What have we been up to? Working. Mark was laid off from his job with Valentini Property Services in mid-November so we are having him staff the gym from noon every day. I go from the courthouse to the gym and then we usually workout together sometime around 7:00. By the time we’re done and showered, we head home sometime after 9:00. We are enjoying working with the people and last month I got my group exercise certification certificate so I am trying to figure out when would be best to hold off-site fitness classes (like boot camp classes).

To keep up the tradition, I just HAD to re-post my Off The Beaten Path “Twas the Night Before Christmas” poem. We hope you all are having an awesome winter so far and do a snow dance for us. It’s been pretty sparse and there is only two and a half months before Mush for a Cure!!!

(December 25, 2008) Merry Christmas everyone!!! We hope Santa Claus was good to you all. I had a dream last night that Mel came running over this morning with the following story:

T’was the night before Christmas and all through the forest,
not a creature was stirring, not even a moose.
The dog booties were hung by the woodstove to dry,
in hopes that another snowstorm would pass Off The Beaten Path by.

We, the handlers, were nestled in our beds,
while visions of indoor plumbing danced in our heads.
Me in my PJ’s and Rob in his tidy whities,
had just settled in for a late night cup of coffee.

When out in the dog yard there arose such a howl,
I sprung from the futon to see what was a-foul.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
tore open the door and fell on my a#%.

The moon on the breast of new fallen snow,
gave the luster of mid-day objects below.
When what to my wondering eyes should appear,
but a giant dog musher and tiny sled dogs so dear.

With a giant driver, so tall and so dark,
I knew in a moment that it must be Mark.
Faster than Fast E Streeper dogs his sleddogs they came,
when he whistled and shouted and called them by name.

Now Tucson, Zena, Amber, Bree, Calvin, Caribou, Carstenz, Cassie, Falcon, Lily, Maggie, Matty, now Denali.
On Deuce, Devil, Elbrus, Foreman, Hercules, Mons, Moon, Moon Pie, Murphy, Ophir, PJ, Rose, Skittles, Spock, Stealth, Star, Takum, Trout, and on Worf.
To the top of the outhouse, to the top of the garage beam,
he said “hike away, hike away, hike away team”.

As light and fluffy snow with snow-devils fly,
when met with an obstacle the team mounted to the sky.
So up to the cabin top the sled dogs they flew,
with a sled full of dog snacks and Mark in it too.

Then in a twinkling, I heard on the shed full of straw,
the trotting and loping of each little paw.
With coffee cup in hand, when I turned around,
down the stovepipe Mark went, with a bound.

He was dressed all in beaver fur from his head to his foot,
and his clothes were all tarnished with Buster fur and soot.
The bundle of dog snacks he flung on his back,
he looked like a sourdough opening his sack.

His eyes how they squinted, his hair how gray,
his cheeks were all frost-nipped, his nose peeling away.
His mustached mouth was drawn like a bow,
and the beard on his chin was as white as new fallen snow.

The butt of a smoke he held tight in his lip,
and the smoke it encircled his head like a ship.
He had a shot of whiskey to warm his belly,
that shook when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly.

He was a tall drink of water, a crabby (but with a big heart) old elf,
and scowled when I saw him, in spite of myself.
With a sh*#-eating grin and a twist of his head,
I knew I had nothing to dread.

He spoke not a word, went straight to his work,
and filled the dog booties then turned with a jerk.
And laying his finger on the side of his nose,
and giving a nod of his head, up the stovepipe he rose.

He limped to his sled, to his team gave a yell,
and away they all flew like angels from He#@.
He gave out a shout as he took off down the trail and went out of sight,
“Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night”.

Merry Christmas to all of you from all of us at Off The Beaten Path!

Daylight Watch: Tomorrow will be 18 seconds longer than today!!!

We are all still trying to adjust. Don’t get me wrong, our rental is great. We are renting a house that  Bill and Cindy Hansen of Sawbill Outfitters have in town. They bought the house when their kids were in school so they didn’t have to make the 1.5 hour drive home after late-night school activities. With their kids grown, they don’t use the house much any more and we are grateful they are renting it to us. What is really nice, is it’s furnished so we’ve only had to move what we really need. The first weekend it was mainly clothes (and of course Mark’s TV) and last weekend we brought in our bed and Mark’s recliner (need the recliner to watch movies ya know). Our bed was a necessity as the biggest bed in the house was a double, not quite big enough for Mark and I, let along Buster and Takum that like to sleep with us! We all slept much better on our king-sized sleep number bed on Saturday night!

With the business, Mark and I haven’t had much time to notice how close the neighbors are. Well, Mark has complained a little bit, but we are adjusting, knowing it is just temporary as we will sell the cabin someday. Buster doesn’t care where he is, but we can tell we aren’t around much because he’s a huge pest at night. Who is having a hard time adjusting is the dogs. Hercules and Tucson are in a kennel in the back yard. While they were kenneled at the cabin when we weren’t home, their kenneled area at the cabin has more square feet than the whole back yard at the rental! Their kennel now is about 12×16 so they don’t have as much room to roam during the day. We’ve took them to the cabin with us on Saturday and let them run around. Even Takum seems a little confused. While he’s very happy that I come home from my day job and take him with me to the gym to hang out in the office with me, he’s confused because there isn’t enough room in our yard for him to chase his soccer ball. I’m wondering if we are being fair to Tuscon and Herc, I guess we just need to start taking them out for walks and when we can on Saturday’s and Sunday’s, drive to places where they can roam.

Oh well, hopefully this will be temporary, with the cabin selling soon so we can buy something with more breathing room. Until then, we’ll all just have to adjust to being “townies”.

As of Wednesday night, October 5, 2011 MB Fitness, LLC is the owner of the Pump House Fitness Center in Grand Marais! Yep, we weren’t busy enough, we just HAD to find something to fill our spare time. Actually, if you think about it, it’s not much different than what we’ve been doing for the last 22+ years. The only thing that changes is how many legs the creature has that we are helping them reach their nutrition and fitness goals!

As time allows we will post more pictures. Although I’m not sure if I will be keeping this website up and running since we won’t be “Off The Beaten Path” full-time starting tomorrow. We have found a rental in town and are moving there. For just the couple days that we have been owners of the gym, it’s been hard as we both are NOT quitting our day jobs. The two extra hours we will save in NOT having to commute home (not to mention the savings in gas) is going to be awesome. The gym has 24-hour swipe card access and we are only staffing the office on weeknights and Satrudays without employees. Yep, just us. Just like when we started out with sled dogs, no handlers. Does that mean it’s going to be 15 years before we have “help”? Oh well, we’re used to it!

It was a bit strange watching the auction and not be tempted to buy harnesses, snaps, collars, etc. at bargain prices. I couldn’t sit back and NOT buy something, so I did by lawn and wall art. Takum’s former owner makes these cool planter hangers out of salvaged car/truck rims and the metal rim from old wagon wheels…just HAD to have one of them. Then, young musher (now young woman I guess, as she is engaged) Erin Lindquist (who bought Chena and Yogi from us years ago) had a few of her oil paintings in the auction and I bought one that she painted of Lily of the Valley flowers. I just HAD to have that too as Lily of the Valley is the flower of May, which is the month of both Mark and my birthday’s and our anniversary. What was really strange was settling up with Amy Streeper at the end…she wrote me a check! In the past, I was usually writing her a check asking her to hang on to it for a week so I could get the money into my checking account!

We had a great time even though we didn’t buy much as it’s a great chance to catch up with other mushers and just hang out without having to drop dogs before or after a race, have a few beers around a bonfire and just plain have fun. The photo at left is Mark with good friend/fellow “Old Guard” distance mushers, Vern Schroeder and Mike Bestgen. Ironically, Mark is the youngest of the three, but the first to retire! Well, Vern kind-of retired a few years back, selling out what he had left to his son Nathan (who won the Beargrease two years ago), but didn’t completely get out because he’s been helping Nathan by training and racing his younger dogs for him the last five years! He’s REALLY not retired as he is signed up for the marathon again this year (silly guy). Although Mark has the most years behind a dog team…

It wasn’t just a “fun” time for us, it was also family time for Mr. Takum. The photo at right is of Takum with his nephew, Flip. Flip’s owners Steve and Sharrie, lost Takum’s dad this summer to I think it was cancer. Flip, who is part Border Collie along with Australian Shepherd, is their future breeding male. Flip is the same size and just as cute as Takum was two years ago when we brought him home. I’m bummed I didn’t have a camera with me when Eddy and Amy’s house dog, Tess was hanging out with the two boys. Tess is Takum’s Grandma and Flip’s Great-Grandma. Tess is 12 years old and is getting around kinda slow these days. How she looked reminded me a lot of Roxy in her last year, so we don’t know if we will see Tess next year if there is another auction. (We just can go to have fun, not buy anything). Hopefully, she will be around and the only era that ended at the auction was our sled dog racing career.

Don’t worry, we won’t be complacent. We will have an announcement later this week on what will be taking up our “spare” time.  Stay tuned!

What former dog of ours that moved to Canada do you think is the father of this little guy?

And the rest of the litter?

There is no doubt who the daddy is...

In case you haven’t been a long-time blog reader. The father is none other than…

...everyone's favorite puppy from 2008, CALVIN!

CALVIN!

Yep, Calvin is a daddy. If you remember, Calvin, Amber and Cassie moved to their new home in Winnipeg with Gordon and Braeden Pope last winter. Calvin went to live with them after the White Oak Race and Cassie and Amber moved after Mush For a Cure. The fun part about Calvin’s kids is that Cassie is the mom! I guess they didn’t plan on the breeding happening, but sometimes, it just does.

We’ve heard from them that all the dogs have been doing great. Now if Amber has puppies, all our dogs that moved to Canada will be parents. A few months ago we got pictures of Elbrus’ pups! Braeden, tell your dad you need to have one more litter of pups!

However, there have been other fires in the area that have not been getting the attention of the big one. So far, they all are not getting any larger. The one of greatest concern to us was the Lake 12 fire. Lake 12 is just south of the Greenwood Lake Road and within a few miles as the crow flies. As far as we know it hasn’t had any smoke activity in the last week, and we are hoping it stays that way this weekend as the winds are forecast to start kicking up again starting this afternoon.

Here is a report of all the fires in our region that the Forest Service posted yesterday:

Gunflint District Fires

Lake 12 Fire, is a human caused fire, it is located near Greenwood Lake. It is 1.5 acre fire. It has had ground suppression work and is currently being monitored for any smoke daily.

Skipper Fire, it is lightening caused fire, it is 1.5 acres in size and in the BWCAW, and it was reported by recreationists who greeted ground suppression forces upon arrival. It is being monitored for any smoke daily.

Seagull Road Fire, is a fire caused by last Monday’s lightning storm. It is 7 acres in size and has received suppression actions by ground resources. It is being monitored for any smoke daily.

Lullaby Fire, It is one half the way up the Gunflint Trail and in the BWCAW. It is a lightning caused fire. It was detected by air detection and received several aerial water drops and is being monitored for any smoke daily.

Tofte District Fires

Kelso Island Fire, the cause of this fire has not been determined yet, it is one tenth of an acre in size on a small island in Kelso Lake. It is being monitored for any smoke daily.

Little Bear Fire, this is a lightning fire, 14 acres in size that occurred in a 60 to 70 year old red pine planting. It is being monitored for any smoke daily.

Horn Fire, this is a one tenth acre fire that was caused by lightning. It is located on the edge of the BWCAW and north of Crescent Lake. Suppression efforts included aerial water drops and it is being monitored for any smoke daily.

Nine Mile Lake Fire. This is a human caused fire on private property, on an island in Nine Mile Lake. Suppression efforts included aerial water drops and it is being monitored for any smoke daily.

Van Lake Fire, This is a lightning caused fire in the middle of the BWCAW wilderness two miles south of Kek Lake and two mile west of Little Sag. It is seven acres in size; it received aerial water drops and is being monitored daily for any smoke

The video below is my favorite tribute. Budweiser aired the commercial only one time, on the first anniversary of the disaster. It will give you goosebumps…and have some kleenex. This is for the men and women who lost their lives, the men and women of the police and fire forces around the country that would do the same today, and for the men and women who serve our country, putting their lives on the line so we may live our lives in freedom.

May we never forget.

Parts of Northeastern Minnesota have been without much rain for weeks now, with an officially severe drought spreading in parts of St. Louis, Lake and Cook counties.

By: John Myers, Duluth News Tribune

Parts of Northeastern Minnesota have been without much rain for weeks now, with an officially severe drought spreading in parts of St. Louis, Lake and Cook counties.

The U.S. Drought Monitor shows a spreading area of abnormally dry conditions across northern Minnesota.

The effects have been obvious. Birch trees have turned yellow and are dropping their leaves weeks earlier than usual under the stress of drought. Bears are desperate for food because late-summer berries and nut crops never materialized. Streams are dry and lake levels are dropping. And the danger of forest fires spreading is now high across the northern tier of counties.

“You can hear the grass crunching as you walk,” said Duluth’s Gene Shaw, talking about walking in the woods around his cabin near Ely last weekend.

Duluth, where overall rainfall in recent weeks has been slightly above normal, is not in the drought area. Rainfall in Duluth for the six-week period from late July to early September has been slightly above normal, and well above normal south of the Twin Ports.

In some places, though, rainfall totals during the six-week period were among the lowest on record, according to Greg Spoden, assistant state climatologist, in a report released Wednesday.

The National Weather Service in Duluth noted that rainfall in many areas has been 3 to 4 inches below normal since late July, while temperatures have been 1 to 2 degrees warmer than normal, which helps speed up the drying process.

The Weather Service volunteer weather watcher in Embarrass, for example, reported July rainfall more than an inch below normal, August a full 2 inches below normal, and just 0.13 inches of rain so far in September, a month when Embarrass usually gets nearly 4 inches of rain.

In northern St. Louis County and northern Lake County, stream flow values rank below the 10th percentile for this time of year, meaning they are this low at this time of year only one year out of 10.

The drought, where it hits hardest, could even affect this year’s fall colors.

“If you have a severe enough drought like is happening in some areas, it dampens down the colors,” said Jana Albers, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources forest health specialist. “In some cases the birch and the aspen just get crispy and fall off the tree.”

The National Weather Service noted that much of region has seen little rain in September, with little chance of any rain until Monday, and that chance is slim.

Waking Up Full of Awesome