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

Tours continue and puppies!!!

Busy weekend here at the kennel. Started the whirlwind of craziness on Thursday with a spur of the moment visit from 9 and 10 news looking for an outdoor recreation story for their hook and hunting piece for the week. It was kind of a rush as they had to get back to Cadilac on bad roads before the 5:00 news but I think it turned out ok. You can check it out at: http://www.9and10news.com/Category/?id=69

As a result Thursday night and Friday was spent answering calls for upcoming trips. Glad to see so many folks interested in getting out with the dogs. Truly fun to watch someone get on the runners and experince this for the first time. I often wonder if anyone will jump right into the lifestyle like I did so many years ago after Russ and Sherry hooked up that first team for me.

So the weekend was spent with two very cool groups. Saturday we had the pleasure to host two couples from Kalamazoo. The Soisson and Campbells were a real treat and true dog people. Sunday we were fortunate to have Brian and Cecilia from Cleveland. They are major animal nuts and I think could get into this whole dog thing in a second. Sure hope to see them again. They remind me a lot of Briea and I.




Campbell Tour



Cecilia and her team

In puppy news; Lucite and her 10 pups (7 females and 3 males) are doing great. They are 12 days old now, have had their dew claws removed and should have their eyes open any day now. Really excited about these pups. We decided to go with an energy drink theme. Names and pics to come soon. Also while I type this Tea Tree sits 5 feet away and has just given birth to her third pup and looks to have at least one more to go. So far she has had 2 males and 1 female. One each of the males and female are blonde just like her.

Tea Tree Pups....so far.....

Have the next couple days free to get caught up on things then off to Treetops resort and more tours. Hope everyone is getting out and enjoying his beautiful winter we are having.

Take care,

Tim, Briea, and Peyton

Happy New Year!

Happy  New Year to everyone! Hope your holiday season was full of fun and time spent with friends and family. We wrang in the new year here at the kennel with a bonfire surrounded by friends and family. No other way we would rather spend it. Plus we had the pleasure of some down state family with Briea's Brother and family making the trip North as well as my Aunt and Uncle and kids coming up to celebrate the coming of 2011. Sure was a pleasure seeing them for the first time in a while.

The past week has been a blast meeting new faces from all over the world while running dogs. We had a Mom and Son come from South Carolina as part of seeing all 50 states together, a family from central Ohio on their holiday break, as well as a French speaking group from Switzerland. Could not have asked for a better group of folks.

McDougals from Ohio

Michelle Snipes fro South Carolina

Swiss Group

Plus in the middle of all of this Lucite had 10 puppies! Anyone who knows her and how small she is would understand my shock. 10 was quite a few for this little girl to have. I am happy to report though that all pups are doing great and Mom is a natural in the motherhood department. Name choices to come soon........

Lucite and the 10 new additions to the kennel

With the New Year came a pretty significant warm up with temps in the mid 40's for a few days. Trails took a pretty good hit forcing us to take a couple days off, which will be a good break for us and the dogs to catch/rest up, maybe do a bit of ice fishing! With the forcast for the week we should be running strong again shortly.

In other news Michigan State's lackluster performance in their Bowl Game Saturday left me not so optimistic about next year while the Lions finished the season with a roar winning their last 4 games. Very Nice!

Well good luck to everyone in the New Year, we hope it is the best year for you yet.

Take care,

Tim, Briea, and Peyton