Quest 300 Start...

I didn't make it town for the 1000 mile race start, for any number of reasons that I won't bother going into publicly! I know a few of the mushers in the Quest 300 start so I did make it for that. Well, part of it, I left right after Will VanRanden, my neighbor, was out of the start chute!

Before Will's turn, Karen and Mark Ramstead were up! The Ramsteads have a devoted base of siberian husky fans. Since I started with purebreds, I have a bit of a soft spot for them too. Karen is one of mushing's good guys and her sibes shine both on the trail and in the show ring.

The Ramsteads' truck is easy to pick out! I once again did not meet Karen. We've been emailing for years; I've even run the odd errand for her, but we've never actually met.

Getting ready to go.

Crunchie was quiet, but anxiously waiting to get hooked up too!

Karen leaving the start chute; the third musher out.

Her happy Huskies!

Calm, cool and collected Karen.

Mark followed shortly after Karen.

Mark looked a bit more tense than Karen!

This is my neighbor, Will VanRanden, heading out. It's quiet around here without Will's dogs. He lives just down the hill from us and our teams chat a few times every day! I really like Will. He's a real dog whisperer and I have great respect for how he cares for his dogs. I hope he does well!

That's gonna leave a mark...

Sundin was on the loosing end of a disagreement with Ozzy two weeks ago. He had surgery to put his face back together two weeks ago tomorrow. The wounds actually looked worse than they really were. Facial wounds bleed like crazy!! But that's still gonna leave a mark!


The stitches are out now and he's healing nicely. New scars do not stop Sundin from pulling. That's him in the middle of the team this afternoon.

Being beat up has been a bit of a blessing for Sundin. Sundin is painfully shy and I often have difficulty getting close enough to touch him. He knew that I would get him help when he first got hurt though and let me catch him without any problems. I am glad to know that he trusts me when he has to anyway! He's spent the last two weeks in the house with me...getting medicated, handled, socialized. He could go back in his pen now, but I'm keeping him in the house until I have to go back to work. He's never going to be the type of dog who runs up to strangers, but maybe I can get him to run up to me, when he's not covered in blood!

Brazen Raven

This raven really wanted Heyoka's bone!

Not much distracts a Malamute from his food. He was quite tolerant of the raven's antics!

Right up til when the bird started pulling tufts of fur out of his tail!

The ravens are always entertaining, suicidal sometimes, but entertaining!