Indiana, Ohio, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York…
It was such a joy to finally get back to the East coast and visit many of the schools and libraries we had to postpone two years ago due to Covid. Patience pays off! We met so many wonderful people. I loved seeing Noggin and Chloe so happy out in the world again. Happy dogs=happy me. It seemed everyone was craving close connections. Thank you to all of the teachers, librarians, and hosts who made our trip possible!
Next year’s EAST COAST tour will happen March/April 2023. Email us at mymusher at gmail.com for more information and to save your place on our schedule.
And, we continue to book SUMMER and FALL presentations. Email us with any questions, thoughts, or ideas. We’re always up for a new adventure!
Noggin, Chloe, and I just wrapped up another unusual season. With vaccination certificates in hand/paw, loads of hand sanitizer, and extra masks, we road-tripped across Kansas and Colorado, giving talks in schools and public libraries. Because of Covid, many of our presentations were given outdoors. We had large turn-outs even at night in 30-degree weather. Everyone was bundled up, and hot chocolate was plentiful. What fun we had! Librarians and teachers are a resilient and creative bunch. I have enjoyed working with them over the last 22 years. I look forward to many more library and school visits in the future.
Now, our sights are aimed up the trail towards 2022 SUMMER READING. OCEANS OF POSSIBILITIES is the next summer reading theme and, believe it or not, this makes a talk about dog mushing the perfect match. Did you know that a great portion of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog takes place on frozen bodies of water? Dog teams traverse frozen lakes, rivers (including 250 miles on the mighty Yukon), and the awe-inspiring BERING SEA! Karen provides a unique perspective to OCEANS OF POSSIBILITIES with stories from her travels across sea ice by dog team to the historic gold-rush town of Nome. Climate change is also a topic that is ever-present when learning about the sport of mushing and Alaska. Email Karen at mymusher at gmail.com for more information and to save a spot on our calendar.
Thank you to Alex Lansdowne from the Kiowa County Media Center in Greensburg, Kansas for making this awesome video of our presentation this last summer. We love it!
After almost 14 months away from in-person/in-dog library talks because of the pandemic, Noggin, Chloe, and I (all of us fully-vaccinated) are back at it! We gave a few warm-up talks in Indiana before we packed up our truck to spend several weeks on the road in Kansas for Tails and Tales Summer Reading. We had a such a fun time visiting with folks, seeing the sights, and checking out all of those great public libraries (16 total) across the state. We have missed you all! If you’re interested in an in-person/in-dog presentation for your school or library, email us now (mymusher @ gmail.com) to get on the schedule. And if you’re still Zooming, no worries, we do that, too! Here are a few shots from our road-trip adventures.
Dog mushing is all about knowing when to run and when to rest.
NOW is the time to stay put, tending to those we love while keeping safe and healthy those we’ll never even meet.
We’re all on the same trail—we must care for each other.
Since the first known case of coronavirus was announced on January 21st in Washington state, I’ve been closely watching the news to see how this all would unfold. In an attempt to make an informed decision about my travels around the country, I searched for any and all information on the coronavirus. It was an extremely frustrating process. So little could be found. Our country’s leaders were acting like nothing was happening. But it worried me.
On Sunday, March 8th as mushers were packing sleds and harnessing dogs, setting off on their 1000-mile Iditarod journeys to Nome, I began emailing this letter to schools and libraries.
Dear Teachers, Principals, and Librarians,
I am sorry to have to write this letter, but I wanted to give both schools and public libraries as much of an advance warning as possible. After much thought and consideration of all of the variables involved in a 40-day talk tour throughout the states of New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts during the ever-changing COVID-19 outbreak, I have decided it would be best to cancel my March/April 2020 trip. It took me 6 months of hard work to plan and schedule this trip. I am heartbroken about it!
In order to keep my prices as low as possible for schools and public libraries while still covering my own high travel costs (Airbnb rentals and hotels, truck maintenance, gasoline, etc.), I always need to book as many talks as possible. This means that my upcoming travel itinerary has my dogs and me visiting schools and public libraries in over 35 different towns and cities, the majority of them in New York state.
Even before New York declared a state of emergency over the COVID-19 outbreak, I was closely monitoring the news, trying to obtain as much information as possible on the ever-evolving situation. Unfortunately, the lack of information and testing makes it difficult for the public to know how extensive this outbreak truly is. To be on the safe side, I feel it is best to suspend the upcoming tour. I am sorry for any inconvenience this may cause you. The dogs and I are just as disappointed as you are! It was a difficult decision to have to make, but I feel it is the right one at the moment.
I do want to offer options for still having your talk(s) at our scheduled time(s) via SKYPE and/or rescheduling talks for Summer 2020 or Fall 2020, depending on when it is safe for travel. Please refer to these options listed below and let me know if any of them interest you. If you have other thoughts or ideas, please share them with me!
***For space reasons, I have omitted the options from this blog post. Email me at mymusher at gmail.com if you are interested.
Again, I apologize. We’re so sad to not be coming your way in the next few weeks and months but, like a musher running her dog team down the Iditarod Trail, we all must adapt to the unfamiliar terrain before us. My main concern is the health of all. Over the last 20 years, I’ve been honored to visit both small and large communities across this country to share my beloved dogs and stories of the Iditarod Trail with fans of all ages. We look forward to continuing this in the future!
Please let me know you’ve received this message. And then we can talk about your own ideas and needs.
Noggin, Chloe, and I traveled to five states in 29 days, giving 25 presentations to thousands of students, library patrons, and mushing fans. We met so many wonderful people! Thank you to the schools and libraries for inviting us to your communities and to all of the enthusiastic dog lovers who attended our talks!
We’re home now, doing laundry, cleaning out our truck, and repacking for our Midwestern and East coast adventures. Interested in a SUMMER READING talk? We’re booking now for May, June, and July. For more information, email Karen at mymusher at gmail.com.
January 9, 2020… our 20th season is off to a fantastic start! Thanks for inviting us back to the Hamilton East Public Library, Fishers, IN. What a fun crowd!
What a great time we had on our last Iditarod Public Library and School Talk Tour of 2019 and THE DECADE! Thank you to Grand County Public Library (Moab, Utah), Montrose Regional Library (Montrose, Colorado), Mesa County Libraries (two presentations at the Grand Junction, CO central branch and one at the Fruita branch), Bemis Public Library (Littleton, Colorado), Erie Middle School (Erie, Colorado), Erie Community Library, and Eaton Public Library (Eaton, Colorado).
TO CELEBRATE MY 20th YEAR OF IDITAROD DOG MUSHING TALKS, we’re planning a MEGA ROAD TRIP around the United States for 2020! There’s a good chance we’ll be IN YOUR AREA! For more information, email Karen at mymusher at gmail.com … or… mymusher at yahoo.com.
String of Dogs 