Cherishing this Moment of the Journey

"I used to think the day would never come, I see the light in the shade of the morning sun..." --'True Faith', New Order

Hey everyone,
Yesterday while on the phone Tamra's mum said I had better get back to the blog. Sorry for the delay, been stuck in Facebook world. Awesome autumn weather again this year. Summer you say? Not around here- mountain living sure does have its priveleges. Typically in the 60's w/ light breezes and occassional showers. The surrounding environment feels so healthy and alive. Mother Nature has even given us a suprise present the last few days- Snow. A few thousand feet above the lake the Grey mtns. are covered in it- a giant vanilla ice cream cone!

Love having visitors, not only a chance to show off our lil' piece of Heaven but an opportunity to run dawgs as well. We have a short five mile obstacle course w/ various streams for the pooches to pound thru as well as hills to lope over. Runs typically last a half hour or so. The longer the better- numerous stops to relax, cool down, etc. Yesterday we had a visitor from England joining us. Within minutes of leaving the starting chute we, as well as our 12 dog team were thrashing thru a violent rainstorm. Scary for some yet perfect summer conditons for running. Most of the pooches being run are yearlings or 2 yr. olds (mothers Annie and Omen)(Fathers Brady and Zorro) w/ plenty of drive; at present we're concentrating daily on creating positive habits- Pure Energy!

Have been invited to speak at a Mushing Symposium in Montana mid september. From there we're off to St. Louis, Chicago, Milwaukee, Denver, Texas and possibly New Orleans. If you know of anyone/schools out there that would enjoy seeing a Dogmushing show like no other, feel free to spread the news. We hope to put a link up on our website soon so you all can see a glimpse of our unique Laughing Eyes Kennel experience. Guaranteed to put a smile on your face as you wonder about life's possibilities- not just for these beautiful Dawgs but for YOU.

Tough times on tv lately. Great excuse to turn it off and get back to creating the 'Magic' from within. Peace, HHN tour ?'s: laughingeyeskennel@hotmail.com

Encounters With The "Grumpy Griz"

'Environments such as this can really affect a person' - Baldwin Brother
Hey everyone!
Quite the trip. Thanks to Yuka Honda for babysitting the pooches so Tamra and I could go for a walkabout. Spent friday in Dawson City visiting w/ Quest friends: J.D. Britten, Gerry and William and Shelley B.- fun times at the local watering hole. With these economic times tourism in the north has been hit hard. Dawson looked like a ghost town- which, hmmm?, it actually is- and that's why we luv it so.

It was our inaugural trip on the "Top of the World" hwy. Was wet and foggy though quite lovely. We brought Annie and Tamra's boyfriend Nathan along for company though I would'nt recommend driving a fully loaded dogtruck thru these parts- a bit bumpy around here. Chicken festival was awesome- good tunes, great company. Camped next to a massive dredge from the gold rush era- land ships as it were.

Been checking out different spots in Tok to set up another kennel at to train out of- found a few promising locations. My first Alaskan mushing 'boss' Bill Mitchell and his wife live in the area- was nice visiting their place for the evening. Drove back to the lake this afternoon- about an 8 hour cruise. Saw 6 bears including a mom w/ 2 tiny lil' cubs crossing the hwy. just outside of Haines Junction. There was a Moose slurping away in a pond as well next to a few white swans who were bedded down. Beautiful. Everyday up here feels like being inside of your own personal virtual video game. Today's edition was definately all about our furry massive northern pigs- it's our own fault ya know. After all we decided this morning to have breakfast at the "Grumpy Griz" cafe in Tok. Always more enjoyable to see one from the road than wandering around the neighborhood! Peace, HHN

Conversations with The Puerto Rican Musher

"Now I'm heading back home, where I know it's safe and warm- chores over, I know I'm satisfied after our long hard ride. Way out here tonite, the stars shine so bright. Oh, what a beautiful land! It's no mystery to me- it's easy to see. This has all been painted by the master's hand..." -- Hobo Jim

Hey y'all,
Had a wonderful visit with an old amigo from Austin, Texas- Jaime. Originally from the hills of Puerto Rico this fella has been running dogs on and off for over a decade now. It was Jaime's 1st visit to Annie Lake, hopefully not his last. We figure If Hans get can train a kid from Jamaica to become a competent long-distance sleddog musher why not our enthusiastic hombre too! Jaime's got the knowledge and talent, obviously his biggest obstacle, like many, will be overcoming their inner fears. For Jaime it's the -- CCCCOOOOLLLLLLDDDDDDD!!!!!

Always fun to hang with folks who have different perspectives on life. So much information to decipher. What is a monumental task for some may just be a walk in the park for others. Typically experience is a major ally in any endeavor. That's why folks who are energetic and ready to jump behind a 16 dog team for a few weeks should seek to learn from others so that they may avoid mistakes in the future. Whether they are paying attention and listening?- well- the wisest people realize their personal weaknesses.My list is long, a journey that becomes stranger by the year. That's why sooner than later, I had better release all of this info. from my head before it languishes amidst forgotten memories.

The last few summers I've been promising to put pen to hand yet the dogs and canoe seem to demand my attention. This past season however has a story that must be told, it's just too laughable to believe. I have competition with wonderful books like Mitch's Seavey's recent novel, a must for beginning musher's. Joe Runyan's writing about some dude named Lance too. Our piece is Tentatively Called: Tails of the Gypsy Musher: "Going To The Dawgs" Unlike other mushing books, our saga will not exactly be a 'how- to' book, more of a 'watch out for this'! Its emphasis will be concentrated not just on how to be a better musher but better Dawg. Now some folks may call them pets or 'working animals', we call them family: our community filled with lil' furry oompa-loompas. Tamra and her mother were laughing on the phone the other day- "Hugh, says he has to wait til the next full moon before he can start writing this book." You ladies looked outside up at the stars lately, we're getting closer...

While out canoeing on the lake yesterday afternoon with Tamra and Jaime we were mesmerized by the skies above. Not because of the moon but the depth of blue beyond the mountain's peaks. What a majestic view to behold, with the sheep prancing alongside the cliff's edge- the magnetitude of Mother Nature leaves us silly simple humans gaping in awe at all our eyes have beheld. Now some folks may have faith in the afterlife, others seek to understand the unknown thru prayer. For some of us their is no question about it- We speak with the Great Almighty each and every day. Just by opening our eyes and smiling... HHN