It's the weekend, which means sleeping in!  And coffee!  I brought my favorite from home, Carmella's roast from DOMA Coffee.  Yum.  I worked more on catching up with my photos and blog and then Tyler's friends invited us to get together with them again.  Among other things, we got to meet sled dog puppies and then tag along for the first training session of the year for a local sled dog racing team.  Since it's summer and there's no snow, this means having the dogs tow a four wheeler set in neutral.  Tyler's friends' dad is a long time, skilled racer, and is entering the Iditarod this year.  Helping him train is a lovely woman whose former husband has won the Iditarod (he lives across the street from Tyler, and I hear his dogs all day and night).  She helped him train his winning dogs and has all kinds of great stories.  She and I rode on the back of the four wheeler for the first set of dogs and she told me about the life of training, living and breathing dogs 24/7 for most of the year, spending all day exercising them.  It was a neat experience, the caucophony of excited dogs, eager to run, while they were sorted and hooked together.  Rocks flew behind them as they took off down the beach.  After a while they slowed to a steady pace and we covered a fair distance before looping back.

Around dinner time we left and went back to hang out with the rest of the friends.  The days go by fast here, and the sun is deceptive.  We all ended up having dinner at about 11pm, largely on accident.  Caribou burgers with sauteed onions, mushrooms, and homemade fries.  I made the fries and mushrooms/onions.  We ran to the grocery store for an 8-pack of buns, box of crackers, gallon of milk, and block of cheese.  It cost over $45.  I'll talk more in a later post about cost of living, subsistence eating, and more.  By necessity, people operate differently in rural Alaska, and I'm really enjoying the first hand experience and stories.

Puppies!

More puppies!  So little their eyes aren't open yet.

Choosing the first team and getting everyone set up.

Holding the line until everyone is assembled.

And we're off!  Flying along the beach, the expanse of the Arctic Ocean to our left.

Slowing to a steady trot as the initial excitement to be running wore off.

A break to cool off and drink.  This time of year is too hot (50s/60s) for them to run hard.

Giving them some love during a break.  Each dog is well cared for, making sure they are healthy and happy.

Ready to get back to the other dogs to give some of them a chance to run.