2009 Urban Mushing Clinic, Costa Mesa CA, April 4 & 5

It's official --- the 2009 Urban Mushing Clinic will be held on April 4 & 5
at Fairview Park in Costa Mesa! Whether you're a total newbie or an
intermediate urban musher, you will definitely learn a lot from Carmen Rasmussen
of Alpine Outfitters as she will share her vast knowledge on the health, care,
proper use of equipment, and training when it comes to running our dogs.

This information, as well as the registration form, will likewise be posted on
www.urbanmushing.com shortly, and a more detailed schedule will be provided. There
are also plans to have a dinner get-together that Saturday night either at
a restaurant or have a potluck barbecue at a private residence.

If you and your pooches want to join in this fun and informative weekend, please
complete the registration form and mail it in by March 30th. You can download
the form by going to the FILES section of the Urban Mushing yahoo groups site.

Website online...finally!

We were finally able to get organized and have our website go online:
www.arctis-carts.com

Dryland season is coming up, so please check out our product and keep us in mind, when you're ready for a new rig!

Can Am Crown races this weekend in Fort Kent, ME

We are way excited to see our friend Maggie enter her team of Bray Hill Siberians to run the Can Am Crown International Sled Dog Races this weekend (Feb. 28th). She started out not long ago as a fellow "urban musher" right here in southern California, moved to Maine to dedicate more of her time to her growing kennel and the sport of dog sledding, and is now entering the "big time" !
Way to go Maggie! Good luck from all of us at "Team Arctis" and all your friends!!!

Winter Wonderland California

Our trip to Mammoth was once again a huge success. After we dropped the candy apple red cart along the way, we continued on to June Lake, where we stayed for the holiday weekend.
What a quaint little town with wonderful, friendly people who welcomed us and our furry friends wherever we went.
On day 1, we went out for a nice little run at Hartley Springs. The temperatures were a bit nippy, but we had wonderful blue skies.
On the second day, we split up "Team Arctis" to support a couple of other teams, which left my "old" girl Gidget available for me to go out snowshoeing through the woods at Bald Mountain Rd.
Initially, the weather was still ok, but turned into a precursor for the upcoming large storm with strong winds and increased snowfall. Gidget took her job as "alpha bitch" very seriously and made sure, we made it back to base before the real storm hit.
On day 3, the expected storm finally hit, and we decided to just try to make it back to southern California in time and in one piece.
More pictures are here and here.

Back to Mammoth!

We'll be back in Mammoth this weekend to deliver a cart to a local musher. If you're in the area, watch for the Candy Apple Red Lightning blazing through the woods in the near future :-)

Since the weather forecast predicts another winter storm or two to come through the area, we may just have to stay the weekend to take the team out for a run on the trails near June Lake...oh darn!

California Snow!

"Team Arctis" along with about a dozen friends from southern California's "Urban Mushers" went Mammoth in the Sierra Nevada mountains for a weekend of dog sledding. Our first time sledding this season, and what a great time it was!
More pictures here:

and a few videos as well:






Now it's back to work to continue production of our carts!

Happy New Year!

What a way to start the new year!
We just finished our three day stay at the Rose Parade Expo in Pasadena CA, doing our part to celebrate Alaska's 50th anniversary of statehood. Wow! What an exciting event!

Thanks to the great folks at the Anchorage Convention & Visitors Bureau, we got to show the southern California locals, as well as visitors from literally all over the world, a little bit of dog sledding. Along with the local Urban Mushing group, the good people from Three Dog Bakery in San Clemente, and a pack of puppies from Counts Cove Kennels, Team Arctis was out there promoting the state of Alaska and all it has to offer to visitors wanting to explore the last frontier.

The ACVB had entered a float in the 120th Rose Parade, featuring, among other things, a sled dog team made of flowers. Riding the float/sled was none other than 1st female Iditarod champion Libby Riddles, who took the time to stop by the booth after the parade to meet the local dogs and mushers. She was also able to catch a glimpse of Arctis' three wheel cart and sign autographs.

See more pictures of this great event here.

Once again, thanks to the Anchorage Convention & Visitors Bureau for inviting us to take part of this great event!