Women's Health Magazine (Dec)

We did the shoot last April at our Maclaren home, and the interview last year via phone. From NY to AK. A whole other world! The shoot, I think we had about 300 images total, lots of fun to shoot with dogs:)

The dog in the photo is SADIE.

If you have questions and or comments, please dont hesitate to write. We love hearing hearing from you. Have a super weekend, Zoya and the gang.

Iditarod Rookie Meeting Dec. 1-3

Paxson
10:15 pm
-15

Iditarod rookie weekend in Anchorage --2 days worth of meetings. We'll be leaving by 7am tomorrow. The drive takes about 5-6 hrs, depending on weather & road conditions. We have friends and family in Anchorage--always nice to see everyone when we get the chance. Lots of shopping to do, got the lists in my bag. We'll be shopping for Iditarod food drop items and more building supplies (for our "Old Woman Cabin") apt. It's the new caretaker apartment.

The race dogs all ran today, across the lake, across the highway, up the pipe and into the tundra for some good old bush trail training. The dogs wear booties on these longer runs, colder temperatures. The feet look good. Bridle likes to take hers off each time we stop for anything longer that..2 seconds...Galen is charging full speed ahead, there's no getting behind with that little dog in front. North is stepping up this year running lead strong, with Diesel. The trail we
re using is hard packed now the more we use it and the runs seem to get faster each time. The dogs are really pulling hard on the hills. I like this. They thought they were a sprint team today....I am so glad to see them getting into shape, they are really healthy and happy this year. Maybe it's the Paxson water??

Have a great weekend; zoya

zoya and bligh training on bush trails

Eddie, retired Iditarod dog happily turned house dog

.....loves potatoes, oatmeal, spinach, turkey, loads of attention, helping Zoya read the paper, type emails, enjoys socializing with the yard in the early mornings, salmon snacks, and Girls...he's all about the girls. 15 and still falling in love....

Here's Eddie taking the afternoon easy.......photo provided by Laura Ganis

Midnight Moon

running dogs under the full moon on a clear night in high country above timberline through the mountains is.....heavenly stuff. The power of the dog team running together & pulling hard, trotting smooth, fast enough to get us there in just under 4 hrs is......beautiful. Headlamps stowed in the sled, no need for lights on a night like this.
The mountains edge the horizon and their shadows tower over like giants.

Hunter & Naknek in lead running the show tonight with 8 eager dogs in tow. 4 solid, excited and strong lead dogs to set up the front end. Brilliant.

We hooked the teams up in the dark and headed for Maclaren River. 42 miles one way, a little break for the dogs at the cabins & then a brisk run back 42 miles. One of my favorite times to run............At night! There is something special about running with the dogs at night....for me anyway, maybe one day i will find the right words to properly describe my feelings as I know them, they are involved.
I will look for them tomorrow on the trail!

The road was silent. The moon was full. 2 teams. 20 dogs barking and lunging in harness forward. My sled weighs nearly 28 lbs alone. Packing in some weight for the run, I had close to 70lbs of dog food (for weight), a sled repair kit, some trail tootsies, camera, thermos, a booties bag/vet kit bag and small bag of trail snacks for the dogs. I like to keep things simple, very basic. If I don't, I get confused!

The snow conditions are pretty good traveling the Denali Highway from the Paxson end, not enough snow to hook down in most places but there's road signs and bridges for secure hooking. Voice control is important when training bigger teams right now because you can't always hook down very well. We drove the team through some wind on 13 mile hill, nothing serious. My sled and I blew sideways a few times off the road, the challenge is getting the sled tipped back up the right way and helping the dogs move the sled along without pulling back on them too much. The runners scratch hard over the pavement and back onto the snow. It's not fun running over rocks, gravel and pavement but we manage fine.

We arrived our cabins/training camp after a beautiful run by dog team. All was quiet and lonesome like in the valley. Maclaren Lodge next door was closed for the night, lights were dim and no one around. The dogs seemed happy to get back to their Maclaren home. Me, too. It's awesome wide open country with jaw dropping views of the Alaskan range and Maclaren Glacier. But somehow the dogs know this is just a short stop in our trip--a camp out. Unlike our summer affairs. They seem pleased and unaffected by the 42 mile run. After getting all the dogs out of harness, each would find a house. Then the real work for the musher begins.

All the dogs watch close. Bongo is literally bouncing around his house and running circles. Bridle is all eyes and ears. Sadie's tail is wagging. Hunter is barking. Storey, Bligh and Naked are all aware that I've got the goods and the food just might be for them. I unpack my sled and fire up the cooker to melt snow and warm ice cold river water....once the water is boiling hot, I pour it over their feeding (dry kibble and meat) mixed together and within 60 minutes, the dogs are fed a hot meal.

While the cooker is doing it's job, the musher is off doing her may other jobs, wearing several hats...I am busy gathering wood for the cabin and making a fire inside. It was too warm to straw the dog houses and half the team slept outside on the snow. Bridle came in and slept with me. After all the dogs are fed, feet and hearts cared for--I am off to the cabin for some food and sleep. John loves to cook for me creating all kinds of yummy foods some more lavish than others, we tend to keep things tasty, fatty and simple on the trail with meat, cheese, sour creams, eggs, and pasta. When we're out training together luckily I am catered to (inside only!) like a queen. The rest is all my work with all the dogs. That's ok, it works!!

I sleep well after a good run with dogs...waking easy though as my clock is hard wired and turned on the moment we are training/racing. It's kinda nuts. I could sleep through just about anything when I'm home in my bed. (and I do!) But when I'm on the trail responsible for my team it's a different story all together. After a few years of trial and error, I am now to the point where I can sleep anywhere, anytime, tired or not...this includes in my sled at -40F or at a checkpoint that is busy and loud. I've done both and yes, it's tough to get cozy when it's that cold but it's doable. However it's also that much easier to get going when it's time to go because you are already fully dressed. You are already ready to go, you just move faster because it's cold and your feet say so. 3 words. Total mental discipline. If I don't sleep because I am not tired at that time of scheduled rest on a race or even in training, 5-6 hrs later when it's time to get going......guess who'll be dragging her feet and wishing she would have slept back at the nice warm cabin? You got it. Dogs, too. They have to learn this stuff and that's why training is so important. There are these little mental exercises I do to fall asleep quick. They are fun, focused and easy and I sleep sound for the short rest breaks.
I can sleep now for 20 minutes and feel like I got an hour or two. Pretty cool for someone like me who needed 8 hours of sleep and 2 cups of coffee. Now, I do pretty well on 6 hrs. (still do the coffee) When racing, it's less of course! and for Iditarod.....I think we're talking much less even yet...let's talk minute naps. I fear getting stupid tired on the Iditarod race trail and then having to talk to someone and make sense.....yeesh. I have asked John (John has run 17 Yukon Quests and 1 Iditarod, that's 18, 1, 100 mile dog races) a few times about this....."how do you manage sleep deprivation over 1, 1oo miles? the same answer each time..."you just have to do it. "
Momma mia!

I practice daily meditation every morning, early before I begin my busy day with dogs and kennel management. This seems to get my body moving in the right direction and puts my head where it needs to be each day. I feel more organised and efficient.

One hour before we depart camp, the dogs get fed again. The moon is still very bright shedding plenty of it's light, again there's no need to use the headlamps until it's time to pack the sled. The dogs watch every move I make. As soon as my cabin door opens, a few dogs get up to see what the stir is about. They pay close attention as I straighten the lines and thumb through harnesses. They begin to howl, a few bark out of order and then they start jumping on their houses demanding my total attention as if they are telling me in their own subtle way..."let's get going, harness me first, and don't forget me over here!"

Time for dog booties. I like the kipmik black booties with stretchy Velcro the best. I begin to put booties on their feet .......one by one we bottie and harness up for the final 42 miles home.

We sled back home through a clear cool morning with moon, stars and sun.........Bridle, Harley, Djembe, Bongo, Sadie, Streak, Trapper, Storey, Bligh, Naked, Naknek and Galen were the team stars on this run.


It's late again, if i ramble on and miss a piece here for there or forget an E where there should have been an A.....please do forgive me, I sure do mean well. good night.

zd

shorter days, brilliant night skies.......

Hooking Patsy up for the 1st time.... amazing afternoon light.....exhilarating walks with dogs...

Maudy in her favorite "bird watching" spot in the house!

Happy Thanksgiving from John, Zoya, Judy and Dogs!

Little update

where to start? Training.....it's going good, a little rough on the musher, real tough on the sled but good for the dogs. running the obstacle courses day in and day out through trees, brush, over humps, bumps, stumps and ice. Bruised, yes. Complaining, no. Confident, yes. The dogs are in good shape this time of year with more muscle and building endurance.

I like to see the team coming together after 4 months in rigorous training. In about 2 more weeks I'll have a better idea of who will run where and in which team for the races I have planned. But choosing dogs isn't going to be that easy this year because the list of good dogs is longer than it's been in the past for me. After (finally) pulling the older guys out from the old team and having new dogs and dogs we've bred and raised...the team is fresh with a few wise mates to lend a hand. Tough to pull older dogs out--but for racing it's the best decision. We just have to build a bigger log home for those retired old dogs. I am soft for them and we always have some of these guys inside at night and a few creaking happily around the kennel.

It's always the same each year, in August when we begin training on the ATV going 8-9 miles a day, all the dogs look good working on the line together. September/October .....they still look good and everyone is still excited as we enter a new phase with new trails and more responsibility in the team. November comes and we start running longer days and nights on the trail. The fun runs have depth and some of the dogs don't dig the hard work. There's always a dog or two that can't keep up pace or they just raise their paw as if to say "hey, this isn't for me" and that's when I pull that dog out and work him/her into a tour team or pup team. Sometimes these dogs will go on to be a house dog or a working sled dog in a recreational team. It's smart to sort this out now so we can create a balance in the race team that works. No more question ? mark dogs in my team. We want all the dogs to be happy doing whatever they are doing and if they can't keep up, that's okay, they can do something else-if they aren't having fun running with us ---it's tough for me to ignore that.

The dogs that love racing thrive as we run further each week. We could use more snow and more cold weather. It's been Very warm----high 20's in Paxson during the day, mid 30's in Glennallen this afternoon with rain. Glennallen is 70 road miles from here. I like warm if I am on a beach and toes in the sand somewhere beautiful with the ocean view....but NOT in November in Alaska with my dogs...we want colder weather and we need more snow.

Dogs in training for Iditarod:

Bligh, Storey, Peak, Naked, Streak, Sadie, Bridle, Djembe, Bongo, Salsa, Mambo, Robin, Galen, Trapper, Naknek, Sebe, Motta, Dude, Cookie, Harley, Zither, Hunter, Tokyo, Cliff, Probe, Bonnie and Diesel.

i will have pictures of these dogs posted on website race team page, soon.

Patsy Ann update;

We had her eyes looked at by a specialist just a few days ago-it's all very positive news for us and for the Patsy dog. She can see out of both eyes, not perfect but well enough to run in team. Born blind with a condition that is very rare yet hopeful....this condition clears up some on it's own as she grows and her eyes get bigger. Her eyes underneath the blue like fog spots are Normal and she is healthy....no medications, no surgery. We are pleased!

All inclusive Sledding Tours;

We are booking only a handful of dog sledding excursions this winter, if you are interested, you must book well in advance as time and space is limited.
Jan. sledding dates are fully booked.

Selected February dates are still available.
contact Zoya at zdenure@yahoo.com

Cabin rental on the Maclaren River, milepost 42 Denali Highway;
We have 2 nice cabins available for rent now through March--one large cabin (Grandma's cabin) full futon, full bed, deck, and kitchen table set, sleeps 4-5 persons, wood stove, wood available. The 2nd cabin (Mushers cabin) is small but cozy, remodeled new floor, full futon, cook stove, good wood stove, wood, empty dog houses with chains. Please contact Zoya or John for more information at zdenure@yahoo.com or call 907.347.9013

Dogs up for Adoption; we have some very nice dogs up for adoption. If you are looking for a good companion dog or a sled dog to run in your team for camping, light trips and tours, please contact us and we will do our best to match you with one of these quality dogs. Pictures and detailed info. provided upon request.

Zoya DeNure

dogs & yoga

there's sweeping days like today when my Yoga is not taking place on the mat in my living room overlooking the lake and mountain range but on the sled runners behind an excited team of dogs instead. Running back to back 35 mile runs with 2 teams is like Yoga on a stick. It's more like an all day Yoga Express ticket. Fresh air, serene landscape, quiet trails, break through in emotions throughout the day and focused physical effort. Downward dog? Later! The trails we're breaking and running demand my every attention at all times--being present 100 % of the time is essential. Driving the sled takes attention and skill on these trails. Breath is deep and focused as I harness my team. My energy is all very happy, enthusiastic, and kind for the dogs and our amazing day that lays ahead. They pick up on this and start bouncing in mid air, saying "pick me, pick me" as I walk through harnessing and letting each dog run free. I make my way down to the sled and my team is there saying "hook me in and let's go" Ears up and tails wagging in every which direction, my arms moving with purpose and strength. My legs get a full all days work as we climb steep hills pushing our way through new snow.

Helping the dogs break trail is part of giving that I like. Kicking and peddling on the uphills, stomach muscles tight and strong. The dogs work hard for me and I work for them. We are a total team and it takes effort and discipline on both parts. The wind moves through the trees and a wolf howls deep as we glide across one trail to another. The dogs understand we have work to do when we're on the trail and our goal is to travel steady with efficiency. My mind floats to the mountains on the horizon and then back to the the dogs and then back to the tracks in the snow. I feel an overwhelming amount of joy when I let go of all the things I think I need to control. Learning the dogs takes time, experience and effort. Being fully aware is yoga and also something that benefits my dog team; understanding their needs, wants, abilities and slight disabilities. Balance----like with Yoga, we are motivated to create perfect harmonious balance in our life so things work and feel good. We know that when we don't have it; we feel frazzled or frustrated. Creating a balance that works within the team may be just as important as the kind of food I feed to the way I train these dogs. Balance, isn't a goal but a constant effort to maintain and or achieve. Today, the yoga happens with Shiva Rea inside after morning chores and puppy walks.

Bless you today and make it a good one, zsd

Paxson Lake

This is the view from my door.

"Good God, It's a Good morning!"
We share this life with love, friends and dogs each morning, day and night...we are so thankful as we count our blessings.... amen.


life is good.



zd

training dogs, checking feet on the trail and having a ball!

tough trails, big wind

training on Paxson trails is no easy task, the trip with dogs around here presents many challenges within the adventure. We have a lot of great options for trails around here --tough trail conditions. The wind on Paxson lake has been strong blowing us sideways and forcing me down behind the handlebars. The dogs put their heads down and march into it as they take direction from their musher. The wind whips and howls throwing sharp daggers of icy snow flakes around my parka hood. These kind of conditions can be tough on the eyes if one is not ready. The lake froze solid about 2 weeks ago, the snow is coming in stages; an inch here, another inch there and so it accumulates slowly leaving bare spots of glare ice and stretches of overflow to cross over. The trails haven't been broke out this year and it's just us here to do it, so this year I am doing it with dogs, not a snow machine. I am taking smaller teams of 8-10 dogs because there's not enough snow to hook down until you reach the high country and for us, that's a miles into our run. The closest musher to our kennel is over 90 miles. It's so much tougher and it takes that much longer to do ti this way but what we get later is a better dog team with tougher heads and a stronger body. And more trust within the team. Mnt Sanford was lit up like a tree with the sun rise this morning, glowing hues of pink and purple. I am always in awe of my surroundings, they are beautiful and never quite the same. We're climbing very steep hills and breaking out old trap line trails, very narrow and winding through trees and over frozen swamps. The moose like wintering in these areas. Often times we find newly dropped antlers this time of year. The dogs really enjoy these trails because they are new again and more challenging than the wide open road. More animals and different scents. They must work together as a team on these kind of trails--everyone must pull their weight because it's truly a job for all. Yesterday I walked in front of my team for about 1/4 mile to find the trail after coming out of the trees-I was in snow up to my knees--the dogs were listening real good and finally we found it after much searching around trees and hills and frozen swamps. I haven't been back there in 2 years but I finally picked it back up. Galen and Bongo were leading me at this point. Eager in swing was Djembe and Bligh. After we hit the river and turned for home, the dogs took off like a bullet. Still the snow was deep and soft but this didn't matter to them-they wanted to run, they were happy. We broke out 34 miles of fresh trail with 2 road crossings involved, this would be equivalent to 40 plus miles on a good trail. The dogs were quite pleased with themselves once we made it home. You could see Bonnie telling Henry all about her big day out breaking trail with the big dogs. And Mambo telling Salsa all about her run as she cuddled up next to her big Sis.

zd

Djembe and Bongo

ready to travel ready to run

little crazy dog puppies in training

Jon Jon, O.B. and Cinnebar just in from a short run.

The pups are just shy of 6 months. Jon Jon jumped right in working it in team with Wilbur. He is the biggest of the 3 pups. JJ has a big appetite and shows no sign of fear as he marches ahead. O.B. couldn't find his legs the first half of the run jumping and hopping back and forth like a little rabbit over the line but seemed to ease into it on the home stretch and Cinnebar--a natural. She is more sled dog than she cares to know. Lunging, jumping, pulling back on the lines. She is the leader of this pack and the scary part......she knows it.

The pups will train 2-3 days a week in small teams of 6, 8 and 10, traveling anywhere from 6 miles to 16 miles per trip. The objective is to get them into a routine that is productive and fun--allowing them lots of running time with some of their best friends in the yard. These are some of the future stars in the kennel and it's important they learn the ropes starting at the age of 6 months. They will learn from some of the older and wiser dogs who no longer run the pace with the race team. These older dogs have much to offer their pupil. They've been there & done that and have the patience for these youngsters.

zd

viva la Paxson

......the first 30 seconds back on the ground were like none before. i packed away my ipod and gathered our things as the plane made it's way down to the precious ground. "Hmmm, it's good to be home." My mood was good, real good. We just had a great week away and both of us are ready to get home & get the ball moving. I am a happy workaholic and a week of down time is more than sufficient. Clean air, space---lots of it and traffic.......what traffic?? I so do not love driving in Chicago---(think BUSY multiple lanes) It seems a little crazy to me that people can do that everyday. The mountains look brilliant as we ground and did I mention clean air? Yes!..We're back in Alaska! Our trip outside was short & very sweet---time with family & friends is always great and new experiences invaluable.

Home now and mighty busy catching up around here. Glad to see snow. Tough driving in it with 8000lbs of fish pushing our truck. Not healthy on slick roads. We had our 17ft trailer loaded to the gills with fish for dogs. It was snowing like mad and visibility zero as we neared Sutton. Late and tired, we opt to stay in King Mountain for the night. The Lake is frozen with rough ice and patchy snow. Tomorrow I hook up and we head out for Meier's Lake. My dogs look good, the skinny ones had a few days to sit and gain a little more weight. I have a few hard keepers that needed to gain before we run longer. Can't wait to get back on the sled---ahh, just to be back home with dogs again....I miss all their faces and personalities when away. I miss running them and miss being in the zone with that total focus on dogs. What an amazing place to live and create from---we're super lucky and I give thanks! Those dogs sure make me laugh and time with them, is just incredible!

zd

sailing the wave with CLYDE

what is the birthday girl doing today?

Running lots of dogs. Training hard. Thinking about Iditarod. Eating too much cake, pie and chocolate. Looking ahead.

...and the road is long, winding, and sometimes cold and a little crazy but we're on our way and the journey is amazing. In my early adult years, it was high times in a different circle. Glitter, lights, and lots of everything. It's not all about fancy dancing shoes and designer sheets these days-- all though we still like both...but other things take on a more important role with a whole new meaning to "wild, fun and must-have" and it's the becoming of something very special and meaningful with purpose and challenge that keeps me ever so engaged and inspired to work harder and to be better.

I get lots of mail, cards and gifts for my b-day each year and I am so LUCKY to have such good friends in my life--thank you everyone for treating me so good and making me feel so loved. You enrich my life. For living so far out in the boonies, we sure have a good time and I don't feel alone at all; if anything I feel unable to keep up with all the hub-ub business of my long distance relationships...you all keep me alive and fresh! My husband---perhaps the best gift of all today wrote "Happy Birthday Zoya" very big on the frozen lake in front of our house today covering about 100 yards. Looking down from our home through the big picture windows you can see the dogs and behind them on the lake my special greeting. I felt like I was 17 again....He baked me a beautiful banana cake with white chocolate frosting covered in lots of colorful candles (as he has done for the past 3 birthday's ) and pie and pizza and the fun with you never stops, everyday is very new and always an adventure.


Judy, thank you for your special gifts and creative hand. Thank you for working so hard for us--taking good care of the dogs is number #1 and you got it. It takes total team work to run a kennel successfully and with everyone on the same page working it together, good things happen. We all know that. We have lots going on everyday, different dogs in different teams with different abilities and goals, pups that need walking, Patsy that needs special attention, garbage burned, meat and fish cut, dogs fed and chores done, 3, 4, 5 times a day, oh yeah and a big house that needs a cleaning once in awhile! Our days start early and go until.....we're done. When I am not cutting fish or meat for dogs, you are. When I am not walking pups, you are...when I'm leaving with truck and dogs, you've got it all down to the T.....you save me time and free me up at times I need it for other things...thank you.

Harness training; second run out today was Jon Jon, O.B. and Cinnebar..practically harnessing themselves!

I've got a long run coming on the dogs tomorrow --28 dogs, 30 some miles each team. There's just not enough snow to hook down a big team so at this point I am stuck running them on the ATV....(that stinks for me, 60 some miles on a 4-wheeler) I have thought about hooking them up to the truck and running them all out at once but I don't think they gain anything that way. Right now, training has been quality this year and the dogs are in awesome shape and spirits. I am having more fun than I ever have and this must be rubbing off some?!

We're looking forward to more snow, a solid lake and friend Sab moving back to Paxson to train his dogs this winter. Will be good fun having him around again.

Family matters; heading back to see fam in just 2 days for 5 and a half ...I guess it's been "cold" there, mid 60's, low 70's......yeeesh!

Another year young and still wearing madonna T's and singing along, painting my toes blue, dancing when nobody's looking and having a blast LIVING!

see you down the trail....................





Zoya