The team looked great coming into Braeburn.  Luckily Moe drove the  truck down from Carmacks since we arrived at the Braeburn checkpoint  just 3 minutes before Mike did.  After taking care of the dogs and  getting the mandatory vet check Mike ate an enormous cheese burger  and got some sleep.  Moe is the Cribbage champion for the adventure  and she plays a mean game!!  I slept for a bit in the truck and Scott  made camp in his sleeping bag on the ground in front of the truck.   We all got up around 7am to watch Mike and the team get ready.  As I  told you before, Mike made the tough decision to drop Jim before  leaving due to an injury.  The trail report for the trip to  Whitehorse, spoke of some overflow just out of the Braeburn  checkpoint.  Well it turned out to be a few long sections of waist  deep,icy cold water.  The dogs were not too happy about it and Mike  got very wet.  He proceeded down the trail for a while soaking wet  and as the day warmed up (it was 48 degrees F in Whitehorse) he  stopped to camp.  He had to build a fire and dry his boots, socks,  pants and jacket.  Bill Pinkham came by as Mike warmed his bare feet  by the fire.  Mike was more interested in finishing with a good  healthy team than where he placed in the race.  He also had the  Siberian record in mind for the goal so having Bill pass him didn't  bother him at all.  With Mike about an hour out of Braeburn, we drove  down to Whitehorse and dropped some gear off at the cabin.  It was  nice to see the other dogs and hear that Kobuk hasn't seen his  "girlfriend" the wolf recently.  Scott and I headed back into  Whitehorse to reserve a room for the night, chill some beer and have  dinner with Dad, Linda, Uncle Bobby, Moe, Jer, Maible, Finn, and  Scott.  We then started our wait at the finish line.  I was very  nervous and anxious to see the team and Mike.  Hearing other mushers  stories about the overflow didn't help how I was feeling.  Moe took  one of the walkie talkie up the road and reported when she could see  a team.  I got very excited when she reported a team.  It turned out  to be Bill Pinkham and his great looking team of dogs coming in to  finish in 10th place.  Within 45 minutes or so ( I haven't memorized  the numbers yet)  Mike and the team crossed the finish line of the  2008 Yukon Quest!!!  It is hard to explain the feelings that we both  had at the moment.  The dogs were happy and rolling around in the  snow, knowing that the truck was there waiting for them.  Mike and I  went to the Yukon Inn for the night. And after finding some food and  sharing a few stories, we fell into bed.  The next few days are going  to be full of clean up, washing laundry, attending Finisher's  meetings, the banquet tonight and of course loving the dogs!!! Scott  will be taking a bus back to Anchorage tomorrow morning, so tonight  we really get to celebrate.

Thanks to everyone who sent well wishes and watched us on line.  The  support we received really helped to make this dream come true!! Heartfelt thanks and many dog kisses to all.

Sue, Handler Scott, Mike and all the Team Tsuga dogs