Greg and Denise's wedding
....a Dogsled adventure
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Greg and Denise's wedding |
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The Theme.......Yes, it's a dogsledding adventure. We will have the team there and we'll be out sledding around, cross country skiing and having a good time doing what we do. In case you're not sure what we do with the dogs or why we do it, check out our website. You can go to the gallery and see pictures of some of our previous outings. It will be fun and that's what's really important. So, toss aside your preconceived notions of what a wedding should be and don your mukluks and parka. What we plan is full of unconventional symbolism, mythology and celtic traditions. We're having fun with this and so should you. The "Invitations" should be out by the middle of January 2000. All those who RSVP that they will come and participate in our exciting "bonding", will receive a complete packet with explicit details and maps. Remember though, Denise doesn't know all the details. The actual circumstances surronding the wedding ceremony have been kept from her so that she will have a suprise on Valentine's Day she will never forget.
The Location........Spooner
Lake Cross Country Ski Resort
Also, be sure to check this site frequently for the latest weather conditions
at Spooner Lake.
We will be staying in the European Cross Country Ski Hut near the lake 
In fact you can see the lake from the cabin through the trees. It's quite
picturesque.
How to get there........Spooner Lake Cross Country Ski Area is located 1/2 on Highway 28 from Highway 50 on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe. To get here, turn North-West on Hwy. 28 at the junction of Hwy. 28 & Hwy. 50. We're one-half mile on Highway 28 from Highway 50 on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe.
The Date...............is Valentines Day 2000. That's a Monday.
The time...........can't be divulged yet, since it's a surprise for Denise. However, if you would like some more specific details about the time, location and circumstances surrounding the ceremony, feel free to email me.
The Reverend.....Gil Lindsley of Incline Village Phone: (702) 588-2822
Where to stay.........Guests should think about staying over night on the Sunday the 13th and then again Monday after the festivities on the 14th. You don't want to drive home after having champagne do you? My recommendation would be to stay in Carson City. It's about 10 miles East. There are nicer places to stay and better places to eat and it's cheaper. The two closest towns on the Lake are Incline Village and South Lake Tahoe. South Lake Tahoe is a better bet with the Hotel/Casinos. Both are between 10-12 miles North and South. Who is staying where?
REI ........All you have to do is go into your nearest REI and ask for the bridal gift registry at Customer Service. There are REI stores in Saratoga, Sacramento and Redwood City. If you aren't in California, check REI's website for a location near you.
Nordkyn Outfitters.........All you have to do is call and ask for the "Greg and Denise wedding package" You can call them at Phone: 253-847-4128 or email them.
The items below will be updated as information becomes available
Grooms Stuff
Email the Groom, Gregory Newell
Email the Best Man, Rob Clark
Bachelor Party.....January 29, 2000, Saturday 1500-1900 at Greg and Denise's house.
Bride's stuff
Email the Bride, Denise Nations
Email the Best Woman, Rickie Kinley
Bachelorette Party.....January 29, 2000, Saturday 1100-1700 at Rickie's house in Sacramento.
The Wedding Cake.........We thought quite a bit about how to incorporate
the Valentines Day, Dogsled theme and wedding theme into one cake surface.
We have to get a sheet cake since the cake will be transported to the Sierra
Nevada mountains and then has to go to the cabin via dogsled. So, the final
rough design came out simple for the decorator. We'll see what it looks like.
The Honeymoon.............Denise and I will being staying at the Spooner Lake Ski Hut from Sunday through Thursday and we are going to try some early morning runs up the more aggressive trails. Then, we are moving South to near Pinecrest Lake by Dodge Ridge. There we will trying some more longer distance dog sled runs with the dogs on some of the "closed for the Winter" roads. Denise will be learning some more backcountry skills and practicing some she learned last Winter. No, there won't be any pictures of the wedding night, but there should be some of the honeymoon adventures.
The Wedding Saga......Valentine's Day
Which part do you want to hear? How I almost killed Denise right before the wedding or the good part......
Denise and I wanted to do something different and involve our dogs, so we thought a weeding with a dogsled theme might work ok. Well, then I wanted to surprise her and so she knew where (sort of) and what day we would get married. Valentines Day and somewhere around Lake Tahoe was all she knew. I sent the guests an elaborate Operations Plan (kind of a joke, but alot of detailed information) about the ceremony and the events leading up to the wedding.
We had not had much rain or snow in this area at all up to the first part of February. Then the sky opened up and instead of worrying whether there would be any snow on the ground, I got paranoid that it wouldn't quit. Well, I have to give credit to those people that came because the weather sucked because of the storms. I had booked us in a European style ski hut for the week at a cross country ski area. I was worried the Minister might not go out in the crummy weather, but he was really excited and only lived a couple of miles down the road. Then, would the guests arrive OK. Well, anyway we got up there late due to the bad weather and having to put chains on and take them off a few times. But, finally, Sunday afternoon, we had the food ordered, the marriage license and now it's late and we have a bunch of gear to to get out to the cabin because we couldn't leave it anywhere else.
The trail that was cut for us to get from the parking lot to the ski hut was considerably longer than the route I originally thought we would take that was less than a mile. It was raining and just above freezing. We had about 5 loads of "stuff" with our gear and wedding items to move by dogsled to the ski hut. We even had to take crates because it was raining and we couldn't leave the dogs soaking wet out on the snow in the rain when the temperature did drop.
Several hours later, Denise and I are soaked, the dogs are soaked, we're all exhausted and the temperature is dropping. Things are not developing as I had intended. We were supposed to have fun. We had to towel the dogs off as best we could and bring them in to dry them out before they froze. They performed superbly and dutifully under the circumstances, moving a few hundred pounds down the hilly trail in the freezing rain.
Monday morning comes and it's in the teens outside with a windy snowfall coming down. I needed to get Denise out of the hut for an hour while the guests (if they were going to make it) made their way to the hut for the surprise. The wind was picking up when I went out with the resort operator to see where he was cutting a trail for us to use later that morning. It was a little over a 3 mile loop around a large meadow and through the tree line. 2 hours later the wind was pretty bad when I told Denise "hey, we need to exercise the dogs". So, rather dubious of taking the dogs out, especially after the night before, she reluctantly agreed and we set out. She is on her XC skis and I am on the sled. It is apparent quite quickly that the wind is bad as she is having trouble staying up. We're out in a blizzard. We learn later the winds hit 50 mph. Well, I have done this before and it didn't bother me too much, but I couldn't really hear Denise cursing at my stupidity over the wind. I thought she was offering encouragement. Things are going OK as we come down the trail, but when we cross the dam in the open and we are blown sideways, I quickly get the impression this may not be as easy as I thought. The dogs are actually out there having a good time, squinting their eyes against the driven snow and moving right along howling with excitement. Then, we come out of the trees and into the meadow. I can't see 50 feet, maybe not 25 feet. There are supposedly poles to mark the trail. I remember seeing them before. Well, I remembered in the movie "Iron Will", the advise given to Will..."trust the dogs". So, I yelled "Let's go" and we were off across the meadow in a white out. Denise was right behind me up to this point and now she's having a whole lot of trouble moving down the trail. Thank goodness the dogs followed the trail somehow because we passed the blue poles marking it, but the trail that was just cut 2 hours earlier was completely overblown with snow. I had to keep stopping for Denise to catch up and I got the feeling from her screaching at me that she wasn't happy. {Denise's Input: I do not screech, nor was I pissed at Greg. I was somewhat concerned about my survival though. I was cold, the wind was blowing in my face and stinging, I couldn't see a bloody thing, but I knew I was OK because I was with Greg.} Now, we had to go on as we were beyond half way. I am looking at the dogs thinking how remarkable that they love this and are following the trail even though it can't be seen. We finally get back into the trees and it's not so bad. Denise and I have radios we use to communicate and I now know she's more than pissed at me. The snow is still driving and the wind is horrible. I am a little ahead of Denise and I hear at first what I think is a gun shot to my right, but I look over and it's a 3 foot diameter tree snapping off from the wind. I stop and look and notice it's about 100 feet tall and it's going to fall directly over the trail. I start thinking fast about having to move the dogs off the trail through the woods to get around this tree and I figure I had better beat it before it's down. I just get on the other side and then I remember Denise. She's still behind. I stop and I look back and she's coming and I can see she knows it's coming down. She just barely makes it and the tree topples over the trail. Now, she's really, really upset with me. I can see "the look" on her face. So, I figure I'll keep going and maybe she'll be better when we get back to the hut and the guests surprise her. We're still a mile from the hut and the weather isn't letting up. I begin to wonder if we're still getting married after all of this. Finally, after almost an hour out in the blizzard, we're headed back up the last 100 feet to the hut and the sky is clearing, the sun is coming out and then I give the signal and the guests come out of the hut. The day seems to be saved and Denise cheers up. She is genuinely, surprised, although some of that may be she is surprised to be safe. Everyone made it. It was clear, she had not been it by the falling tree...we were on a good luck roll. We got married. The Minister had a good time as well as the rest of the guests. After a few hours though, the weather got nasty again and the guests figured it was a good time to leave. So, there we were, alone and still with about 8 bottles of champagne.
The dogs ran well that morning and did everything I could have expected from them. The following few days, the weather was less dramatic and we made a number of runs along various trails around the area. The last day of dry powdery snow fall was the day which I regretted having left the boots and vaseline back at the truck. The dogs feet looked like popsicles with all the caked snow balling up. Like a Timex watch, they kept on ticking. Except for young Mindy whom Denise pulled out of the co-lead spot for awhile. The dogs loved it trotting along several miles in the woods or along the meadow rim. Uphill and down, they did everything right. It had been a little stressful on Denise, but I think she realized the ends justified the means.
