!…snort!snort!…Especially if they are slim jim gifts…chuffle!
7:47 pm on March 10th, 2013
Stover!…Someone says this is another take on Sunflowers…grunt!
8:00 pm on March 10th, 2013
Creator – many thanks come to you on this night. Thanks for colder air, and smoother trails. Thanks for calm weather and calmer hearts. We give thanks for the earth under our dancing feet. We give thanks to those who came before us, who taught us the ways to live in honor.
Creator – tonight AJ and the team will enter the sacred ground known as Kaltag. In this place where ancestors are remembered, where many prayers have been offered for loved ones past, this good and honorable man is coming.
Creator – we sing in honor of the ones we have loved.
We sing their songs, to remember their joy.
We sing their stories, their deeds and lives.
We sing that their children will know they were cherished.
In singing their songs, we honor this one who comes
We ask all to support this one who is good.
Our songs will carry our prayers to the sea
Let our songs also carry the sled and our friend
Our songs are sad for the losses we have felt,
But our songs have great joy for we know they still hear
They hear that we honor, and give in their name
Their smiles are felt each time that we give
We give for the love that we had for a time
We give for the love that will always be felt
We give to honor the lives that have passed
We give to honor the lives that we have.
Creator – many thanks come to you on this night. Thanks for colder air, and smoother trails. Thanks for calm weather and calmer hearts. We give thanks for the earth under our dancing feet. We give thanks to those who came before us, who taught us the ways to live in honor.
8:08 pm on March 10th, 2013
Amen. We love the thought of “dancing feet” for the dogs that love to run. It must be like dancing for them. A&L, we will gift someone with best wishes tomorrow even though we feel their decision to marry is very wrong for both of them and her little girl. But we will sincerely give them our good wishes for a happy life together.
8:10 pm on March 10th, 2013
Amen.
Thank You, Thank You, Thank You, Amalia & Leonard.
Just when we think the Special Prayers couldn’t get any better they do.
8:10 pm on March 10th, 2013
Amen. Thank you once again, A&L.
Kaltag. The checkpoint dedicated to those we loved: Misha and Sasha, together forever.
8:13 pm on March 10th, 2013
Kaltag!….This prayer will bring them into Kaltag, they are very very close now…snorkel!…Amen!
8:16 pm on March 10th, 2013
Amen. The right words in the right order bring peace and serenity. Thank you. We will ponder the gift tonight to make sure it is right.
8:18 pm on March 10th, 2013
We just now got caught up on the posts. T&G, Thank you for thinking of our boy and girl. We will be sure to give gifts tomorrow, to honor AJ, on behalf of our Sasha and her Moonman. We love you all.
8:20 pm on March 10th, 2013
Amen.
I will be back much later.
8:21 pm on March 10th, 2013
Beautiful Prayer, Amalia and Leonard. Thank You
sniff
Tomorrow mom and I will give, Molly, Rudy, and their mom a gift in honor of AJ. We won’t even have to explain who AJ is since they always ask at the dog park how Snowhook is doing in the Iditarod.
8:22 pm on March 10th, 2013
Wonder if Rebecca finally got some rest. She’s been quiet today. Or maybe she has gone to pick up the 3 dogs that got dropped that were brought back today.
8:24 pm on March 10th, 2013
Amen.
8:26 pm on March 10th, 2013
Map makes it look like AJ is in Kaltag but tracker still shows him moving.
8:27 pm on March 10th, 2013
Rio: Snort…Justified…not yet.
Off for some din din.
Back in a bit.
8:31 pm on March 10th, 2013
Double amen for both the prayer and the wonderful story that preceded it. Thank you Amalia and Leonard for lifting our spirits so and for the wonderful supporting words for our Snowhook team as they come into Kaltag.
8:32 pm on March 10th, 2013
Thank you and Amen. We will be happy to give a small gift in honor of AJ and in honor of all The Plunders who have lost a loved one this year.
8:33 pm on March 10th, 2013
Why does it look like AJ went upriver from Kaltag?
8:34 pm on March 10th, 2013
G&BB: He must be there, but not yet checked in.
8:37 pm on March 10th, 2013
He is there. Happy Day. We are turning in now, and will dream happy dreams of The Boy and The Girl dancing with the dogs of Snowhook on the mighty Yukon, with Shiek looking on and protecting all. Good night Plunderers..
8:37 pm on March 10th, 2013
He’s there!!!
8:40 pm on March 10th, 2013
Praise!…God! The team has made it to Kaltag!….Woooooo!Hooooo!
8:40 pm on March 10th, 2013
AJ is in Kaltag on D Street between 7th and 5th.
We love the GPS tracker, and when you to to satellite view instead of map, you can zoom in even closer.
AJ better DUCK!
8:44 pm on March 10th, 2013
Satellite!….Wow!Wow!…Tupper thats amazing! Thanks for the great spy-tip!…chuffle!…I hope Rebecca knows about this…heh!
8:44 pm on March 10th, 2013
A little reminder to the staff from the blog kats.
8:46 pm on March 10th, 2013
I just got caught up on today’s blog – A&L – thank you so much for giving us deeper insight into AJ’s path while he’s on the trail. You two are amazing.
I’m glad the dropped Snowhook dogs will be home soon. There are pictures of dropped dogs on the Iditarod site and some of those puppies look so sad.
Alice wants to be my friend. How cool is that?
‘Night all. Godspeed AJ and the team and thoughts with Rebecca while she waits.
8:46 pm on March 10th, 2013
Standings!….The standings have been updated and our Team is in 31st place right now..snort!….I hope they get some good grub and rest before moving on…wheeze!
8:54 pm on March 10th, 2013
Have y’all checked Snowhook’s blog lately? Rebecca posted individual pictures of the 16 dogs that started the race! Very cool!!
8:55 pm on March 10th, 2013
Well, she posted it a week ago and we just now saw it!
9:04 pm on March 10th, 2013
Rebecca, thank you for posting those pictures. We loved putting faces to the dogs you have mentioned so often. Mom tried to post on your blog, but couldn’t sign in. So we are telling you thanks here.
9:27 pm on March 10th, 2013
It’s nice to how we all love Alice Magnolia but be careful. I have been on a mission with her where she became my idol but it means she orders you around and she is truly a diva. I learned a lot.
9:29 pm on March 10th, 2013
Sammie!…Alice hypnotized me into friending her…grunt!…She is up to no good. So beware!
9:46 pm on March 10th, 2013
Thank you Masquers for the reminder. Those kats tend to get a little bossy at night. Abbie is sitting in the front window right now but she is thinking about food I just know it. Oops. Here she is. I will be right back.
9:47 pm on March 10th, 2013
A&L: Amen to the prayer and thank you! I will ponder a gift.
cHobbit: What a bummer.
Kaltag: The checkpoint of Misha and Sasha. Have a good meal and some rest, Snowhook doggies. You are all doing great!
9:49 pm on March 10th, 2013
AJ is Resting With the Team so we are going to follow suit.
I’m being told tomorrow is another Early Day.
Sleep Well Everyone – Bear
9:55 pm on March 10th, 2013
I’m back. Masquers I don’t really remember how I did the avatar. Except I decided to do a closeup of the eyes that Rio admires so much.
9:58 pm on March 10th, 2013
Chobbit Staff is very sorry to hear about your water problems. A Catty Librarian and her husband had that problem. When they were out of town the filter thingy on their water to the sink (I think I have this correct) broke and flooded the house and it wasn’t discovered for a while. Not sure how long but it was days. UGH!
10:04 pm on March 10th, 2013
AJ and the dogs will have a good rest in Kaltag.
I hope Rebecca and Whitey-Lance are okay.
Mom says we are going to sleep now…all the better to adjust to the new time. I’m not sleepy. I don’t get it.
night all
10:05 pm on March 10th, 2013
OK Masquers I have been trying to figure out the Avatar and on the Iditarod site I went to Community then profile and then clicked the avatar link (below messages)and followed the directions and then SAVED it. I forgot to save it the first time and had to do it over.
10:07 pm on March 10th, 2013
Sewer!…Poor CHobbit…grunt!…My friend thinks “owning” is a pain in the ass too…sniff!…I’m pretty sure I will be living in my Cabin in Alaska one day soon..chuffle!
10:21 pm on March 10th, 2013
Race!…I know this is a Big Race. The Last Big Race. But seeing The Giant and the A-Team sitting still in Kaltag gives me peace and comfort right now….snorkel!…It have been a very long couple of days for our team and I feel good about them being safe and sound in a small town with so much love and history…wheeze!…I know I will rest easy tonight, I sure hope Rebecca does too…sniffle!
10:33 pm on March 10th, 2013
Rookie!….We are tracking Joar #32 right now….unbelievable!
10:35 pm on March 10th, 2013
Sunset in Kaltag now.
http://akweathercams.faa.gov/viewsitedetail.php
11:05 pm on March 10th, 2013
Amen and thank you. Pondering on a special gift……
11:10 pm on March 10th, 2013
I think that Charlie is the most handsome and Lefty has the most honest face. (Apparently looks can be deceiving!)
11:26 pm on March 10th, 2013
Alice: Thanks for the Kaltag weathercam link and the help with the instructions for posting my avatar on the Insider.
Now that the latest mission is over it’s time to change, from my dog disguise, back to myself as a kat.
CHobbit: Sorry about the septic tank.
Seems you’ve had more than your share of unexpected expenses of late. Has the problem with your jaw subsided at least?
Wolfie: We too are thinking about the gift we will give to honor our favorite musher.
What a wonderful way to say we care with this simple and sincere act of love.
Time for this armchair musher to call it a night.
Talk to y’all tomorrow.
11:34 pm on March 10th, 2013
We still just love Jem and his nose (and did you notice his smile?). All of them are very handsome and pretty dogs!
11:39 pm on March 10th, 2013
CHobbit, mom thinks that your homeowners insurance may cover this sort of event. I am sorry to hear of your troubles.
12:12 am on March 11th, 2013
The second missing dog has been found. Praise Dog.
1:59 am on March 11th, 2013
So glad to hear it!
2:01 am on March 11th, 2013
When Patsy returned from where she roamed this night (and landed on my stomach all 155 pounds of her), I. Checked to see what our team was doing. Resting. I think I will join them once I have moved Patsy.
Peace for sleep.
Peace while running.
Peace in all your hearts
Dance and run with Joy.
5:20 am on March 11th, 2013
It’s 6:20 EDT. He’s moving at mile 627. -3 degrees!
Have a good day, Everybody.
Spence – I hope your Tucson tour was successful and that you had some flatbread.
5:52 am on March 11th, 2013
Thank you Royals for the lovely prayer and for the protection it offers AJ, who is such a good man. And thank you for all your prayers, and the serenity they bring to me.
6:40 am on March 11th, 2013
Another dog was dropped in Kaltag. 🙁
7:13 am on March 11th, 2013
We’re not the only ones confused by the time change. Sometime yesterday afternoon, blog posts went back to Standard time and still that way. Hope today fixes it. Since it is now 8:14 (not 7) it is time for baby breakfast here.
8:30 am on March 11th, 2013
Hmm, after reading The Hills story, maybe I shouldn’t have put that song on AJ’s list?
500 Miles
I didn’t really mean he needed to walk them!
Good morning. AJ and Team are on the road and so am I!
9:51 am on March 11th, 2013
We finally had time to get to the Snowhook page to check out the line up of 16. Oh my, what sweet, good, lovable faces. Who could see Charlie and NOT fall on love. Who could see Jem( and his nose) and not grin back. But our favorite pic is the last one. Who could see the picture of mutual hugs between AJ and his puppy, and not see the love that radiates between the two?
10:06 am on March 11th, 2013
There is a video of AJ featured today. Wooooooooooooo!!!!!
10:07 am on March 11th, 2013
I watched the latest Run Dog Run vidoe the one subtitled Almost Home. At about 2:00 minutes there is a closeup of a white dog running in front of an orange coated musher. Watch that Dogs ears. Is that what Charlie’s ears are like when he runs? I laughed out loud! So frikkin cute.
10:13 am on March 11th, 2013
Macy! Thanks for the heads up. I watched it. I wonder which dog was in the sled as he came in. Probably that was the one he had to leave behind. This is a very young team so I understand why they are running like they do. Veteran race dogs know that they will get through to another check point if they only keep on.