... possibly... but I still have work catch up to do. Everyone is gearing up for the holidays and its rush, rush on so many things. Good thing I don't do this whole holiday thing myself! If I were any busier no one would get their orders or dog sled rides! :)Speaking of dog sled rides, yesterday at the military base was a HUGE success! We all had a fantastic time and were THRILLED at how much help was available to us! The military was FANTASTIC and watching their activity encouraged me to develop some mental notes on driving my own team.
Their precision and respect for their sargent was fantastic and I could see the chain of command (whether up or down) through the slight personality traits of everyone there without looking at their uniforms. It was really interesting. The dogs in my team are a mirror of that chain of command, and the discipline formed through a military type set up is a wonderful thing to study.
Since James was so heavy in his military career before we met I have a few things to pick his brain about. He was a sargent and in command of many soldiers years ago and there were many subtle personality traits that were key to his success. If I can wrap my brain around them I know I can get my creativity in action to find ways I can apply them to the dogs and the team as a whole.
The whole event was fantastic, the dogs did great, set up was wonderful and we had more hands available than we knew what to do with!We brought out our safety fence for Juno to follow around the track but when we ran out the guys brought out a bunch of sleeping cots and set them up along the track perimeter. They worked fantastically well and after a few trips around with Juno she was able get a solid idea of where to go.
To help us tire the dogs out before the kids rides we did a few more trips around the track and offered to give the 'boys' their very first dog sled ride! Taking them around meant more than just tiring the dogs out, secretly I wanted to do my small part in giving back to all the men and women who do so much in our nations military. Whether I agree or not with what is going on overseas doesn't matter in the least. Its the individual and their hard work that I wholeheartedly applaud.
The two hours of the event went by in the blink of an eye. Juno led us around every single lap with ease. We astimated that we did 75+ loops around the track with an unknown total number of kids and adults getting the full experience. The sled can hold at least three small children or one adult and one child. You do the math... :) At the end of the day Juno must have circled that track a 100 times since we had done extra rides for the guys that were helping us.
It was so beautiful that night... there were times I wanted to keep the dogs running straight out onto the runway and off into the distance. The blue lights of the runway, the quiet at the end of the track, the distant haze from the falling snow making an angelic glow on everything in the wide open expanse... it was just beautiful.
The dogs were super, as always, though some weren't up for the event. Salmon refused to run even though she was screaming to go every time we passed by the truck. Reba also didnt like the idea but Ichabod, much to my surprise, was in for the long haul!! Even though I put him back at the truck many times for rest he was screaming to go again and again!The excitement was too much for Hermes but Calypso, Thani, Remus and Boreas all did AMAZING! They loved the trips around and were hungry for more! Coyote also did wonderful and held up like a trooper! Chronos was a big surprise and performed perfectly as a people greeter opening up to adults and kids alike. He may not be a working dog but he was spot on in his commands to come to me, go to the truck, meet people and children.
The snow was lightly coming down when we started and became heavier the longer we were there. More is dropping this morning and its finally starting to look like a real Alaskan winter!
More photos on our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/North-Pole-AK/Where-Spirits-Walk-Kennel/184055093330?ref=mf
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