The John Beargrease Race 2011

Joanna and I just returned from Duluth, MN where Joanna participated in the annual Beargrease race, one of the most competitive, challenging and prestigious races in the lower 48 states. The race is named after a Native American, John Beargrease, who actually delivered mail by dog team between Two Harbors and Grand Marais from 1879-1899. Each of the contestants is sworn in as an official mail carrier and given a mailbag with mail in it to deliver to the finish line.

Two choices are offered to the mushers- the Beargrease Marathon, which is 370 miles using 14 dogs or the Beargrease Mid-Distance, which is 110 miles using 8 dogs. Joanna runs in the Mid-Distance race. She and her Dad logged many training miles on the dogs to condition and prepare them for this difficult race.

Her two cousins, Sarah and Holly Oberg and I were the handlers. It was our job to drive the dog trailer to the checkpoints and prepare a place for the dogs to rest, heat up water for their food, keep track of her times in and out of checkpoints and make sure she and the dogs were hydrated. We would sleep outside under the stars with the dogs to keep watch over them and to give Joanna a chance to eat and rest herself, if possible. We were all very thankful for the perfect weather-not too cold or hot.

There are three legs to the race. The first leg is 35 miles, the second leg 38 miles and the third leg, the most difficult of all with its long, steep hills, was 33 miles. Joanna did okay on the first leg and was in 12th place out of 39 contestants at that point. As she left the first checkpoint for the second leg of the race, she hung on tight to the handle bar because her dogs were wild to go. She had a super fast second leg of the race which put her in 6th place. Unfortunately, one of her dogs was dehydrated after the second leg and had to be left behind. With excitement and anticipation of having the best finish ever, she left the second checkpoint with seven dogs to tackle the most difficult third leg of the race. Her hopes for a high finish were dashed when she realized she had another dog that was dehydrated and several others had either a shoulder injury or wrist injury. She ended up loading the dehydrated dog in the basket of her sled and with mainly three dogs pulling, she reached the finish line in 13th place.

Even though she didn't make the top ten, she was thankful to do as well as she did considering the difficulties the dogs were having.

In addition to the race itself, Joanna had an unexpected encounter with Jeff King, a four time Iditarod champion. She even got her picture with him as you can see above.

It was a most interesting and exciting adventure. I'd have to say that Joanna definitely keeps our lives from being boring.

Big Foot

You've heard of the continuous search for Big Foot, I'm sure. Well, we have found lots of Big Feet--our snowshoes. We have had a huge amount of snowfall this year, so the best way to get around in the woods is by snowshoe. It helps us stay up on top of the snow and makes a nice frozen packed trail. We have two very picturesque trails to explore on our big feet. The new trail John just cleared goes from the 325 road to a lookout high above Indian Lake. The other one goes from the 325 road in the opposite direction to the falls. Of course, a person can just cruise through the woods anywhere with good snow shoes. It's a great way to explore new areas in the winter.
So, watch out, you may just come across another----Big Foot!

Warrior of the Woodlands

I call John our "Warrior of the Woodlands" because he has always enjoyed the adventure of breaking new trails to scenic places. Each year he has to reclear the dog sled trails of downed trees or growing brush. Recently he found a new path to a gorgeous overlook on Indian Lake to which we all snowshoed. Breathtaking is the word to describe the snow and ice covered trees and the jack pine woods. I had a few mishaps, falling to the side of the trail. But not to worry. Our strong and handsome son, Jonathan was there to lift his mother back up. It sure has been fun to have Jonathan and his wife Reseth home for Christmas. It was quite a surprise. Jonathan has been in Officer Training School in Montgomery, Alabama since the beginning of November, so we didn't expect to see them this Christmas. He will return for another month and a half of training in January. Cherish is up from Ely,MN and will be with us for two weeks. So, the two sisters are having a grand time together too. Of course, John and I are thrilled to have everyone home for Christmas. And what a beautiful one it has been!!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

My oh my oh my, have we got the snow!!! John and Joanna can hardly keep up to the snowplowing and the shoveling to be done around our house and in the dog yard. John has already plowed five times this year and December has just begun. Just to give you an idea how far ahead we are from last year, he only plowed four times all year last year.

We also pack miles and miles of trails for Joanna to train the dogs for races and for dog sled trips for our guests. So, the snowmobile is getting a work out too. The other day I rode with John on the snowmobile to pack a trail and we found a beautiful vista overlooking neighboring Mamieguess Lake. The second picture above is what we saw.

Joanna has to come up with creative ways to wear out her active new Irish Setter puppy, so she hooked her up with Sabre to a little sled and away she went. I think Sabre was the powerhouse of the team, but at least little Saga got some pent up energy expelled. An exercised dog is a well behaved dog they say.

I do love the winter wonderland in which we live. Just looking out our front windows at the glistening snow resting on evergreen limbs, sparkling on the river and neatly covering the ground with its fresh whiteness brings peace and joy to my soul. We don't run the generators during the day in winter, but run on our solar power. So, that adds to the restful silence of our surroundings. We wish more people could come away and enjoy the benefits of this time of year with us.

My Getaway

Once the summer fishing and fall hunting seasons are over, and we have feverishly hurried to do all renovations we can before the cold temps set in and to prepare for winter, we breathe a sigh of relief and kick back a bit. It's a great time for me to fly away to the south and visit my dear parents and as many siblings, (including their families), as possible. By south, I mean specifically North Carolina. Franklin is a gorgeous setting, nestled in the Great Smokey Mountains and not far from Ashville. I have one sister who lives there, a brother who lives about two hours south of there in Georgia and a brother and sister in central Florida.

It definitely extended my fall season with temperatures hitting as high as 70 degrees. My mother made me lie on a lawn chair to soak up some rays so I'd come back with a tan. I don't think I accomplished that, but I was happy to comply. My parents are doing quite well and we had lots of fun and laughter when everyone was together, playing games and telling stories, eating out and visiting different places of interest. Of course, our family has always been like that. To be free of my usual responsibilities and enter into their world for a few weeks was mighty refreshing.

I also had a fantastic time briefly visiting our previous hometown of Ely, where our daughter, Cherish still lives. We made many life-time friends there and it fulfilled my need for socialization to meet up with different girlfriends and "catch up" on each others lives. Relationships are the most precious gift to us on earth. It amazes me how I won't see some of them for quite a long time, but the moment we are together, it was like we never were apart. Kindred spirits, I guess you'd say.

And of course, it is always good to be back home again , jiggety jig, into the welcoming arms of John and Joanna.

Pictures Above
1st- Parents home in Franklin, NC; 2nd- Mom,Dad and Kathy(a childhood friend)
3rd-Brother Rick, Mom and one of my brother's daughters, Mary; 4th-my sister, Wendy

Fond Memories

I was recently looking at some pictures our guests have given us of their vacation here at Agimac River Outfitters. One reason we like what we are doing is that we enjoy watching our guests enjoy themselves. To feel the excitement in their voices as they share their experiences hooking different species of fish in the lakes around us is wonderfully fulfilling. To hear the wonder in their hearts from capturing an awesome sunset scene or the rare opportunity of seeing a moose swim across the lake in front of their boats, gives us great pleasure.

Most of our guests come from busy, noisy,crowded cities to this atmosphere where the silence is almost deafening, and they so appreciate it. We all need to be able to go some place where we can hear ourselves think.... where we can just be quiet and enjoy the serenity of God's beautiful creation. We are happy to be able to provide such a place and we want each of our guests to know just how special they are to us.