During the morning Nico pairs with Mario. At the request of the boys, Goose takes us on some of the most challenging trails through the forest. These are narrow (just wide enough for two dogs) and frequently steep with sharp turns. On one such descent, Mario is caught by a branch and thrown from the sled leaving Nico unbalanced as he approaches a turn. Unable to brake quickly enough, Nico is catapulted as the sled carves a tight turn behind the dogs. Fortunately or unfortunately depending on your perspective, Nico’s leg is trapped by the sled and he is dragged behind it until he can bring the team to a halt preventing a runaway sled. Neither boy was permanently damaged but Nico did twist his back.

 
Today is even colder than yesterday. Temperatures over night dipped to minus 28F and do not get above zero all day. Maya gets her own sled led by the mighty Orion. Despite her strength, Maya must assist Orion on the hills by jumping off the sled and pushing.

 
Maya rides with me on a four dog sled and we were the only ones to finish the day without falling off or tipping over.

 
By now, the boys have become quite proficient and we are making good time.

 
After lunch, we head out on an 8 mile trek to our next lodge. The three hour journey takes us off the lake ice onto the narrow paths of the forest.

 
For lunch we are treated to a cheese souffle, cubed beets with onions, prosciutto and melon, and a carrot salad.

 
It didn’t take too long for everyone to get the hang of it and we spent about two hours covering five miles on very flat and open terrain. Here Nicolai and Rory (ducking down to avoid the wind) have a four dog team and Mario rides solo with a two dog team.

 
Our guide, David Gossman (aka Goose), leads the way on cross-country skis. As he sets out, we are to remain braked until he is 100 yards ahead. The dogs, who live to pull, are going totally crazy in anticipation of the departure. Rory and Nicolai are unable to hold their team back and are thrown off the sled as they rapidly accelerate (to roughly 20mph in the first few seconds). This condition is called Loose Sled. Without a musher, the dogs will happily run all day long and return to home base only when they get hungry. Obviously, this is something you would like to avoid. Fortunately, Goose was able to catch the sled as the dogs ran past him. The other thing you would really like to avoid is passing the sled in front of you (which the dogs are all too eager to do). When they come even, it seems, they feel compelled to attack each other to see which team is the king of the hill. This only happened once or twice before we all learned our lesson.

 
We are finally ready to hit the trail and our dogs are harnessed and hitched to the sleds. Temperatures have increased to near zero but the wind across the frozen lakes brings the windchill down to 40 below.

 
Lisa (from Sweden) instructs us in dog sledding 101. Ready, Hike (go), Whoa (stop), Easy Duggers (slow down), Gee (right turn), Haa (left turn), Hip Hip Duggers (go faster). We also learn the importance of keeping the sleds apart (more on this later), of not running over the guide with our sled, and of not letting go of our sled (more on this later).

 
Breakfast includes a pan cake (imagine a pan sized pancake) expertly prepared by French chef Bernard. I am sorry the photo is foggy, but it would take my camera several hours to adjust to the warmth after being out in the cold.

 
At these temperatures, boiling water vaporizes instantly as it is tossed into the air from a laddle.

 
Look closely at Mario’s eye lashes. The moisture from exhaling freezes instantly to anything in the vicinity.

 
The dogs like to sit atop their little houses and regard the temperature as balmy. Once we leave the base lodge they will sleep curled up in the snow.

 
My photographic responsibilities provided a convenient excuse to get out of the poop scoop detail, the least glamorous aspect of caring for our dog team.

 
In the morning we wake at 7am to feed the dogs. Temperature as we walked out the door was 12 below zero Farenheit. Trust me when I tell you, this is REALLY cold. If you have trouble waking up in the morning, I have a sure fire cure for you. Toby instructs us how to feed and water the dogs.

 
The house dog, Buddy, eats the same high protien, high fat diet as the sled dogs but does no work. The consequence is obvious.

Risk was the game of choice for evening entertainment. These games can last for days at a time and this one was mercifully ended when Nicolai was sent to bed after flicking the ear of his cousin despite a prior warning to cease and desist. In the Calabria family it is not unusual for board games to end due to such antics.( 

 
After settling in, we went down to the kennel to meet the dogs. These Canadian Innuits were as friendly as could be. As they heard us approaching they began to howl in unison. You could hear them a mile away.

Part of our visit to Mark and Marie’s was to include a family dog sledding adventure in the Minnesota Boundary Waters Nature Reserve. With Jeanine and Kyle unable to make the trip due to his illness, we invited Rory and Mario to join us in their place. We made the four-and-a-half-hour journey from Minneapolis to Ely, MN, and arrived at our first lodge before sunset. 

 
Had I bought my bathing suit with me, I would have surely sampled the surfing.

This evening Maya and Nico join Rory and Mario at a massive indoor water park to celebrate the birthday of a friend of the family. 

 
Preparing the Sunday dinner requires a team effort. Why my brother insists on being naked while cooking remains a mystery to me but I am not one to argue with the outstanding results.

It should be noted, that Nico is no less thrilled to play with Sophia or Rose although the bulk of his time is spent with Rory and Mario. 

 
Maya seeks every opportunity to cradle Rose or to play with Sophia. She is positively enthralled with her two new girl cousins.

 
Marie has to attend church this morning so the pleasure of feeding baby Rose is mine. Armed with a bottle of freshly squeezed breast milk, I enjoyed watching her snarf down all but the last few drops before the shear effort of doing so rendered her unconscious.

 
Mark about to subject his daughter to that barbarous thing he calls a face.

 
Marie with Rosie in tow manages her job, the household, and her five children (I include Mark in this count) without skipping a beat.

 
Cousin Mario has grown into a very handsome young man. He is only one day older than Nicolai, but his height suggests a much greater difference.

 
Three shifts of flapjack flippers were required to produce the 25 pancakes needed to feed the troops.

 
Rosie is wide awake and looking for food. You are well advised to keep all valued digits far from this child when she is ready to eat.