Hey Everyone! I heard NY just got some snow! How are you all liking it? It's 60 and sunny here in Boulder, CO! Such a nice day! :) I have some updates on Rob and the dogs:

       As of today Rob has announced that his first official race will be:
                                             The Exxon Mobil Open
                                                       (click to read details about the race)

 1/27/2012: His first run on Tozier Track (To view video of the trail: http://www.asdra.org/trailreport.html) was a success! He is running two 12 dog teams. We decided last night to call them "A Team" and "B Team". Although, right now 6 of his MAIN dogs on "B Team" are bouncing back from small injuries and are soon to be on "A Team".

(In the order that they run)
A Team:                                                  B Team:
  Jewel Rose                                    Barney Austin
  Daisy April                                     Odin    Jed
  Cooter Ballsy                                  Murdock Dino
  Elenor Mrs.                                    Brave Holland
  Name Javelin                                 Herby General Lee
  Luke Kit                                         Bumblebee Shelby

Subs: Dallas, Beau, Kaia, Cloud
GREEN: 6 MAIN dogs bouncing back to Team A
   
    The first run at Tozier Track was the first time the dogs had been hooked up in a month because of conflicting weather. "A Team" ran about 8.4 miles and "B Team" about 6.4 miles. "A Team" was more than ecstatic to get out on the trail, Rob said that he had to stand on the drag mat with both feet, the whole time to try to slow them down. Rob also said that for most of the trail you cannot see your first 4-6 dogs because the trial is very "twisty, turny like a son of a gun"! Ahhh, the sweet taste of Tozier Track!
    The Tozier Track is known for tunnels, car passes and a man bridge that the dogs cross. Rob happily reported that all but 2 dogs went over the obstacles with no problem. The two dogs are also brothers, we noted with curious intent. Austin, on "B Team" balked at the car pass the first time through and on the way back he was just was not having the tunnel. So to show him the tunnel was nothing to be afraid of Rob stopped the team and gave it some time. Barney, the faithful tank pulled him through the rest of the way to head for the truck!
    Despite some with minor injuries and not having many hook ups on snow; both teams came back from the fast, hard trail wagging their tails and happy. One spectator commented, "It looks like they could go another 6 no problem." Rob agreed with her; optimistic about his dogs performance and potential!

    To be sure not to overwork the injured dogs; he chose not to run "B Team" the 2nd day. But he spent a lot of time stretching, massaging and giving the dogs a look over to be sure they are injury free. After putting his hands on all the dogs he is happy to report that that there is only one dog (Austin) that has some minor feet issues and that Beau may be out for the season.  He brought "A Team" for a 10 mile run the next day (1/28). And was happy to see that they were wagging their tails and wanting more yet again! The second run for "B Team" was yesterday (1/29). Austin and the passes/tunnels were still not getting a long. Rob stopped the team again, to further show him he is safe. But that didn't work either so he moved Austin back in the team and let Odin run in lead! Sure enough Barney and Odin brought the team home, happy and healthy--ready for more!
    After the 2nd run at Tozier Track Rob has determined that he has 9-10 leaders and 6-7 of them are gee/haw! That is impressive! He is now in the Willow Area, letting the bustle of the passed couple of day settle in. He has met great mushers so far, noting how nice and helpful they were to help in anyway they could!

In case you missed Rob's comment on the last blog:
   
"Dog are very happy and eager to run. A couple are rebounding from late fall injuries very well and will run for the first time in a little over a month. I will be going very slow and for a short distance and see how they look. Lets keep our fingers crossed.A couple small scuffles on the high seas, with no major injury's. Dino has a puncture on his left forearm, healing very nice should be ok in a couple more days. In Whittier Luke,Herbie,Ball z jumper out of the top boxes right on very hard ice. They NEVER jump out. I think Herbie re aggravated an old injury.
No straw or shavings were aloud, so bare boxes. Good thing I had the truck isolated with closed cell foam spray. Just got done strawing the boxes and feeding. Time for me to eat. More to come."

Rob drove from Anchorage to Wasilla yesterday; commenting on how big the mountains are, he said, "You are literally just surrounded by mountains.
    Always his first concern, the dogs--the first stop was at the Alaska Industrial Hardware store (http://store.aihalaska.com/) for straw. Rob said, "The people at AIH were some of the friendliest folks I have ever met. It's like I’ve lived here my whole life.” We shared a mutual feeling about Alaska, in the sense that I had the same impression when I visited in 2005-2006. I am happy to see he is just as exhilarated to find that the people of Alaska are wonderful! One thing he commented on too, is that even in Alaska people comment and applaud his free drop method and how great he is with the dogs. (I am glad he is getting that recognition and praise because he puts a lot of time and hard work in the dogs; and its nice to get a pat on the back once in a while.)

    At the Alaska Industrial Hardware store, the crew directed him to Palmer (about 20 minutes East of Wasilla) to get straw. After picking up straw, he drove back to Wasilla and drove around trying to find a place to park the truck for the night. Not only park the truck but PLUG the truck in too, or else you run the risk of not being able to start the truck in the morning due to the cold weather (one of the things I had to do with the dog truck I drove in AK). He ended up parking behind AIH and catching a few hours of sleep. He did note that the temperature outside was about -10 to -15 degrees and because of the dogs body heat it was 37 degrees in the truck. His very own space heaters!

    As for this weekend, he is heading back to Anchorage (getting a comfy hotel room) and is planning on running the dogs this weekend at the Norma Rasmussen Memorial Challenge, 1 day event. It is put on by the Rasmuessen family and Alaskan Sled Dog & Racing Association (ASDRA). He is getting a couple limited teams together to gain trail experience (through tunnels...etc) potentially for the Exxon Open and although not this year, The Fur Rondy! There are zero expectations for this event, as he has said some of the dogs are bouncing back from some injuries and the others haven't had much hook up time because of the high temperatures and lack of snow. He is just looking to have fun and to let loose on snow for the first time this season! Here's to having a good time, Rob!

Still following Rob's Route? Go to: http://g.co/maps/wrvnd

_    After the free drop, he was feeding and watering at the truck when he noticed multiple juvenile bald eagles and ravens "three times the size of a crow," surrounding the truck for the meat. He thought that was the coolest thing and will be sending pictures when he is able to use Wi-Fi.

_    He took a couple great shots of Juneau and headed back to the port. He noted that the Kennicott Ferry crew had to chain the truck down for extra support during the extremely high seas to Whittier, AK.
                                                                 And they're off!
                  He is in such great spirits and really grateful for all the support! :)

Rob took the ferry since Friday afternoon and the dogs did fairly well.  A couple had small bouts with sea sickness but otherwise did wonderfully!   Yaaay!

2:30 p.m. - Just got in touch with Rob and he is heading into Montana any minute now.  It doesn't look like he encountered much snow along the way but he will when he gets to Washington!   Wow, he's almost there!

Sorry, when using multiple upload, it does not allow me to rotate pictures.  Don't know why.  First pic - Wisconsin, 2nd - Hard Rock Cafe, 3rd - truck at night...

Rob left on his journey on Sunday, January 15th at about 11:30 a.m.   He made it through the busy city of Chicago by 4:30 pm on Monday, January 16th!   Already in a different time zone!