Catch up

Sorry I haven’t written anything the past weeks. We have been busy with the house and the pregnancy and I’ve been so tired. Sorry this is going to be a long one.

A few weeks ago we got to go to the start of a dog sled race, the Yukon Quest. It is a 1,000 mile race between Fairbanks, Alaska and Whitehorse, Canada in the Yukon Territory. The teams began the race with 14 dogs, I think. I don’t have a very good memory right now. They started a new team every three minutes and we were standing pretty close to the starting point. We forgot our camera but took a few pics and videos with our phones. The pic to the left is the frozen river.  The black spots are the river. The race actually began on the Chena River which was completely frozen. It was strange walking out there and knowing this was a river. The river wasn’t completely frozen downstream so I was a little scared. The day was cold but we have hot chocolate which made it a better day. I can’t wait until I can go on a dog sled. It looks like it would be so much fun.

The dogs had to be held back because they wanted to run. If you ever get to see a sled dog race you will see the happiest dog in the world. These dogs are small, compact dogs that look like mutts but are Alaska sled dogs, an actual breed. They are fast and so cute. I think Gabe wants to try dog sledding now. I don’t think I could be alone in the wilderness for that long. It took the winner 9, yes I said 9 days to complete the race. They have checkpoints they can drop off dogs if they need to but that is the only contact with other people the racers have. I could not do it.

Buster had his first encounter with a moose. Fortunately nothing bad happened. We knew the moose was out front and tried to keep him in the house but he ran out of the garage door when Gabe went to get firewood. The moose pretty much ignored him until Gabe came outside. I don’t think the moose liked Gabe. Busted even went to the bathroom about 5 feet from the moose and it did not even look at him. When Gabe went out there to get buster, the moose finally looked at both of them. I think he looked annoyed but never charged.

The second encounter was early one morning when Gabe and Buster went outside to get firewood. Buster rounded the corner on the woodshed and started growling and barking. Gabe went to look and the moose was getting up. We have a moose that sleeps in our backyard. I got up the other night about 2 am and saw him out of my bedroom window. He sleeps behind our woodshed on the snow. The moose got up and walked away and didn’t charge buster. This makes me feel good except these moose did now have babies with them. Cows protecting their calves are more dangerous that bulls. I really hope I don’t see too many of those this spring.

The temp is rising!!! Yea!! All this week it is above 0!! It feels so nice outside. I can actually go outside and stay longer than 30 minutes. Recess isn’t all that bad now because it is warm. We have icicles on our house now because the snow on our roof melts during the day and refreezes at night. It’s really pretty. However the roads are awfully slick now. I’m in a rental car that has bad tires. They are so bad I could not make it up a hill the other day. I had to reverse back down the hill and try again. Scary! I am figuring out how to be a better driver though. I still am ready for roads with no ice or snow.

That’s all I’m writing today. I promise I will update more. We went ice fishing so I will post pics for that one. Have a good week!!

Moose

Just as soon as I published the last post, a moose walked into my yard!! The dogs went crazy. I still can't believe how big they are.

Cold!!!!!!

The warm weather did not last. This week the HIGH is -5. That makes for good times during recess. It's also been snowing!! Not that you can tell when you look at the ground but it covers the Forester and me when I'm outside. Buster loves this weather. Buddy not so much. He runs outside does his business and runs right back in. I don't even want to go outside but I have to for work and to take Buster to the dog park. He has so much pent up energy if he doesn't go. Plus he looks sad.

I haven't seen a moose in about a week. I wonder where they go. We don't get to see many animals but we see their tracks. There are even BIRDS!!! Small birds. We can see them out of our front window, only for a second. I can't wait til it warms and we get to see more of them.

Hope y'all have a good week. I've got to study for my driver's license test and get ready for work.

No dog sledding!! :(

I couldn't go dog sledding because I'm pregnant, but it would not have mattered anyway. The dogs were gone by the time we got there because there weren't enough people there. We did get to see some sled dogs at the dog park. Those dogs are fast. Poor Buster couldn't keep up with them. Most of the dogs here are some sort of husky mix. They are so cool. Really wish we could have another big dog to play with Buster.

Tonight I am going to watch the local RollerDerby Girls. I would love to be brave enough to be one, but I like my teeth too much!! They are playing a team from British Columbia. It should be fun!!

For the past few days it has been ABOVE 0!!!! It is so nice. My recess duty is not bad now. I can even take Buster to the dog park and stay an hour without dying. I've seen more people out and about too. I really hope it stays warm and doesn't go below 0. I doubt I'm that lucky.

Can't wait until spring!! Hope you have a good weekend and week!!

Dog Sledding!!

I'm so excited!! If I am able to go dog sledding while pregnant, I am going tomorrow!! The wind (cold wind) in my hair and the beautiful scenery going be will be amazing. The ride is on post so I'm sure the dogs won't be going that fast, I hope. I've got to do some research and I'll let you know how it goes.

I will defiantly put pics up of this trip and others. We are still unpacking and getting our house in order. I forgot how hard it was to do that and the cold weather doesn't help because the dogs are always in the way.

I almost hit a moose yesterday. It came out of the woods as I was turning on our road. It ran across someone's yard and then turned and looked at me. I really thought he was coming back to charge my Forester. It was a he. Even though they don't have antlers, I knew it was a he. He was huge, taller than my Forester. It's crazy!!

It's been snowing on and off for the past two days. Yesterday, I had my first experience with outside recess in negative weather with snow. It was cold. The kids stay outside for 30 minutes. I don't think I could stay out any longer. The kids are so much tougher than I am. I am a wimp when it comes to the cold. I'm wearing more clothes today.

Hopefully I'll have a tale of a dog sled ride tomorrow. Have a good weekend!!

FROZEN

This week has been cold. All week the temps have been below 0. I have not gone outside that often because I can't keep my face warm enough. I did take our big dog to the dog park and stayed outside for 30 minutes. It was -18!! We played with a tennis ball and I had a Chuck It so I wouldn't have to touch the ball. That didn't work because the ball had so much ice on it from dog slobber it would not fit in the Chuck It!! The ball was white.

The roads are so slick I am sliding all over the place. My wheels are making funny noises when I turn. The thermometer in my Forester won't register past -22!! That is cold. One day this week it was -40!! Everything is coated in a thick layer of ice. It is beautiful but harsh. One day I will post pictures. I have to brave the cold and go outside to take them!! Maybe this weekend, if it warms up.

Have a good weekend!!

The craziness of living in Alaska!!

The past week or so has been so busy I haven’t had time or the internet to post anything on the blog. I’m sitting at Barnes and Noble/Starbucks today so I can update it.

I had a white Christmas this year! It was very pretty and not to terribly cold, only about 0 degrees F. Christmas morning I got a surprise when I looked outside my kitchen window and saw TWO MOOSE!! It was a cow and her calf. I don’t think I have ever seen an animal in the wild that big. The calf was almost as big as a Clydesdale horse. We got to watch them for about 5-10 minutes before they disappeared in the woods. Let me tell you, it only took them a few seconds to disappear into a white forest. It was insane the way they just disappeared. I think all the hunters I know would be jealous of their camouflage. A few days ago I heard the dogs barking and growling at the front windows and went to see what was going on. I looked out the window and there was a moose in our front yard. I think this one was a male but he had no horns so I don’t know. He stayed around for a while and as long as the dogs saw him they kept barking. I’m scared for Buster to have a run in with a moose. He’s already had one with a deer and came out ok but a moose is so much bigger. One day I know we’ll find out what they will do to each other.

One of the days it was 15 below O degrees F we had to park our Subaru outside of the house and plug it in. I let it warm up and then put it into drive but nothing happened. I gassed it and it still didn’t move. I gassed it again and we heard this cracking noise and the Subaru finally moved. It was FROZEN to the ground. Who ever thought tires would freeze to the ground. I had no idea that could ever happen. We cleaned the garage out as soon as we could and put both vehicles inside so it won’t happen again. I just hope it doesn’t happen while I’m out running errands.

Saturday night I couldn’t sleep so I was lying on the couch and saw lights outside my window. I turned the TV off and looked outside. It was the NORTHERN LIGHTS!!!!!!!! I got so excited. They weren’t the bright, moving lights like you see in pictures but they were partially blocked by trees. They were green and were moving slowly. I stood in awe for a few minutes and just watched. It’s amazing what’s on our Earth. I’m really learning to appreciate nature more than I ever have. I want to go somewhere with no trees and see all the lights, from the horizon to where they stop in the sky.

Have to go finish my errands. Have a great week and a great New Year!!