Life with Siberian Huskies
The Journey is more important than the destination
Iditarod Bound
I’m headed to the 2020 Iditarod. I’ve never been to Alaska or the race before. You can expect to see some post starting about March 5th on this new adventure of mine.
I have lots of things planned for this trip. Private fund raising dinner with Lance Mackey limited to 60 people. Helicopter flight to a dog sled tour. Musher’s banquet with all the big names (another fundraiser.)
I’m really looking forward to this adventure and I will post how it turns out. I plan on presenting 4 times Iditarod winner Lance Mackey with this painting I did of his famous dog, Larry. I hope he likes it or at least recognizes him.
Larry was a bombproof canine, Larry helped Lance Mackey win a third straight Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. It will go down as the last race of Larry’s career. Larry has finished eight Iditarods — seven with Mackey and one with former Mackey neighbor Paul Gebhardt from Kasilof — and four Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Races, not to mention dozens of middle-distance sled dog races.
His record as a leader is remarkable. Larry has led teams in 10 races of 1,000 miles, and he has won seven of them. Along the Iditarod Trail, he has become almost as famous as Mackey. Larry made a big name for himself in 2007 by becoming the dog to win the golden harness in both the Yukon Quest and Iditarod. His master made history that year, too, winning sled-dog racing’s first Iditarod-Quest double.
Now his painting is on my wall of fame, but he won’t be here for much longer. I plan to give this painting to Lance on March 4th in Anchorage, AK.
Life with Siberian Huskies 
I’ve never seen a photo of the Larry, but you did a spectacular job on his eyes. His are the same color as my boy. Based on the dates, it’s almost time for the never ending grief. I know you feel differently, but I don’t have children and my two huskies are my first dogs and my babies. They are both Southern California rescues and I doubt they have ever seen the snow. We did a lot of hurry up research after taking the first one. Luckily, she wasn’t really “typical”. Our second one was almost feral and now he is a wonderful dog. They are both independent, but love their home and have never tried to escape, although they have both gotten out of the yard, just to explore the next yard. Sorry for the rambling but this post touched me. Best wishes and have a wonderful time in Alaska,Andrea
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Andrea, I love all the huskies no matter who owns them. I often paint deceased dogs and give the paintings to the owner. It makes me feel good to pay tribute to the love and life they shared with each other. Thank you for commenting.
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