Iditarod School Talks

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Virtually, that is! Thank you to everyone at the American International School in Chennai, India! Romano and I really enjoyed visiting with the class. The 3rd grade students just finished reading the book, “The Stone Fox” by John Reynolds Gardiner, and sent 3 pages of great questions to us in advance. Because of the 9.5 hours time difference, I was worried Romano might sleep through his unusually late night gig but like always he was a true big screen star. He even stayed awake for the entire 45-minute chat (with the help of hot dog treats). Because of a thunderstorm moving through Indy at that exact time, Noggin was “not available” to join us — she spent the evening wearing a Thundershirt and hiding under the kitchen table! Thankfully, I have a dog for every occasion.

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Romano might be pushing 15 years old but he’s still Skyping and loving it! This will be my 18th year presenting Iditarod talks at schools and public libraries across the country, and my third year giving presentations via Skype. Email Romano now at mymusher@yahoo.com to reserve a date on his busy schedule…

Photos from our talks at the Eiteljorg Museum’s Exhibit — DOGS: Faithful and True —have been trickling into my INBOX. Here are a few…

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Future musher, Katelyn Harvey, looks like a pro behind my Iditarod sled.

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Noggin receiving some loving at Friday’s Eiteljorg school talks.

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Thank you to everyone who attended our presentations. Noggin and I enjoyed seeing old friends and making new ones. See you up the trail!

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Noggin is finally starting to get the hang of posing for photographs which was a good thing last Thursday night at our talk in Hope, Indiana. We had a fun crowd at the Bartholomew County Public Library (Hope branch) and everyone wanted shots with Noggin, the rowdy star, who for once didn’t snooze on her bed the entire talk, but instead browsed the aisles looking for a good book. She is a VERY smart dog, you know!

A big hug and thank you to our friends, Sue and Larry and GOAT, for stopping in and surprising us. We always love seeing you. Goat, Romano’s brother, is quite the sweet talker and has the most creative vocabulary of ANY dog I know. Noggin was quite impressed!

Thank you to the Rural Alliance for the Arts for sponsoring our Batesville Intermediate School visits for the second year in a row!

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As always, the teachers had their students well-prepared for our time together, and we enjoyed lively discussions about the 1,049-mile Iditarod Sled Dog Race which, of course, is happening RIGHT NOW! Noggin and I gave five talks at the school over the course of two days. Each and every third grader has picked a musher and dog team to follow daily throughout the race so they were ready to talk trail. And Noggin, as always, was ready for a little sled dog TLC…

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Noggin, Chloe, Romano, Jigs and I witnessed a long and lovely sunrise this morning driving east towards Dayton, Ohio.

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For the second year in a row, we presented our Iditarod talk to a 6-week “Iditarod Class”organized by our good friends, “Marty and Kenny,” at the beautiful University of Dayton.

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We enjoyed visiting with everyone, and look forward to seeing you all next year! Both Noggin and I especially loved talking with Chuck Ritter — Professor Emeritus, University of Dayton Geology Department — who gave me a wonderful pep talk supporting my current studies aimed towards a geology degree. I could have chatted with him for hours. Thanks, Chuck!

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All that love can be exhausting…

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