Almost....

Drop bags were a successful adventure and now on with the next task sequence. We attended the purse party and got to hang out with some of our friends, fans, and supporters. The turn out was awesome and it is always a bit strange to be the one doing the autographs:)

All the doggies received some special treatment this week. A visit in the house for a little up close and personal grooming and vet care is just what the musher ordered. Everyone's feet are in excellent shape, and now looking especially pretty with their feet hair and nails freshly trimmed. The dogs have excellent weight on them and are looking happy and ready for their vet check tomorrow morning. We have narrowed down the team to 15 dogs - wondering who will be the unlucky one to stay at home - kinda wishing I could stay on the couch myself with temps dropping down into the 40 belows. But really don't want to miss out on all the excitement waiting out on the trail.

We would also like to give another thank you to a great couple Bill and Susan McDonald they are awesome. Help us to raise funds for the Wounded Warrior Project. Please help us to make sure no veteran is forgotten in this great time of need for our nation. Donations can be made at the following URL:

https://support.woundedwarriorproject.org/individual-fundraising/yukonquest2012/

Packing Packing Packing

Well, drop bags are all packed and ready for tomorrow. Thanks to all who helped out in the process. It really takes a lot of time and effort to pack for a 1000 mile race.  Have plenty of variety packed for the doggies. Ready for the camping trip of the year.

Wounded Warrior Project

Slo-n-Eazy Kennel is owned and operated by Jason Weitzel and his wife Susan Allmeroth. Jason is gearing up to run the 2012 Yukon Quest which is a 1000 mile International sled dog race. Both Jason and his wife are veterans dedicated to raising awareness for the Wounded Warrior Project. Jason is donating half of his winnings to and attempting to raise $10,000 for the Wounded Warrior Project. Jason has register his run as a Sponsored Event to the Wounded Warrior Project (WWP).

 

The Yukon Quest race starts in downtown Fairbanks, Alaska at 11:00 am on the Chena River and finishes approximately 10-14 days later in Whitehorse, Canada on the Yukon River. The finish and award banquet will be held on 18 Feb in Whitehorse, Canada.We encourage anyone to join us at the start, middle, or finish of the race to cheer our team on and spread the word that we are trying to raise both awareness and funds for the Wounded Warrior Project.

The purpose of the WWP is :

• To raise awareness and enlist the public's aid for the needs of injured service members.
• To help injured service members aid and assist each other.
• To provide unique, direct programs and services to meet the needs of injured service members

All donations for the WWP can be made here:
https://support.woundedwarriorproject.org/individual-fundraising/yukonquest2012/.  Please help us reach our goal and support the wounded warriors so that they are not forgotten.

New Sponsor

Special thanks to our new sponsor VFW Golden Heart Post 3629 to their donation. Without local support we could not make it to our goal.

Training in Paxson

Jason went down to the Paxson area for a training run only to experience high winds and soft trails. It was a great training experience for the dogs. Jason is extremely pleased with the performance of the team during his training runs. The stories he returned with were exciting and full of challenges. The trail was blown in and the snow berms were side hilled 5-6 feet in places. At one point the lead dogs disappeared from sight. He anchored down the team only to find Roy and Murtle had jumped off the guard rail and were dangling in their harnesses. He had to pull them up about 7 feet to safety. I told him he was lucky to have dogs that loved him enough to jump off a cliff for him. He was proud of his dogs for really shining and pulling through without a hitch. Another great chance for training and getting the dogs on new trail, different conditions and terrain, and camping on straw.

We also picked up two new dogs from Michelle Phillips to fill out our team. Frog is a large male that is only best described as a maniac. He is a very hard worker and loves to eat. Pixie is a smaller female that runs professional swing and is a sweet heart. Both dogs fit excellent in to our team. We have been battling injuries in our small kennel and the two new additional fill out the team beautifully. Special thanks to Michelle and Ed Hopkins.

TRDMA Solstice100

The Two Rivers Dog Mushing Association hosted the Solstice 100 Dec 17, 2011. It was an exciting start to our race season and a great chance to get the dogs on some straw and in the race atomosphere. It was a bit warm for a December race, but the team really shined placing 5th out of 12 teams. We escaped the race with no injuries to dogs or self which is also a plus on an especially hard trail. Special thanks to all that helped us get to the race and during the race.
At the finish of the Solstice 100. Photo courtesy of Mariska Wright.