Moosing around

I left the house this morning for my walk but this critter was blocking my way.

I tried calling 'here Moosey Moosey, here Moosey Moosey' so she would come over and let me pet her.

She just ignored me and gave the look of 'I just dare you to come closer'. If she would have come closer I was only 10 feet from the garage door.

This is another moose in another neighorhood. It was a bit more timid.

Here Moosey, Moosey worked for Elder Maddox. Of course he had a carrot. This moose hangs around Richards Thomas's house. The Elders get a kick out of it. Of course they have a barrier between them.

We also have other neighbors too. Bears!!! There are alot of them around here. We are only two miles from the Kenai river so they pass through often. Last summer while building the house we are living in the owner saw a mother grizzley and two cubs in the drive way where the above top moose is standing. This house in Soldotna where this photo is taken have had a number of mother bears with cubs walk right here past their door on the way to the Kenai river just a quarter mile down the hill. We have dinner here every 3rd monday night. Neat neat people.

Yes I even walk when it is coldddddddddd.

This is the road we live on where I walk in the cold wee hours of the morning.

This is looking the opposite direction (west) of above picture where we walk. Our drive way is part way down on the left. You can see beautiful Mt. Redoubt in the back ground. It is about 60 miles across Cook Inlet. It is an active volcano. It erupted in the late 1980s.

Not only do we have to worry about the bears and the moose when we walk we have to put up with the very slick glass ice conditions every where, as you can see. We are told that in the lower 48 you walk with your head down to watch for snakes. In Alaska you walk with your head up to watch for the bears and the moose. That's hard when you have to watch where you step so you won't slip down. We wear these studded slip ons. They help a lot. They have carbide sharp studs on them. Studded tires for our car and studded shoes for our feet equals survival.

This video shows why moose are more dangerous than bears.

Youtube Iditarod vidio with GB Jones

Since The Iditarod starts on March 1 I thought you would like the flavor this. Hope he get his wish this year.

Harnessing the team.


Iditarod Trail heasquarters.

Appropriately named this is one 0f many thousands of drive up coffee shops in Alaska. Alaskans drink more coffee per capita than any where else in the world. This one is not far from Iditarod headquarters and GB Jones kennel. The first time we saw this one there was a snowmobile at the drive up window.

You can see Iditarod trail leftish upper center going up thru the trees at GB's kennel.

Iditadad's mushing experience on the Iditarod trail.

Iditamom starting her mushing experience.

Our names on GB's famous Alaskan Wall.

Elder and Sister Scott, GB Jones and Iditamom, Iditadad

Elder and Sister Scott, Elder and Sister Gooch with GB Jones at his Iditarod Trail Kennel in Knik, Alaska.

Wedidafunthing a year ago. We were invited out to the Iditarod Trail Kennal in Knik, Alaska where The Alaskan Musher (GB Jones) was training to run in 'The Last Great Race' the 2007 famous Iditarod Sled Dog Race from Anchorage to Nome. http://www.iditarod.com/learn/history.html We thought that we going to get a ride in a dog sled. But to our surpise we each got to mush a dog sled team, by ourselves, on the famous Iditarod trail. What a fun and thrilling thing it was. To our suprise we found out that GB Jones is from Nephi, Utah. He is President Mark Jones first cousin. And our children all know Lyn and Jeanette Heyborne in Mona, Utah. Jeanette is GB's sister. Our girls have tended their kids. We have since become very good friends with GB. Such a wonderful fun and kind man. He has run in the Iditarod several years and has made it to Nome a number of times. Sadly he did not get to Nome in 2007. One of his dogs got loose along the trail when he missed a turn and got off on another trail. He dropped out to find his dog. It took quite a while in that vast wilderness to find her but they did. GB suffered some severe frost bite on his feet during the ordeal. He has entered the 2008 Iditarod and is determined to make it to Nome again this year. The race has it's ceremonial start in Anchorage on March 1, and the official start the next day out in Willow. The race is a big thing up here and it is easy to get caught up in it. Of course we will be cheering for GB. We need Mairi up here to be on the trail for the ceriemonial start to give him one of her cheers. I have included links for information on the Iditarod and to GB's site so you can keep up on his progress. You can even send him email from his site to cheer him on.http://www.alaskanmusher.com/livingontheiditarod.html