Timber Tales      Week 04

It seems we have encountered a few "snow blocks" on getting to Chukotka. We did go flying! Just not all the way to Chukotka. But I heard we are still further to the left than Hawaii! Not all that sure about Hawaii, but from what Mike was talking about, it sounded like a place with dancing and singing. I like singing... and I love to howl along!

So we flew to Nome, Alaska. Have I told you how I love to fly? Looking out from my box on top of the dog truck, I could see Paul putting all the boxes together pretty close to that airplane. Once all 23 boxes were put together, two were put side by side and then two on top of them. Then they took big straps—just like what holds down the boxes on the dog truck—and strapped down the boxes before Paul and Mike started pulling us in these "airplane-kind-of-boxes." I got a top box. I like that! I really think Paul likes that I am so easy to load now. I have to admit it was probably a little bit different when I was younger... 

Then this machine came and "whooooched" us up—I guess it is called a forklift—it took the whole pallet, lifted it up, and loaded us on to the plane. Lightning, Trigger, Baffin, Kodiak, and Good Thunder were pretty nervous, so I tried to talk to them as much as I possibly could. But then, Paul asked me several times to not say so much, and he is the boss. Jupiter has flown before... Back when he was just a pup, he went to a home in Pennsylvania with this really nice teacher, Amy. Can you believe he got to go to a school several days a week?! He told me how he would hang out with the kids, reading books and cool stuff like that. He even had a place in the school yard, I guess. That just sounds too incredible, almost!? Anyway, the other youngsters didn't know what to think about flying. I told them that it was fun and that when we landed, we would be closer to where we need to be to get going on this expedition.

It really made me wag my tail when Trigger told me he had actually had fun flying. We should be going flying again, here, anytime soon. The other day, Paul was pretty upset; I heard him talk about that some people in Chukotka thought only ten of us were coming and that this is all they wanted to let into the region... Ten! As you can imagine, that got a lot of us really worked up.

I wish Aksel was here to explain it all to me... but I am sure he is really enjoying his retirement living in that house in Eagan back in Minnesota. I tried asking Peto since he is the oldest one here, but he got so excited that he has been barking non-stop ever since. I think he is barking so much so that Paul will include him in that group of ten dogs.

Which got me thinking... I don't know how Paul could pick just ten of us! We are a team and always do this together. I do know one dog that would of course get to go. Do you?

ME!

Of course I would have to go so that I could alert them of any polar bears. It would probably be a really good idea for Goodie to go, too. He did a really good job when we were dogsledding here in Alaska last year, and wants to be on Polar Bear Alert once I decide to retire. So that makes two.

It turns out we won't have to worry. Paul talked to Nikolai and, even though Nikolai can't go on the trip with us, he has been helping Paul with all these snow blocks. They have decided that all 23 of us can come, but it will take a few more days for all the necessary paperwork to get filed.

Then we will get to go in a plane again. After that, we will get to pull those sleds with all the stuff out onto the ice! We are so excited!!

Just the other night there was a lot of excitement here in Nome because the Iditarod ended. There were soooooo many sled dogs here. I think there were more dogs than there were people!

It was fun to see those dogs because they were all really excited from the race they just ran. Imagine, these tiny dogs just ran all the way from Anchorage to Nome—that's exactly the way we just flew in the plane. These racing dogs are really are tiny compared to us Polar Huskies, but they are REALLY fast when it comes to a race! But there is no way they can pull nearly as much weight for as far and long as we do, though.

I was just looking at Baffin and Lipton who are the biggest and strongest in the kennel. If they stood next to an Iditarod dog they would look like horses!

And speaking of horses makes me think of Mille. She really likes horses. I always bark when I see a horse, to make sure she sees the horse,  too. I hear she is going to be flying up here to meet us any day now. I can't wait to see her!

Hopefully, when I get to write to you again next week, we will all be in Chukotka!

Cross your paws that there won't be any more snow blocks and that we will get to go soon!