“Step with care and great tact, and remember that Life’s a Great Balancing Act.” the wise and wonderful Dr. Seuss
Yes my friends it is! It is especially true when you are balancing life, dog teams, business, races, work, and when you can get it sleep. So this year at Dew Claw we made the calculated decision to forgo racing in order to give more attention to the guiding side of the kennel. But since the long range plans definitely include racing we also decided to breed 2 of our best females. That means we are also raising an adorably wonderful group of young dogs with great potential and talent. As of that is not enough to focus on, Jodi is getting a great response to her glass art, and it is now available for sale in Nome, at The Murre and in Fairbanks, at Mark Knapp Custom Knives & Edge of the Arctic Trading Post. Yup, the balancing act continues even without racing this year we are as busy as ever.
I think the most fun for us has been getting to meet such a wide variety of adventurous travelers. Some have always had mushing on their bucket list, whereas others just stumble across the idea and think it sounds like fun. Responses range from speechless awe to giddy childish glee. But one thing for sure, they can not help but be amazed by and fall in love with the dogs.
We have had been fortunate to entertain guest from all over the world. Even folks visiting from as far away as South America and New Zealand have stayed toasty warm in the heated tents. Super exciting to see such a great positive response to our new overnight tours.
The addition of puppies at the kennel has been a treat for visitors and puppies alike.
I was thinking to myself, as I often do when on a longer run and my mind has time to wander as it pleases, that if I wrote a book about this season it would be hard to categorize. Dogs of course! A healthy serving of Alaska, especially Chatanika area. It would also have to include action, adventure, wildlife, photography, geography, and meteorology, not to mention a healthy helping of comedy. But there would also be romance (we even had a proposal on a trip!), family reunions, cross cultural communications, and the phenomenal Northern Lights.
Of course words on the page will never do justice to the actual experience. In my rambling mind I have come to the conclusion that real adventures are not easily categorized. And some things just can not be fully shared vicariously, you just have to experience them for yourself.
So thankful to all who have joined us to make this season the most exciting and adventurous we could hope for! We have some plans in the works for this summer and next year. Including night sky / aurora viewing nights in a private cabin. Dog, hiking, berry picking and glass fusing themed get-a-ways. And musher training camps.
Although currently we have taken time from racing to focus on guiding, it is still very much on our minds. Best Wished to all our friends on the Iditarod ~ have a grand adventure!
Having started with wise words, I will end with the same.
“You don’t climb mountains without a team, you don’t climb mountains without being fit, you don’t climb mountains without being prepared and you don’t climb mountains without balancing the risks and rewards. And you never climb a mountain on accident – it has to be intentional.”
Mark Udall
