News

The summer heat is sticky. We don’t usually get weather like this here in Seward — it’s been in the high seventies. What is even more bizarre is that the weather has been consistently hot now for several weeks. These warm days remind me of growing up on the Cape where the air got hot and humid making your hair frizzle out. These are the days that make you think of eating ice cream, of going swimming, and having a good time.

The heat certainly doesn’t make you think of sled dogs…or sled dog tours! When it is 75 degrees it is hard to think of mushing down a trail at -20 or wearing beaver mitts to help you stay warm. All we can focus on right now is staying cool. It’s strange weather…but we are certainly not complaining!

Travis has begun working with new lead dogs — it’s one of the things we like most about our tour. It produces great leaders who really know their commands. He’s been working with some younger dogs — Goblin, Gremlin and Fidget — as well as some older dogs like Ginzu and Kermit. It’s great to see a large core of our Iditarod pool taking turns up front and will give us confidence throughout the winter. Still, Zema, Mary, Boston, and Tamere continue to be the main leaders.

In other news, my parents came for several days to visit with Travis and me. When they were here, it seemed like they would always be here in Alaska. We explored some and they helped with projects around the house. We also celebrated our one year anniversary of being in business doing dog sled tours on July 16 so they helped us throw a big party. Travis’ brother-in-law, Kris, cooked fish and Travis’ sister, Shani, made tartar sauce. You couldn’t have asked for a better meal.

Here are some photos from our summer dog sled tour that were taken by recent guests:

For fun we enjoy the evenings that carry on and on. The sun never sets the sky just fades a little. On days like this it is easy to fall in love with Seward. The weather has been great this year but recently hasn’t been able to make up it’s mind about what to do. We’ve had lots of interesting cloud formations hanging in the sky.

The best part of the day has been when they end like these in fun water-colored skies. We relax by making campfires and hanging out on the beach or bbqing in our yard with the dogs. You think that they would get noisy with people coming over or with the smell of steak sizzling on the grill but they never do. Our dogs are quiet because they are happy and loved. We let the puppies run around while we cook and that will stir up commotion but only for a little while.

The bugs have been the only bad thing about all the warm weather. They come in thick, heavy swarms and will suck you dry in minutes. Still, I think it’s a relatively small price to pay to enjoy such wonderful scenery and good times with our friends.

When the people go and the sun fades a little more, we return inside. I know fall training is right around the corner because Travis has been ending his days with Iditarod movies. We are itching for cooler temperatures so that we can run the dogs further and further and start in on training a competitive team for this year’s racing circuit. Still, those temperatures are still a month and a half away and we are enjoying what we are doing now. Our tours keep us busy but happy.

I don’t think it could get any better: working with dogs, sharing our passion, and seeing people’s faces light up in delight.

We are still amazed how every new day brings us something new to smile about and enjoy.