A Visit to Lance Mackey's Kennel

Aubrey and Mackenzie later in the morning with Lance Mackey before he took off from Galena.

The girls with the Berington twins.  They were very nice and talked with the girls quite a bit.

Aubrey and Mackenzie watching the Berington twins bootie up their dogs.

Aliy Zirkle was the first to arrive into Galena.  She got 2nd last year, coming in shortly after Dallas Seavey.

Our family posing by Aliy's team while she took care of them.

Mackenzie was in heaven sitting and petting all the dogs!

God showed us a wonderful display of the Northern Lights over the Iditarod weekend last year!

And now for the rest of the story...

Before we left for our drive up to Alaska in August, I got to thinking that it would be cool if the girls and my parents could visit an Iditarod mushers' kennel.  I went onto Lance Mackey's site and the Berington twins site to find some contact information.  I emailed them asking if it would be possible to tour one of their kennels?  Honestly, I was thinking they wouldn't even give me the time of day and that they had probably forgotten who we were.  I thought the people they meet along the way would just be a blur to them.  I also thought they probably get so many requests like this that I would just be another number requesting something from them.  I checked my email once during the drive up the Alcan and had a message from Lance.  He said, "Yep, sure.  I am fishing in Valdez right now, but I should be there when you get there.  Give me a call when you get there."  (On a side note the Berington twins responded back as well, but by then we were back in Galena so it didn't work out.)  I was so excited for the girls to have this opportunity!  I didn't tell them until right before we went, just in case it didn't work out, but it did!

Lance lives outside of Fairbanks a ways so we got directions and headed out.  As we drove up to his place, there was Lance out taking care of his dogs.  It was only Lance, his handler, and us at the kennel.  We got our own personal tour given by Lance himself!  One of the first things he asked when he saw the girls is, "Do you want to see the puppies?"  They all said, "Yes!"  He said, "I have to warn you, they will jump all over you and scratch you.  Are you ready for that?"  The girls shook their heads yes and were quickly surrounded by about 10 to 12 puppies mauling them.  They did get scratched but still wanted to stay in the kennel with the pups!

Lance Mackey showing us his kennel.

He had about 70 adult dogs in his kennel.

Lance hanging out with some of his pups.

The girls looking at the pups before they went inside the kennel.

Hanging out on top of the dog houses with Lance so they wouldn't get scratched.

I love this picture of my mom with one of the pups.  Such a beautiful Mom and puppy!

It was licking her and then it started nibbling her chin.  Ouch!

Hanging out with the puppies.

If you got down on the ground, they would jump all over you.  They were very excited 

and seemed to love people.  Maybe a little lacking in manners, but hey they are pups!

Lance really seemed to have a connection with every dog he showed us.  

I believe this is Maple, who has been his lead dog on several races. I may get the 

names wrong, but I am trying my best to remember all the names he told us. 

Here is Larry with Mackenzie.  This trusty dog helped lead Lance through 

the toughest stretches of the trail in a wind storm in 2009 to win the Iditarod.

Mackenzie and Marina with Larry.

Lance asked the girls what dog they wanted to pet out of the entire kennel and they chose this white one.

Marina getting a lift from Mr. Mackey onto Rev's dog house so she can get a kiss.

And one for Mr. Mackey.

A fun family picture.

Grandma, Grandpa, the girls and I with Lance Mackey in front of his kennel.

I would just like to say how much we appreciated Lance Mackey taking the time to give us a personal tour or his kennel.  Most people who have touched as much fame as he has, would not be so personable or give people like us the time of day.  I know there has been some bad press about him but from our experience, we greatly enjoyed getting to know this man a little.  If you don't know much about Lance Mackey, may I suggest you read his book, The Lance Mackey Story.  Lance Mackey became the first and only musher to win both the Yukon Quest and the Iditarod races in 2007.  Both races are over 1000 miles and take place within a few weeks of each other.  He then went on to win both races again the next year in 2008.  He won the Iditarod four consecutive years from 2007 to 2010 and holds the record for completing it in the fastest amount of time.  He is a cancer survivor and deals with many health issues from past cancer treatment that would cause most people to quit mushing, but to his credit he is still out there running the Iditarod today.  He even has a film crew that is making a documentary about him following him this year on the trail.  As I look at the current standings, he is in second place on day 3 of the 2013 Iditarod.  Who knows what this year will bring.  Maybe Lance will come back and win this year.  Most years the race has been run in 8 to 9 days by the leaders so we have a few days where a lot of things could change.  Aliy Zirkle was in the lead last year until the very end when Dallas Seavey passed her up.  Whatever may come, we applaud you!  Alaska loves the Iditarod and I am looking forward to seeing who wins, maybe even meeting some of the mushers on the trail.  Yep, that's right!  Ross, Martin, and I are taking a trip to Unalakleet by snow machine   We most likely will be just ahead of the leader on Saturday morning and arrive in Unalakleet just in time to see the leader come in.  (It is an 8 to 9 hour trip and about 160 miles).  We will then return to Galena by snow machine with Reid, Angela, and Cam (two of Ross' brothers and one brother's wife).  We may even bring Aubrey with us if the weather keeps staying warm.  She doesn't know it yet, but will be very excited if she gets to go, especially since she has decided she wants to be a Missionary Musher when she grows up!