Rain in December

Rain on the window

Wooeeee! We’ve had quite the series of storms as of late. On December 26th, Fairbanks set a record for not only the wettest December day on record, but the THIRD WETTEST DAY ON RECORD ANY TIME OF THE YEAR. That’s right. We received more rain on December 26th than we ever did last summer (or most summers for that matter). The rain was sandwiched between two snow storms (one of which we’re currently in the middle), so the last several days we have been focused on digging out the roads, dog yard, reindeer pens, shoveling roofs, and unearthing items that were buried under snow then ice then more snow. Needless to say, our plow truck is earning its keep.

Just this morning, before I had my morning coffee, the cook stove ran out of propane. No big deal. I’ll step outside and grab a propane tank….hm…. I think this is the general area. Next thing I know, I’m digging through the snow bank in the dark in my long johns looking for a propane tank like some less than fun Easter egg hunt. I found four empty bottles before I manged to find a full bottle under the few feet of snow. Of course the full bottle was frozen to the ground by a layer of ice. After using up my patience and a few select words to express my frustration at the stubborn propane bottle, I woke Derek up complaining that I couldn’t get the propane to make us coffee and when did Mother Nature start raining in December in Alaska? He chivalrously popped on some bunny boots, grabbed a piece of firewood and a splitting maul, placed the firewood next to the propane bottle and smacked the firewood a few times, jolting the bottle from it’s frozen, iced puddle. It was during this crazy time that the majority of Two Rivers was without electricity and cell service, not to mention that the roads were unplowed and coated in a sheet of ice. For many homes, they had no electricity for upwards of thirty hours! A perk of living off grid is that while we did lose cell service, we still had electricity and water.

Ice skating anyone?

Since the above photo was taken, we’ve received about ten inches of snow with upwards of four more inches on the way. Perk- the snow will cover the ice. Challenge- where to put the extra snow. And it’s not even January!

Honestly, the times that I get most stressed are when I try to continue my normal routine (train dogs, give tours, etc) when the weather gets extreme. People use to live with the weather. Hunker down when it was cold or too snowy. Move about when the weather was mild. These days, our society doesn’t really work like that. We’re expected to continue life as normal regardless of the weather. Keep going to your job. Don’t miss a 50-mile training run regardless of conditions. In response to us canceling tours during the heart of the storm one guest emailed “super bummed, especially with the late notice. We made it in a Chevy Malibu. I would have thought Alaskans were hardier.” I had lots of snide and sarcastic comments I wanted to respond with, but in the end I just ignored it. We’re not supposed to live that way. Yes, we should work hard, but sometimes it’s better to listen to Mother Nature. Which I know is ironic for me to say seeing as I’m a musher, and most mushers like to laugh in the face of storms or deep cold. Some of my proudest moments are traveling through blizzards or extreme situations with a dog team. But also, I don’t want that to be the norm. The dogs don’t want that to be the norm. Anyways, this all just goes to say, we’re a little behind on normal things (training dogs, tours etc) but we’re trying our best to listen to Mother Nature. This has been one of the most challenging winters (weather wise) that I can recall in my 10 years in Two Rivers, but we’ll do the best we can. The dogs are happy. The deer are happy. I think the humans are happy. And that’s a win for the day.

Happy Belated Winter Solstice!

Well, I meant to do a Winter Solstice post but am a couple days behind. Not to worry though, we’ve only gained 50 seconds of daylight, so it’s close enough right?

Here in Alaska, Winter Solstice is a very exciting time. It’s like we’ve rounded a corner. We still have a couple months of short days and cold temperatures, but those small increases in daylight each day, while not noticeable on a day-to-day basis, make big differences week-to-week. And for those of you who follow the social media pages, I talked about how many people say they couldn’t live in Alaska due to the winter darkness. While I do find myself wanting to hibernate in winter, I love the extremes of Alaska. Before we know it, the spring equinox will arrive, followed closely by summer’s midnight sun, during which time I’ll be craving darkness and the smell of the woodstove. As the saying goes, the grass is always greener on the other side, but in Alaska, it feels like we get to sprint through all the lawns.

So what did we do on the Winter Solstice? The adults and I went for a long run, taking advantage of the almost full moon. Kalyn, Simon, and Mandy had a packed day of tours. Fairbanks has been a hot spot for guests this holiday season, and we couldn’t be more thrilled! Tucker took the yearlings for an overnight camp-out at a nearby cabin. More to come on their adventure. And Derek continued digging us out from the huge snowstorm that recently blanketed the area. And there’s more snow in the forecast!

The reindeer have also started losing their antlers! Well, just Pilot thus far. As Kalyn and Mandy were leading Pilot out of the trailer, his antler just….plop! Fell right off. Silly guy looks a little lopsided now with just one antler.

Shedding antlers is a natural process that occurs once every year. The timing of when they shed their antlers depends on the age and sex of the reindeer (or caribou). Typically mature bulls shed their antlers in November/December. Cows shed their antlers in the spring after they calve. And steers (castrated bulls) shed their antlers sometime in between. And of course, these are just generalities. There are always exceptions.

Pilot looking at his antler realizing he won’t get to be on Santa’s team this year.

Here are a few magical photos taken by one of the guests (Lindsay Saunders with Forest and Field Photography) from Chena Outdoor Collective. Who knew we could visit Narnia from Two Rivers?

Kennel Life is a Game of Tetris

I’ve recently been teased for not having a concrete schedule. Oftentimes, when we finish evening chores and have a brief team meeting, I’ll list out tasks for the next day with the best of intentions, but then Mother Nature throws a cold snap or the snowmachine needs a part or a big tour group books last minute, and next thing you know, we’re making spur of the moment adjustments and throwing the initial plan out the window. I’d like to think that for the most part, we’re pretty good at getting all the pieces to fit nicely. They block together and vanish just like checking things off a to-do list. But every now and then, you get thrown a weird shape or the shapes just fall too fast. Like this current -40F cold snap that supposed to last five days and arrived a day early. I don’t like to run the dogs in these temps, whether it be for training or tours, so training runs go out the window. In their place, I’m frantically thinking of other tasks- collect firewood, work on my sled with Allen, write a blog post, catch up on computer work. And those shapes start to click together and we gradually catch back up and start beating the game again.

Ironically before this -40F stretch, it was a heat wave at 20F. Since it was warmer out, I was able to take some video of overflow we encountered.

Running up the Chena River

Maple looking cute

Sponsorship Packets are in the Mail!

I apologize for the tardiness, but the sponsorship packets are in the mail! A BIG THANK YOU to everyone who has sponsored the kennel, their favorite canine athlete, or their favorite reindeer this year. It’s support like yours that makes this entire endeavor possible.

Whitney with Whitney McLaren Photography came out to the kennel a few days ago and snapped some photos on a run. My favorite is the one below on the left. Lefty and Wombat smiling for the camera, not surprised to come across Whitney hiding alongside the trail. Then Beesly and Fly wondering what on earth is that terrifying shape? And Rose not sure, but pretty confident that the shape is there just to see her!

Here’s a photo of the plane during a particularly phenomenal light show earlier this winter. This photo was taken by Mandy! Thanks Mandy!