November 9, 2015

Mushing Through Illinois

Yes, there is a student somewhere under that Trans-Alaskan suit…

Thank you to Kate Walters and her dad, and the staff and students of Meadowbrook Elementary School in Forrest, Illinois for making Romano and me feel right at home! We really enjoyed our afternoon “talking mushing” with you. The students were an engaged, well-prepared (they knew all of the answers!), and perfectly-behaved audience. It was a fun day.

The Iditarod Sled Dog Race begins Saturday, March 5, 2016. If your school or library is interested in an Iditarod presentation or Skype session, email me now to get on the 2016 schedule. MUSH!

Romano enjoying a free run through the beautiful local cemetery after the talk.

May 19, 2015

Romano’s Mug

Last night at our Iditarod talk at the Pendleton (IN) Public

Library, Romano realized he has finally made THE BIG TIME!

Kristen Case, the program coordinator for the library, made

“Romano stickers” for the event.

May 17, 2015

Remember, Karen…

YOU ARE TALLER THAN YOU THINK YOU ARE!!!

My friend, Brenda, road-tripped with me and the four dogs to my first Iditarod talk of 2015. I hadn’t strapped a dog sled to the roof rack of my Toyota Rav (now at 290,000 miles) for many months. I told Brenda I was worried I’d forget it was up there and take out the overhang at a McDonald’s or Starbucks drive-thru, or pull into my garage late at night before remembering to take the sled off. So… Brenda, my ever-efficient friend, grabbed note paper from her handbag and wrote me a reminder. She didn’t have any tape in her purse (shocker!) but like the good Girl Scout she is, she had Band-Aids! This note has been stuck to my dashboard since January. My other friends make fun of me for it, but it HAS saved my expensive Iditarod dog sled on more than one occasion!

May 15, 2015

Romano Skypes with Students

This Summer 2015 Romano and his sidekick, Karen, continue to Skype about dog mushing with schools and libraries across the globe.

January 29, 2015

Happy 84th Birthday, Aunt Dot!

Dot Land and Nancy taking a break.

Aunt Dot with her beloved Borage (who ate her umbrella) and Jigs.

January 23, 2015

Running with Romano

It’s been a long while for us both. But, thankfully, dog mushing is like riding a bicycle (or a scooter)… you never forget!

January 6, 2015

Fourteen Winters

A sled dog’s favorite things…

Fresh snow and fresh straw!

November 17, 2014

Fourteen Winters

Today, Lolo is enjoying the early arrival of her 14th winter. It’s hard to believe that it has been almost eleven years since Lolo (along with Pig, on the right) led our 16-dog team out of Anchorage on the 2004 Iditarod…

And, of course, both of my tiny, 40-lb. girls led the entire 1,100-miles across Alaska… girl-power at its finest. The photo below is our team climbing up off of the sea ice of Norton Sound and onto the Front Street of Nome. That year was our best time at 12 days, 6 hours, 45 minutes, and 19 seconds…