Picture this: A beautiful two-story log home surrounded by a bed and breakfast, a veterinary clinic, and spacious dog kennel, all nestled into a fairytale green forest with burbling streams below a deep, deep blue Alaskan sky. And this gorgeous place really exists: the Dream a Dream Dog Farm is the home and work place of veteran Iditarod musher Vern Halter and his veterinarian wife, Susan Whiton. Moreover, this is the setting for the first three days of the 2008 Idita-Summer Camp for Teachers.
We did think we were dreaming when we woke each morning to the eerie sounds of howling dogs! The “campers” rushed to the dog yard for the first chore of the day. We had the pleasure of taking Prop, Strut, Fuselage, and Ailerone for their morning walk. It sounds like we were taking parts of an airplane out of the dog yard, but that’s not the case. Each liter of pups in a mushing kennel is named by a common theme. This liter was indeed named after airplane parts. Their mother’s name is East-can you guess the theme of that liter?
During our three days at Dream a Dream we were spellbound by the life-changing stories of Teachers on the Trail, Terrie Hanke, Jane Blaile, and Diane Johnson. Diane also shared information about new programs the Iditarod Education Department will be working on this coming year concerning rookie mushers and weather alerts. Vern led sessions teaching us all about mushing, equipment, and the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. To put what we had learned into practice, teachers were put into groups and challenged to plan their own run/rest race strategy and then explain their choices. We were instructed on how to harness and bootie dogs, and then we were tested to see which group was most efficient. Vern completed our kennel experience by giving us cart rides with the dogs and feeding us in high fashion with a fabulous salmon dinner.
These speakers alone would have made for a wonderful Iditarod Camp, but Vern and education director Diane Johnson planned for others to contribute to our “dream” experience. Gary Paulson, veteran Iditarod musher and award-winning author, shared his life’s journey and how he moved into the world of dogs and mushing. Sue Allen, a local high-school physical education teacher and musher, beautifully summed-up the significant lessons she learned in running Martin Buser’s puppy team this year and related this experience to a greater understanding in working with her students. We were packing up our gear when Dee Dee Jonrowe, our last speaker, arrived. Dee Dee shared the highs and lows of her 25 years of competing in the Iditarod. One conference member cried tears of joy in being able to hear and talk to this woman she held in such high regard. This was a dream come true.
After three days and many dreams fulfilled we left the Dream a Dream Dog Farm headed for our next adventure.
