Winter Break: Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6: Talkeetna and Dogsleds
Talkeetna - Wednesday 1/2

On Wednesday morning Carrie and I ran a few errands in town before heading south. Once we were on the road is was really beautiful, and the sun was up.

My eyes were on the road at all times.


And this was what I was looking at.


If you look to your right (or left, but Carrie took this one), you will see beauty.


If you drive far enough you will see trees leaning sideways because of erosion in the river bank.

And if you drive long enough you will see a beautiful sunset.

Carrie and I arrived at the home of the Holts at a time nearing 4:00pm. They live in a yurt in the woods - the cutest house you'll ever ever see. Tiff and Rick are extremely welcoming, and their boys take after them. Doug and Michelle, two other teachers in the district, were also visiting, so it was a full house. After the drive I was a little tired, and I had gotten sick somehow in Fairbanks (probably partly because I hadn't been taking my vitamins), so my cold was also making me a bit out of sorts. Anyway, Rick and Doug were out blazing trail, cutting down trees, etc. When they returned, Rick was quickly and easily talked into taking me on a dogsled ride. No one had to twist my arm!! Carrie acted as my advocate, and I was soon enough dressed and out the door. The only cotton I wore was on my feet, which is now a statement for all winter activities I will ever do.

I stood back and watched the pros set up the sled and hook up the dogs. They were rearing to run, those pups, and so cute. They all wanted to say hello before their run. It was dark, so my pictures didn't turn out totally clear, but hopefully you get the idea.


This is Carrie and Rick setting up for the team. Yes, we went for a night time dog mushing ride. It was pretty sweet.


This is one of the lead dogs, Snowman. The other one was Mitts. They both did very well. It was cool. At one point Rick said out loud, "Wait, this is a different trail." He wasn't exactly sure where we were, so he went to tell the dogs to turn around, but they kept on going. So he said, "Do you know where you're going? Alright." And we just kept on going, and we ended up right back on the trail. Like horseback riding, there are times when you just have to trust your animal. Lead dogs are lead dogs because they are just that good.


This is the team that pulled us. Aren't they so cool???


This is the dog yard where they all live.


These are the dogs being excited during one of our 45 second breaks. Rick likes to go out and give them all some love and encouragement, check on their harnesses, make sure they're all doing alright. Good dogs.


Although you can't see a whole lot, this is a video of me riding in the sled while being pulled by 10 dogs, guided by Rick Holt. It was pretty sweet. It wasn't this quiet the whole time. I wish you could distinguish in this video the sound of the dogs' feet hitting the snow. Also, Rick and I talked most of the way.

Well, it was a really fun trip. We went about 27 miles or so, so it took us about 2 hours or so. My toes were going in and out of being really cold to being just fine. I tried to move them around a lot. Now remember, my socks were the only thing I wore that was cotton, and my shoes, though good for walking, they are not good for mushing. And so eventually I lost feeling in my toes. Rick let me dog mush for a bit, which meant I was actually standing on the runners and telling the dogs what to do, more less. I was kind of afraid I was going to fall off, but I did alright. However by that point my hands were also very very cold, and it hurt to grip the handles. And so after only a couple minutes of mushing I had to give the reins back to Rick. This made me very sad, but I was also in a lot of pain. By the time we got back to the house, I was huddled deep under the sled blanket and I was very quiet. Rick knew by this that I was really cold. So I jumped out and ran immediately to the fire, which is pretty much all I thought about for the last 15 minutes of the trip.



I stripped to my skin layer of clothes and put my poor bare feet in front of the fire. It really hurt as they thawed out, like biting my thumb hurt.


You can't tell, but my toenail was a grayish blueish color.

Rick says I probably got nipped a bit by the cold. But I still have my toes, so we're doing just fine. It was all worth it, I swear.

Tiff says I was just being a baby when I said my toes were a different color. And then she stuck her tongue out at me, and I was like, what the heck? But I like this picture. :)


But whatever. They were red and the skin felt a little raw and dry. And they were really cold. Anyway, it was a very nice evening with very nice people. I felt bad that I wasn't quite myself, getting over a cold, and I was very tired. But I enjoyed the good company. It was a very very good day. :) Thanks to everyone who made it so wonderful!!