From the Mountains to the Ocean

Summer has arrived in Alaska, so I've traded in my skis for my bike and kayak. My first bike ride of the year was a 4 hour ride on the dirt road in Denali. Should've done a little "breaking in" first, but there is no time to waste when the sun is shining, there is no one in the busiest park in AK, and you can ride here:

For the two of you who have been reading this thing since 2007, you may recall my bike trip to Denali. Let me help refresh your memory.

Yes, that would be the ultimate in bike couture. Only the most fashionable diva can pull off a thick wool hat under the bike helmet look. But let's focus on the snow/sleet/hail. That was then. Welcome to Denali Bike Trip 2009!

You'll notice I've traded in the fashionable wool/helmet combo for the ever-popular green Cubs hat. And I've ditched the snow and ice on my face in exchange for a little mud (that is not a big hairy mole). And most importantly, it's SUNNY!! And hot! This summer is shaping up to be one for the record books.

Then, after Denali, I headed south to Seward and Bear Glacier for a hybrid kayak/surf trip. I don't surf...yet...but Scott does. I watched him from the beach. At first you think, "Wow, that guy is totally nuts!" But then you get a little jealous because he's out there swimming around with seals and occasionally riding a wave while I'm checking the beach for that bear that just ambled by.

Rounding Caines Head in Resurrection Bay:

Bear Glacier - the lagoon was pretty locked in:

We scared this guy!

View from one of our camp spots:Waiting for the next big one:
Happy campers/kayakers/surfer!

Dog Days

The last two weekends have been a heck of a ride. Last weekend consisted of 3 days of Iditarod mayhem. On Saturday, there is a ceremonial start in Anchorage. The real race begins in Willow the following day, but first, there's Saturday. Yours truly got to "handle" for one of the rookie mushers, Karin Hendrickson (who is, by the way, kicking ass...probably has everything to do with her handlers). Handling the dogs means you have 2 jobs: 1. you get the dogs to the starting line, and 2. DO NOT step on their feet. That's harder said than done if you know how excited these dogs are. They gun their engines all the way to the start line. This video will give you an idea. Sorry it's flipped on its side...I have to remember that when I shoot videos that way. Anyway, you'll get the gist. This team was passing our staging area on its way to the start line.

After releasing the hounds, I let the Lance Mackey groupie in me come out. This guy is the quintessential musher. He looks like he's had a rough life (he reminds me a little of Ernest from "Ernest Goes to Camp"), has smoked too much of something...let's put is this way, he's got a dog named "Pimp"...but he's got serious love for his K-9s and that scores him major points in the musher groupie world. So I went to go check he and his pups out. Most mushers have their head handler get the dogs on the line, but Mackey did all the grunt work himself. And as a groupie, I thought that was way cool. As of tonight, he's well on his way to kicking the crap out of cocky Jeff King. Go Mackey! Here he is at the ceremonial start looking incredibly relaxed. That's Pimp on the left.

The ceremonial start is always fun, but I'd never been to the real deal until this year. I got to go behind the scenes to the staging area for all the mushers and their team. I was hoping to score another position handling for Karin, but she already had way too many wanna-be handlers, so I made my way on over to watch the start with the rest of the regular spectators. It was great to watch the teams fly down the shoot. As they ran by you can't help but think, "Holy sh*t, they're on their way to Nome!" These dogs are the most amazing athletes!
Then, on Monday, a few friends and I jumped on a charter flight to Finger Lake, one of the checkpoints at the start of the race. We got to see teams enter the checkpoint, rest up, leave, and even watch a few blow by the checkpoint on their way to the next one.

The resting teams were the most fascinating to watch - once they get settled in, the mushers lay hay for the dogs to sleep on, check paws, and begin cooking up tasty snacks. One musher was feeding her dogs beaver. We wondered where the heck someone finds enough beaver to feed 16 run-aholic dogs, but didn't ask questions. Volunteer vets check each and every dog thoroughly at each checkpoint. While all that was going on, I was on the hunt for blue eyed pups and managed to catch a few with their eyes open.

But most teams looked like this while resting.

The most hilarious dog is right here. Her name is Ellen. She sleeps sitting up while her mommy musher cooks for the team. She did this the entire 2ish hours we were at the checkpoint. Every now and then her head were lean closer and closer to the ground, and just before her nose would touch the hay she'd self-correct and go right back to this position. She may have blue eyes, but I never saw them open!

I continued a doggie theme this past weekend while on my Third Annual Fairbanks Trip. I did manage to view some non-doggie ice sculptures at the World Championship Ice Carving contest, and even hit up those infamous ice slides. This time we tried them backwards, and I recorded it. The fear is pretty obvious on my face.

And last but not least, I rode the whip sled with my friend Tom and his dogs. They call it a whip sled for a reason. I gave a lovely demonstration of this...video to follow once I get a copy. In the meantime, see if you think these guys are ready to run.

Winter Wonderland

That's not me. I don't know who that is. This isn't even my picture. In fact, I'm pretty sure this isn't even in Alaska. So why do I post it here? That would be because I went on a ski tour this past weekend and had the most phenomenal weather and views you can imagine...and I forgot my camera!! I was so excited to make all 2 of you who read this thing jealous, so I started charging up my batteries while packing for this last-minute trip. But in true Lindsay fashion* I failed to bring the camera. So, this internet search find will have to do. It does capture the essence of what I saw - not a single cloud in the sky, white sparkly snow in front of us, and a 360 degree view of mountains around us. It was stunning.

Wrigley was a bit of a buzz kill though. On the way back to the truck he decided to chase a porcupine. You'd think he'd learn that bad things happen when he chases things (i.e., cars, metal edged skis, and now porcupines). He re-joined us with a new set of jewelry: a cheek full of quills. My friend was able to yank most out with his hands, and a few more came out later with the help of some pliers. Yee-ouch! (One was hidden away on top of his head- maybe it migrated??) So, Wrigs is under quill surveillance. I'm just hoping it doesn't lead to surgery no. 3!

Wrigley and I were crashing at a friend's cabin in on Kenai Lake for the better part of the weekend. The property is amazing, and I can't wait to go back again! Nights were spent in a sauna, the cabin (really, it's a house) inspires relaxed evenings with friends, and there is an unlimited number of adventures to be had all over the place! And the best part? It's RIGHT on the lake (i.e. the perfect kayak launch site). It is surrounded by unbelievably beautiful country, and I have already invited myself back for more!

*If you knew me in Chicago, you knew that I was the one who got to Wrigley Field for a Cubs game and then realized that I left my tickets at home. Luckily, it was only a 4 block jog back to my place!

What have I gotten myself into?

Meet Jake. Jake is my second foster dog. I've had him since Sunday afternoon. He's a bit scary looking, and aside from Pocainio (the guy in a previous post, who sadly passed away recently), he's got the largest head of any dog I've ever seen. But he's a sweetie. Kinda whiny, but sweet.But here's my dilemma. I don't know if I want to keep fostering. Here's why:

I love dogs. I think that's pretty obvious. I agreed to take in foster dogs because how can I resist?? But, the foster dogs I've had (all 2 of them) are, not surprisingly, starved for attention. Any time I try to give Wrigley some love, they nudge their way in and hijack belly rubs. They kick Wrigley off the bed and sleep nuzzled up next to me. That used to be Wrigley's job. Don't get me wrong, Wrigs isn't getting totally screwed. He gets wrestling buddies and has company while I'm at work. But I'm wondering if it's really worth it. I have a special place in my heart for Wrigley and am having a hard time dividing my attention between one spoiled dog and one incredibly needy dog.

Also, two dogs is a LOT more work than one dog. I used to think that two dogs would be like having another half of a dog - sure you've got to feed it and walk it, but you're already doing that anyway! Wrong! It's more like having 2 and a half dogs. Walking two dogs is an exercise in chaos management. My neighbors have literally been outside laughing at me as I've walked Jake and Wrigley. It's comical...to them.

Then you can add in the stress that comes with having a dog you don't know staying at your house. Hunter, the first foster dog, was very skittish. I couldn't have other people or dogs over without going through a big introduction. And there's also the destruction factor - if I leave it for 5 minutes, will it eat my shoes? While I'm at work will it destroy my house? I've had to put Jake in a crate because he's part kangaroo and clears the baby gate (downstairs is "doggie-proofed") with no effort. As soon as he's in there he starts barking and crying. But I can't let him loose...what if he eats my couch? My walls? My carpet? My furniture?

And most importantly, the addition of a foster dog seems to have an effect I hadn't considered. Taking in a foster dog doesn't just affect me, it also affects others in my life. Some people aren't dog people. Or they have dogs that freak my foster dog out. Or they have kids and I have no idea how a foster will act around kids.

So, I'm having an internal battle. I love helping dogs find their "forever homes," but it may just be too much for me and Wrigley. I feel guilty and selfish, but after this week, I think it's time to find another way to help out.

Foster Mom

I went to Petco last week to buy Wrigley some goodies. When I got there I saw my friend Jenn's car in the parking lot. I thought, "Cool, Jenn's here. Bet she's buying something for her cats." I still hadn't clued in to the fact that she was there at the dog and puppy adoption clinic. So I walk in, go find Jenn (and our other friend, Jen - it's very confusing - there are so many Jen/Jenn's up here!) and the two of them try to make me get a puppy. They're evil, those two. I was somehow strong enough to resist the puppies, but I got suckered in by an "older" dog, Hunter. Really, he's just a large puppy. I took him out of his crate, walked him outside, started thinking, "Hmmm, I've thought about a second dog before..." But I still wasn't ready for the commitment. For crying out loud, I'd only gone to the store to get some nail cutting tool for Wrigs, not a new brother! The lady running the clinic is even more evil than the two Jen/Jenn's. She says, "You know, you don't have to keep him. He just needs a foster home." Then she goes on to tell me that the non-profit adoption clinic has rented office space to store dogs because they don't have enough foster homes. She had me at "office space." I'm a sucker, and I volunteered to take Hunter as my foster dog. How could I resist that face??

Wrigley couldn't have been happier with the addition of a 24/7 wrestling buddy to the house. I got them to stop wrestling long enough to snap this picture, but then they were back at it.
Hunter went up to the Eagle River adoption clinic this week where he was adopted twice. The first time he was returned quickly (he didn't warm up to the husband), and he was adopted right before closing by another couple. I wish him luck - I hope he finds his forever home! (Wrigley is still sleeping from a week of wrestling!)

Some of you have asked if I'd become too attached to a foster dog to give it up. I was scared that would happen to me. Luckily, I'm genuinely happy that Hunter may have found his home (he's on a 10 day trial - he could be back here before you know it, making this adoption thing kind of anti-climatic). I just want him to have a good life (he'd had a rough one prior to now). But, I am human, and when a lady stopped by to pick him up to take him to the adoption clinic, I shed a tear when I realized that that could be the last time I ever see that guy. He's a sweetie.