Okay, so I'm not so good at this blog thing. Alas, it is Spring Break and I have time to catch up. In the past 5 months, since my previous blog, I have fallen in love! … with Mushing! It was definitely love at first sight. My friend, Vicki, came to visit over Christmas break and we went, along with Sarah, out to visit a Musher-friend of mine, Jillian, at Spitfire Kennels (www.spitfirekennels.com). If you are intrigued at all, you should really check out her blog (http://www.wannabemusher.blogspot.com/).
I met Jillian last summer – we were both working at the winery – she to support her mushing habit, me to support my wine habit (LOL). Jillian is currently training for the 2011 Iditarod, chasing a dream.
So, Vicki, Sarah and I went out to play with the dogs for a day. The dog yard was filled with excitement as Jillian and Richard (her significant other) tied up two teams of dogs for us. Jillian drove a team, with Vicki sitting in the basket and Sarah in a sled tagged to the back of hers. I got to drive my own team! Jillian even tied Nali (my pup) to the team to give her a run at being a bonafide sled dog. At first, when Nali was tied to the team, she was shaking, tail tucked between her legs. But, as soon as I yelled, “Let’s go!” she was off and running as if she’d been doing this all of her life.
The drive was unbelievably awesome! Jillian went down the trail ahead of me. The feeling of being pulled by those dogs was one of freedom and kinship all rolled up together. Complete trust. Total confidence. At the halfway point, Jillian stopped and asked if I’d like to put Nali in the lead position, which we did, alongside Bully (a seasoned lead dog). Nali was such a natural. She loved pulling with the team. At one point she was looking around, sightseeing while running, and Bully turned to her with a sharp, “Yip!” and she immediately came to attention. It was as if he had said, “Hey, b-----, pay attention!”
(Jillian, hooking up Nali to the team!) It was hard work, good exercise, and I had to take my coat off by the time we were back in the dog yard. And, that day, I was bitten by the love bug. I have since worked with Nali on skijoring (story to come later) and we are going to go out and help Jillian train the yearlings on a short 4-mile loop. I think Jillian was impressed that I was such a natural and she’s ready to steal Nali, that’s for sure. Now, I think about mushing every day. I went to see the start of the Iditarod last weekend in Anchorage and it pulled at my heartstrings. I could totally see myself running my own team one day. You laugh? That’s what people used to do when I talked of moving to Alaska. Now, I know dreams can come true. Go ahead and laugh. I’ll see you at the finish line!
What a ride!
Memories!
Nali take a rest break - she wasn't in nearly as good of shape as the rest of the team!
Sharing hot chocolate with Jillian outside of her and Richard's cabin.
Okay, so I'm not so good at this blog thing. Alas, it is Spring Break and I have time to catch up. In the past 5 months, since my previous blog, I have fallen in love! … with Mushing! It was definitely love at first sight. My friend, Vicki, came to visit over Christmas break and we went, along with Sarah, out to visit a Musher-friend of mine, Jillian, at Spitfire Kennels (www.spitfirekennels.com). If you are intrigued at all, you should really check out her blog (http://www.wannabemusher.blogspot.com/). 
I met Jillian last summer – we were both working at the winery – she to support her mushing habit, me to support my wine habit (LOL). Jillian is currently training for the 2011 Iditarod, chasing a dream. 
So, Vicki, Sarah and I went out to play with the dogs for a day. The dog yard was filled with excitement as Jillian and Richard (her significant other) tied up two teams of dogs for us. Jillian drove a team, with Vicki sitting in the basket and Sarah in a sled tagged to the back of hers. I got to drive my own team! Jillian even tied Nali (my pup) to the team to give her a run at being a bonafide sled dog. At first, when Nali was tied to the team, she was shaking, tail tucked between her legs. But, as soon as I yelled, “Let’s go!” she was off and running as if she’d been doing this all of her life. 
The drive was unbelievably awesome! Jillian went down the trail ahead of me. The feeling of being pulled by those dogs was one of freedom and kinship all rolled up together. Complete trust. Total confidence. At the halfway point, Jillian stopped and asked if I’d like to put Nali in the lead position, which we did, alongside Bully (a seasoned lead dog). Nali was such a natural. She loved pulling with the team. At one point she was looking around, sightseeing while running, and Bully turned to her with a sharp, “Yip!” and she immediately came to attention. It was as if he had said, “Hey, b-----, pay attention!” 
(Jillian, hooking up Nali to the team!) It was hard work, good exercise, and I had to take my coat off by the time we were back in the dog yard. And, that day, I was bitten by the love bug. I have since worked with Nali on skijoring (story to come later) and we are going to go out and help Jillian train the yearlings on a short 4-mile loop. I think Jillian was impressed that I was such a natural and she’s ready to steal Nali, that’s for sure. Now, I think about mushing every day. I went to see the start of the Iditarod last weekend in Anchorage and it pulled at my heartstrings. I could totally see myself running my own team one day. You laugh? That’s what people used to do when I talked of moving to Alaska. Now, I know dreams can come true. Go ahead and laugh. I’ll see you at the finish line! 
What a ride! 
Memories! 
Nali take a rest break - she wasn't in nearly as good of shape as the rest of the team! 
Sharing hot chocolate with Jillian outside of her and Richard's cabin.
You go girl! I wanna a position as a pit crew on your team! That is of course unless I have a team of my own;) So happy for you!
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