Spring is here.....or is it?

Finished out our season with a day at Treetops resort and our last two scheduled tours of the year. Had a good week of warm weather that pretty much took care of our trail system leaving just a hard frozen base and plenty of bare ground on the trails. It was sad to see the snow go but gave us a chance to get a few spring projects done early, which never seems to happen.

Sunday being the first day of spring and a run of nice temps found us floating a section of the South Branch of the Ausable with Cash, Timmy and Sarah. It was just a quick float of a little over an hour but super nice to get back on the liquid water and relax. Not too sure if it was a sign of things to come but we did see our first Robbins of spring on this trip. Bet they are second guessing their early migration now. In other wildlife notes; the Bald Eagle that nests on Wakeley has been flying over each morning from her nest location to the river to fish. She must be getting ready to lay eggs soon I am guessing.

Monday was the little ones first birthday. We are shocked how fast the year went by and how fortunate we are to have such an amazing little girl who fits right into our outdoor lifestyle. I honestly think she likes to be in the backpack helping feed dogs more than I do! 

Well we learned Peyton like birthday cake


With our list of Spring projects longer than I care to think about we have dove right in to start shortening it up a bit. The dog box is off the truck and ready for its summer paint job, Sleds are stored, gear sorted out and organized, inventoiry taken for new equipment to order and build, and we finally found a supplier for our "dog barrells" that we use to house our crew. It took a trip to Grand Rapids but we were able to secure 18 new barrells to replace old ones and for our kennel addition to take place this summer for the pups.


Spring Projects

Well as much as we thought spring was here and being off the runners for 8 days with deteriorating trails and warm weather, mother nature came in and got the last laugh. I love her jokes though and the storm we got two nights ago left nearly a foot of snow and had us pulling the sleds back out and running dogs once again. Both dogs and humans had a blast yesterday and with the cool temps for the next week I really see us back on sleds at least until the 1st of the month. We will be here running every day so if you know of anyone wanting that experience of a sled dog adventure they can check out all the details at http://www.snowboundkennels.com/ or follow us through a "like" at snow bound adventures on facebook.

Short Clip of March 23rd run



I think that is all the rambling I have in me for one morning. Gotta head out to feed so I can get out with the dogs for the day.

take care,

Tim, Briea, and Peyton Riley

Catching up

Well to all of those who are dedicated readers of our blog, sorry for the lapse in reports. The computer went down about 3 weeks ago followed by my phone. As tough of a time as it was trying to respond to emails and comunicate on the buisness side of the kennel, it was a blessing in disguise. What amounted to a lack of comunication with the outside world proved to be the perfect opportunity to spend undistracted time with the family including our amazing kennel of dogs. Well to save all from the boring play by play here is a quick summary of the past few weeks;

• Finally got Peyton out on her first dog sled ride!
• Switched the entire kennel over to Red Paw Premium dog food with tremendous results!
• The Energy Drink Litter is now 10 weeks old.
• The Mountain Litter is now 8 weeks old.
• All pups are looking amazing and are progressing well in their "informal" training.
• Wrapped up our festival season.
• Had a bit of a warm up followed by another good dump of snow.
• Trails are currently in the best shape of the season and more snow is in the forecast.
• Continue to be busy meeting so many wonderful folks through our dog sled adventures.
• Plenty of dates left in March for those who want to get one last winter adventure in.
• Currently working on the remodel/expansion of the cabins sitting room.

Monday's Family dog sled adventure with Ma, Dad, Briea, and Peyton

This upcoming Saturday we will be at Treetops resort in Gaylord for our last set of rides for the season. If you know of anyone wanting to experience a ride in some of the most beautiful country in the world give them a call, I think there are still a few openings.

We are really looking forward to the next month. March always provides such amazing dog sledding. The days are getting longer, the temperature is super comfortable and the old sun really shines. As long as the snow holds out I'm optimistic we will be on sleds until April! Time for some long campouts with my furry friends.

Take care,

Tim, Briea, and Peyton

Warm up

This past week started off with going out monday to run dogs only making it about a quarter mile out of the kennel before slamming into the telephone pole and injuring myself. Ok you can laugh, i didnt get hurt too bad, although i did have to call Tim to come "rescue" me from the woods and was cooped up for the rest of the week unable to run dogs. Looked the dogs over and were all fine, thankfully.

Saturday brought us a trip down to West Bloomfield for a winter festival giving sled rides. The event could not have went any better. Laurel, the one who put the event together, was an absolute pleasure to work with and an amazing person to have around. Thanks again!

After the festival on Saturday, we headed to Dundee to hit up Cabelas since I had never been there. Tim even talked me into trying a Smoked Elk sandwich while we were there and it was delicous!  Even though for us Cabelas is more of a "look don't buy" store, it was still a pleasure seeing all there was to offer.

Sunday morning we were joined by many folks at the Lyon Oaks park for presentations and rides. The weather was alright until about noon when the sun came out and it started getting warmer and warmer. By 3:00 it was near 50 degrees out. As much as I think everyone was enjoying the nice change in weather, the dogs were having trouble staying cool. But all in all I think it went ok.

Well off to enjoy the day with the family.

Take care.

Briea, Tim and Peyton

Awesome!

Awesome is the only way I can explain the week we have had. It was the perfect week in the temperature department for our guests adventures, which were amazing and a lot of fun!

We kicked off the weekend stretch with Tim and Karen. They are winter outdoor enthusiasts and spent time with us adding dog sledding to their list of winter fun. We also had a visit from the outback. The Benjamin family came for a go with the dogs. Transplants to Grand Rapids from Australia they were up to have some fun on their sons visit from down under. A really fun group who I could really relate to their adventuress spirit.

Tim behind a team of SBK dogs

The Benjamin's on a nice day out in the woods

Got to spend some time with another couple Saturday morning that reminded me a lot of Briea and Myself. Adam and Jessica came up from some of my old stomping grounds to hit the trails. The weather was beautiful with perfect temps and plenty of sunshine. Too the company was great and we could have hung out all day chatting it up about all the topics we shared in common.

Jess and her team for the day

We wrapped the weekend up with a true Iditarod fanatic. Bonita set her husband Tom up with an adventure with us to help quench his Iditarod thirst. I think we probably only made it worse. It was a blast getting to talk about the race again with someone who is truly passionate about everything involving the race. Sure does give me the desire to try and run again.

Tom Living the Dream

Pleased with the results of the Super Bowl and the amazing time we had watching it at Brieas Dads place. Nice to see such a stand up team be the world champs.

Yesterday was a much needed day of R&R. We caught breakfast with Ma and Pa Riley at their new cabin then (I hate to admit this) spent the remainder of the day being lazy except for a short snow shoe hike with the little girl just to get some fresh air.

All the dogs are looking great and are in fine form. Found some new trail options that I am anxious to explore as soon as we have time. Puppies are all growing like weeds and we are starting to see their individual personalities.

Energy Drink Litter are going to be great eaters!

Off for a dog food run then back to the kennel to get some projects started while Briea gets a couple teams out on training runs. We are starting to focus on grooming our future leaders and seeing who has the desire to be up front on our respective race teams next year.

Take care and keep warm out there.

Tim, Briea, and Peyton

On the go.....

Been crazy busy around here, getting the opportunity to meet and share the dogs with so many folks. It has been a blast! After a full week of tours we loaded up 8 of the dogs and made the run down to SE Michigan for the Rochester Fire and Ice fest.While in the area we stopped by Lake Orion dog park to give rides and demos for folks. The dogs did a great job socializing the people and had a lot of fun. We got to see so many cool dogs too, most notably a Leonurger which is the largest dog I have ever seen and a dog I picked out of the crowd. I recognized Kazoo, a dog that I watched one summer as a pup for the Stielstras. He is all grown up now and I think after almost 3 years he still remembered me.

Rides at Lake Orion



Dog Sled Demos

We got a day off this week amongst all the fun and had a great time playing with the puppies and snowshoeing with Peyton as well as getting out on the trails with just Briea and I for the first time in almost a month. The area also got a fresh dump (10'') of snow and the trails are in great shape. Winter in the woods sure is a beautiful time of year. I am really jonesin to get the dogs out on an extended camping trip.

Peyton out Snowshoeing

Puppy Chores

Hope everyone is keeping warm and enjoying time with friends and family.

Take care,

Tim, Briea, and Peyton

Cold Fun.....

Been a fun but cold week here at the kennel. We got a bit more snow early in the week and then the temperatures dropped a great deal.

The week started off with a solo tour from a fellow Northern Michigander. Tim was a true natural on the sled and even captured some video footage on his new video glasses. Can't wait to see how it turns out.

Tim....King of the world!

With all this new snow I couldn't help but sneak out with the little girl for a little snow shoeing before the cold snap hit. She loved every minute of it and actually stayed awake the whole time.

Getting the lil girl all bundled up for her hike.

We also finally got Briea's Ma Faye back in town from Texas after 3 flight cancelations and over a week of trying to get here. Sure is nice having her around and Peyton loves getting to see Granny every day!

While the girls hung out mid week I had the chance to get 8 of the dogs out on a long run. I forgot how much I like taking off with a team for the day and really miss having the excuse of race training so I can do more of these types of runs. Has me considering a race or two for next year.

My team of 8 for the day.

Saturday was spent at the Griffins Great Skate Festival in Grand Rapids. The roads were a little rough and made for a slow drive south but once there the dogs really enjoyed all the folks who braved the cool temps to come out, pet the dogs and support this great event. The proceeds went towards helping young kids get into the sport of hockey who otherwise would not have the opportunity. We were glad to be a part of it and met a lot of great people and dog lovers.

Hanging out with the dogs in downtown GR

Woke this morning to -28 degrees on the themometer. Out doing dog chores in these temps isn't too bad but I always forget things break much easier in this kind of temps. Actually broke the handle off the dog truck just opening the door.

With things warming up to a balmy 5 below by noon Briea and I got to get out together for the first time in awhile with our own teams. It was a beautiful crisp sunny day for a dog run and I really enjoyed getting to spend it together. Once back home and the dogs snuggled back into their houses we brought Lucite and her 10, 4 week old pups in for some puppy time. Peyton really loves all the puppies and they are starting to think she is pretty swell too.

Briea doing her best to stay warm

Peyton and her puppies

Looks like the forecast has things warming up a bit to a comfortable 20 above for the week so should give us a chance to get out on the snowshoes some more and of course explore some new trails with the dogs.

Take care and stay warm,

Tim, Briea, and Peyton

New Snow and yep, more dog running.

This past week brought us more of that great white stuff. In all we got nearly 8 additional inches here at the kennel, 6 of which came Friday night.

We are excited about all the amazing folks we met over the weekend coming out to see the dogs and drive a team through the the new snow. Just something about fresh snow hanging in the pine bows makes me super happy. The weekend kicked off Friday with the Dyers visit from Monroe. They spend a ton of time here in Northern Michgan and it was a pleasure to share this new experience with them.

Mrs. Dyer and her Team of Dogs

Yesterday we were happy to have Leanne and Denise come over to run dogs with us. These gals are a lot of fun and actually have been volunteering at the Tahquamenon dog race in the UP since it start. We truly appreciate their efforts. Sad thing was through all this experience around sled dogs they had never been behind a team of dogs. So we got them set up and it was a blast. Denise even was able to capture some of it on her fancy new video sunglasses. I can't wait to see the footage!

Taking a break on the trail with Denise and LeAnn

To wrap up our weekend we were really happy to have hosted Elena and her family. Elena and her Grandma are from Russia and Grandma actually used dogs for work and travel in Siberia. She was a wealth of information and stories and I could have chatted it up with her all day. This family really gets into the outdoor adventures and a trip with them would be nothing short of amazing.

Elena and Family getting some love from Quinn

Saturday we had our first official Tour Day at Treetops resort in Gaylord. It was a great success and we would like to thank all of those who came out to see the dogs and go for a ride. It was a lot of fun getting to meet so many new faces and share the dogs with them. We will be out there again from 10am to 5pm on February 19th. So come say hello and wish Briea a Happy Birthday!

Rides at Treetops

Pups are all doing amazing. Lucite and Tea Tree are great moms. Lucite's pups now have their eyes open and Tea Tree's pups at just a week old are very active. We decided to go with a mountain theme for Tea Tree's pups.

Smokey (M)

Teton (M)

Denali (F)

For the upcoming weekend we will be in downtown Grand Rapids at the Great Skate Winterfest. It's a fundraiser for the Griffins Youth Foundation that provides opportunities for more than 300 underprivileged, underserved and physically challenged children to play the sport of hockey at no cost. There is a lot going on there filled with winter inspired events and a 24 hour skating marathon with the Griffins players. So come check it out and stop by to say hello and pet the dogs. We will be set up in front of the museum.

There are a lot of trails around now with plenty of snow to get out on a pair of snow shoes or skis so we hope everyone is taking adventage of this new snow and the long weekend. As for us we are off to get our kennel chores done and spend the day taking peyton out on her first snowshoe hike.

Take care,

Tim, Briea, and Peyton