4 Mar 2023

Episode 10: Ski Pole

It’s Iditarod time! A mere two years after I started this project, the next installment is in. We’re almost to the halfway point! In this episode I talk about where I rested (in the last episode the debate was between … Read More

Shawn, wearing a headlamp, takes a selfie with a team of excited sled dogs in harness barking and ready to run
7 Dec 2022

Solstice Shawn!

Happy (Soon to be) Solstice from ATAO Kennel! Once upon a 2017 December Mr. Billy Tro ran ATAO’s first Solstice race with the kennel’s OG team of 7! Well kind of. Bonnie, Egret, Ophelia, Annie, Nala, and a friend’s pair … Read More
27 Apr 2022

“Break”

Whew, what a year. When I elected to step back from Iditarod in 2022 (likely one of the best choices I made for myself and ATAO, with all the shenanigans that would be ensuing, unbeknownst to any of us), the … Read More

Sundance the golden sled dog smiles a goofy smile
8 Aug 2021

Funds

Wowee, I sure do hate asking for things. I hate asking for help, I hate admitting I need things, and I especially, especially hate asking for money. Money sucks! And it’s also, they say, a bit essential to make anything … Read More
23 Jun 2021

Apparently

So they tell me I ran Iditarod. It didn’t really feel like it. None of the parts of Iditarod I was already familiar with were there. Not the sign up picnic; not the ceremonial start. Not the crowds at the … Read More
21 Mar 2021

Success

In the summer of the year 2000, I sat nervously in the passenger seat of Martin Buser’s dog truck. The boxes in the back were new, and my brother and Martin’s two sons wanted to ride in the boxes. Test … Read More
1 Mar 2021

Mo and Oli Take a Walk

Over the last twelve days, I’ve been panic-building a sled. Why now? You may ask. Well, better now than never! The sled I’ve been driving for the past four years and literal thousands of miles is at the end of … Read More
14 Oct 2020

Autumn, Onward, and ADHD

This morning, the thermostat clocked in at a balmy 5 degrees Fahrenheit here at ATAO. The dogs are nestled into their straw beds, dreaming of breakfast and running and bones with the marrow still on, and other important things. The … Read More
29 Aug 2020

Training Begins Now

At the beginning of Iron Will (the only mushing movie I can really get behind) Will (good name!) has told his family that he wants- needs- to run the 500 mile dog derby from Winnipeg to St. Paul in order … Read More
22 Jun 2020

Let’s Go

My road to Iditarod has involved a lot of false starts. I was given options to run with various teams– But I always declined, because I knew it would break my heart to run a team that I’d have to … Read More

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