I started Paws for Adventure in 1998 after working for a couple of other dogsled tour companies. I have owned sled dogs since 1993 when I moved here to teach elementary school in “the bush.” I taught for 5 years in a couple of Athabascan native villages before giving up teaching to be a full-time dog musher and tour operator. The teaching years were some of my best times in Alaska and I wouldn’t have traded the experience for anything. I got my first 4 dogs and lots of advice from native friends in my first village. I was the learner as well as the teacher. The learning curve was great! I started my dogmushing career by running a friend’s 6-dog team in a local small race – and losing the team when I hit a tree stump! Later, I built up my own team and travelled to many places you can only get to by bush plane or frozen river trails. The Interior of Alaska can be an unforgiving land. You can truly go for days, weeks without seeing any sign of civilization. But that is the lure, the beauty and the life that has suited me for many years now. And, I really didn’t give up teaching – I still teach a lot of people to drive dogs.