Spring is a wonderful time of year that brings hope of new life. The birds begin to sing, grass starts turning green, flowers pop up out of the ground, and baby lambs are born. Some of these little bundles of wool were born on Resurrection Day Sunday. Joanna and Daryl got to visit Egli's Sheep Farm, just 7 miles west of Dryden soon after these lambs came into the world. At one spot, there were at least 20 lambs in with the ewes. As a pack, the lambs ran back in forth, leaping and bouncing in the air, seemingly full of joy. It was a hilarious sight. One little black lamb was so friendly that he sucked on our fingers. They have strong suction. It almost hurt. The Egli's also have turkeys, baby bunnies, donkeys, llamas, alpacas, goats and pigs. It's a great place to visit when you are coming our way.

Our Final Days of Dog Sledding- spring 2009

Spring is a great time to get the teams out on lakes because there is no slush. It's solidly frozen with about 2 feet of ice in most places and smooth,compacted snow on top so you can go in any direction. We decided to take some pictures to put on our blog and websites to show the varied and ruggedly beautiful scenery in the area. You might want to come join us next season for some exciting adventure by dog team.

Results of Our First Canadian Blizzard

When we awoke on March 11th, we were greeted with the snowstorm of the season. Billions of thick, beautiful snowflakes filled the air, blowing hastily to the ground. Piles of wind driven snow blanketed everything in sight. Several times we tried to open our outside door, only to find another foot of snow blocking our exit. We could barely see across the river to the other side. It was a day to stay inside and cozy up with a book, waiting for the storm to subside. The next day, John warmed up his plow truck and slowly began the arduous task of opening up the driveway, the camp roads, the dogyard, and last but not least the 18 miles to Ignace. Some of the hills between here and Ignace are so high that he had to plow sideways at first to try to push the 2 to 4 foot drifts. On the level we probably got around 2 feet of fresh snow. We've had our share of cold weather and snow this year for sure. I'm ready for spring.

Racing Pictures - 2009

Our Racer

Joanna has been doing more dog sled racing this year than ever before. She moved up to Ignace, Ontario to live with us at Agimac River Outfitters in September 2008. Exploring new winter trails was a big draw for sure. John and Joanna are the guides for Run Silent Dog Sled Trips, taking people out into God's beautiful creation via dog teams. Since business has been quite a bit slower this year because we are new in the area, Joanna has had more time and opportunity to spend training her dogs for races. She participated in four races this year including the 113 mile Beargrease race in Duluth,MN the 16 mile Dryden, Ontario race, the 30 mile Wolf Track Classic race in Ely,MN and the 21 mile Shebandowan race near Thunder Bay, Ontario. She finished 11th,6th,4th and 5th in consecutive order which is very good, considering she was competing against a lot of sprint racers in the shorter races. Although she is happy with how well the dogs ran, she hopes to do even better in the years to come. Countless hours are spent on the computer as she compares pedigrees and breeding of the best racers,planning ways to improve the breeding in our kennel. Not only has it been a fun and exciting hobby for her, it's been a great way to meet some new Canadian friends. Her mother, Daryl,has enjoyed some new and unusual experiences as well while accompanying Joanna to the races- like sleeping by the dogs under the stars at 25 below zero temps. It's all part of the adventure as John would say.