Dog sledding in Canada

Five years ago, Tracey and I sat in my kitchen on New Years Day, drinking margaritas and writing out our list of 50 "Things to Do." An hour and some very sloppy handwriting later, I had a list of things that I have been slowly checking off over the years. Visit Galapagos Islands - check! See waterfalls at bottom of Grand Canyon - check! Host a theme party - check! Learn to whistle - not yet.

During the Thornton -Cooper sibling reunion in Canada, I am happy to say that I checked another "to do" off the list - dog sledding! I couldn't convince Tracey that it was a good idea, but I was determined to see what the fuss is about and I managed to convince Toby to go with me. We had a great time, and we're pretty sure the dogs did, too. They were so cute all lined up and just howling to go! I mean it - they were loud! We got to meet all the dogs on our team before we headed off for a very short run, only thirty minutes. The dogs were so playful that a couple of them had difficulty paying attention. One kept swiping snow off the banks as he ran. It was all very cool, and Toby and I laughed and laughed. We were the last run of the day, so the dogs all got to eat their snacks when we got back. The snacks looked and smelled very much like a frozen mash of raw chicken and fish. Blech. Toby and I are pretty sure that Sadie would make an excellent sled dog.

Here are the photos, in reverse order (sorry.)

The Coopers all wrapped up in the sled -

Here were are again, in the sled. The black dog up front - Duke - was the troublemaker.

Running and running-

Pups patiently waiting and hoping to be picked for the run -

Pups staring at the food -

I am very happy to say that the dogs all seemed happy and healthy.