Happy Birthday Hope and Hoodoo

Thursday was Hope and Hoodoo's 10th birthday! They are so loved here and they are still such GREAT sleddogs! I wanted to post this on Thursday, but I just ran out of time. This picture was taken just this last spring. Always loyal, reliable, and adored.

More Seppalas Spreading out...

It has been a busy summer and fall with Seppalas moving about the country! Balancing the number of dogs and pedigrees in our kennel is always a tedious uncertainity. But every year it seems that our small network of mushers are able to spread a few dogs around. Everyone seems to have slightly different goals in mind, so finding teams that better fit a dogs style, wether it be to bring one in or send one away, is always interesting and fun.

Earlier ths summer, we sent Angel up to Doug Willett who in turn bred her to Rambo as she awaited her new owner, Elsie Bobby, to come get her and take her back to Alaska. We are also very excited for Elsie to be able to start her new Seppala Kennel with such and exceptional breeding. We have a BIG soft spot in our hearts for Rambo! Congrats Elsie!

TJ Shrader took a Marshall x Madonna female, QT, who I know is going to be such a wonderful girl and likely a leader--she is very driven. I love sending dogs to TJ because I know I get the see them often :) Matt Maurer took a Marshall x Madonna male who I am sure will be one of his next great leaders. Quaker is the spittin' image of Marshall. Marshall being one of my all time favorites, I know I will regret it in the near future :-) But on the positive side, Matt absolutely adores Quaker (inspite of Quaker's strong desire to constantly reproduce...hahaha):-)

And the lastest to leave was Oakie and Quizno. Peter Duncan was kind enough to add a leg to his long journey across the US and back to Alaska in order to pick up them up. I hope that as they get to know each other, he sees the exceptional qualities in them that I see.

What a fabulous weekend we had!

This weekend Dee Dee Jonrow came to Casper to speak about her self, her team, and the Iditarod. Her original itinerary was to speak to one of the Casper schools on Friday, but through some connections, Pam Dunn (Grandma Pam at our house) of Timbermist Tracks and head of the Canines for Charity Sleddog Race was able to organize an event on Casper Mountain slated for Saturday afternoon.

The turn-out was great. One of our local racing clubs, CMM, decided to coordinate their annual camp out with the event as well and contributing to the event. The ISSSC, another club we belong to, also decided to hold their annual meeting in coordination with the Dee Dee Jonrow event. So needless to say we had a lot of other mushers was more fun than I anticipated. It is always a lot of work to go anywhere with the dogs, but camping with them was not quite the same. I think it is something we'll do more often in the future.

The weekend started on Friday when we arrived mid-morning. We opted for a spot a few miles away so we could run a little easier from our camp site on longer trails. After setting up, Allan and I had to make a couple trips back down the mountain to get our kids all coordinated and tie a few loose ends, but we were finally all settled in before sundown. Some people ran the 7 and 10 mile trails and other decided to take the shorter 3 mile trail twice a day. We got see see how the other teams are looking and developing.

Barrie Raper brought her rockin' team that are unbelievably strong. She also brought part of the best entertainment, Casey...she has quite an arm for 2! Emily Wade came to run Bud Light back and forth to Allan. Lanette Kimball with Sepp-Lok also made it out to share all her insight with us over the campfire. Danny, Jocie and Kayla Corcoran (aka "the griswolds") were most of our entertainment. Next time you see Danny ask him how you hook a snow hook to your sled. TJ Schrader and Lindsey Owen brought those wonderful little Boogie pups...and yes, Grux is the best! Matt Mauer and Sue Crawford brought the best cook ever, Isabella, and it was her birthday...Happy Birthday Isabella! Matt's little Angela also came along for the trip and she was an absolute doll, what a trooper!

Dee Dee discussion was very open and candid. She was an amazing speaker and very "real". We very much enjoyed her and her views on mushing, dog care, determination, and obvious love of her dogs. The day was in the high 80s and the sun was bright. The food was plentiful and everyone was so nice.

We arrived home mid-afternoon on Sunday and TJ and Linsey had decided to stay another night. We got unloaded, the chores done, and ate dinner when we decided to take a team out for a run just before dark. TJ and I decided to run my main Seppala team since it was only the yearlings and older dogs I took camping. And as luck would have in that short 3 miles, we ending up getting caught in an unannounced *monsoon* rain storm. The rain drops stung as they pelted us. We didn't know what to do, but keep forging ahead and laughing at our bad luck. Thank goodness my team felt the same way and they forged ahead like it was another day in the park. When we arrived back to our shop at what felt like an eternity later, the dogs (and us) were drenched to the bone. I must had been holding my breath the whole way back, because I suddenly had a huge headache. But the dogs, in all their drowned-rat appearance, were very upbeat and happy despite an incredibly fast run home.

Thanks all of you that made this a great weekend, we had a blast!

Gearing up for training season....

It looks like the mild summer is going to make training season come a little earlier this year. Allan has already hit 5 mile runs with his Alaskan team. Several stops and a big drink of water the dogs come home feeling good and ready for more, although he is having to wait until almost dark. I wouldn't be surprised to see him jump to 10 miles by mid September. Usually unheard of in our fall climate.

I think this weekend, I will give the Seppalas a run on the three mile and see how it goes. If I go after dark, with a breeze, we should be OK with several breaks and lots of water. I am hoping to be pleasantly surprised as Allan was by how his dogs took off in the warmer temps (60 degrees F) with no issues. Of course, my dogs have are much heavier coated than his. I can't really think of one of his that has a heavy coat right now. The Sepps have had an odd summer in terms of shedding, by now we are usually on our second round of brushing coats out. I think the cooler summer and a TON of rain, made it hard for them to really shed. I still have 4 that are almost done and 1 that is really just getting started. But it seems to be working itself out.

I am excited to get started though. I had some really promising yearlings last year that I can't wait to see what they will do this year. The attitude of the entire kennel is good and it is obvious the dogs are *feeling* the imminent season looming over them. In the early cool mornings the kennel has become a consistant alarm clock even before the sun rises. I love their morning welcome!

Dearly Missed

Picture taken 7-02-09
This is the GREATEST Man I have ever had the privilege of knowing and dearly loving.
Allan T. Berge, Sr.
RIP: 7-03-2009

Still remembering 8-21-09
Allan Sr. is still very much missed in our home. Looking out the window of our home, across the hay fields just a short distance from the house is a constant reminder of what we miss. I am very greatful to have had him as my father-in-law as well as the rest of his family. I miss hearing him talk about his Norweign ways, and I will miss seeing the big smile on his face when lufsa was served at a family meal. Although, I will always be greatful he never made me eat lutifisk, even though he talked alot about it.

I am happy to have certain memories of him that I will always carry with me...like the time he came to run his own team of sleddogs in his cowboy boots with the rubber covers on them dressed in his bright green and yellow John Deer snow suit; how he always liked it be 90 degrees all the time (I am sure an indulgence after growing up in North Dakota); the pure joy he got from giving me the ride of my life at 90 mph on the snow machine to catch my sleddog team as I whipped like a flag in the wind, hanging on to him with every bit of fear I possessed (it didn't matter to him that the dogs were probably only running about 14 mph); how consistant he was about showing up the day elk tags were due to make sure Allan Jr. mailed his in; and most importantly seeing him be the best role model my son could ever hope for.

Allan was 100% Norweign and his strong work ethic and love of family proved it. No matter how he felt, I never heard this man speak ill of a single person. To me those three traits is what defined him as a man and made him of one of the few great ones left. I will always miss you.

Summer days at Deer Creek

The dogs seem to passing summer with a sort of nastolgia. This picture is reminds me of two old ladies enjoying a cool summer evening.

Renewed life...

Spring is my absolute favorite time of year. We finally get to go outside without an extra 15lbs of clothing, the dog yard always seems to get a facelift, the evenings are SO much longer, and new puppies seem to be everywhere!

While it is all work, it is also quality time spent in the kennel. Grooming is my favorite. All that under-coat is exahuasting, but I love doing it...especially on a cool, breezy, evening. There always seems to be a handful of houses to replace or repair (and this year I think I may actually get to paint all the houses). We also use the spring to evaluate the tie-outs, collars, snaps, and anything else that wears over time and breaks when you least expect it...


My MOST fav is the puppies. Although we take great care in maintaining the kennel in such away to avoid accidental breedings, they do *occasionally* happen but the culprit is always caught in the act! We had one due to training-run-love and another where a determined Romeo broke a snap AND scaled 2 6ft fences! Ok so it looked like he dug under, but idea of such determination is romantic, right? Of course, he was not motivated enough get himself back out before we came out to see what the other dogs were tattling about. Even though the potential father was caught in the female yard, it is always a long, drawn-out wait to see who the lucky mom is!

In anycase, I thought I'd share this year's puppy photos! We have had so much fun with all of them!