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by: Scott Vail

A bit about myself... I'm a simple person of simple taste. I simply enjoy the finer things in life, when possible. I ride a Harley, collect limited edition art, show Samoyeds in the conformation ring, love the outdoors, appreciate the FarSide, dabble at photography, and abhor computers. My profession as a software systems programmer has attributed greatly to this love hate relationship of the mainframe so commonly referred to as the dinosaur soon to succumb to the La Brea Tar Pits. That'll be a cold day... Look out you Unix geeks, IBM is akin to the cockroach and is expected to survive the nuclear holocaust. I digress.

I have a passion for tattoos, single malt scotches, and writing. My attention to sports is limited to the World Series (go Rockies), the Super Bowl (go Broncos), the Stanley Cup (go Avalanche), and racing. All types of racing from the monster trucks to mud bog racing to open wheel cars. CART is my favorite with Little Al being my icon. The tragedy encountered by Ayrton Senna was a sad loss for Formula 1. Again, I digress.

Dogs are my life and my soul. I lost my Juneau (Ch. Statussam's Lady Juneau) in August of 1995, to cancer, just nine short years after touching my life. She was a champion in many ways and is survived by Kodi (Ch. Statussam's Kodiak Bear) , another champion in his own right. Kodi is a wonderful male Samoyed who loves eating, sleeping, food, pillows, treats, comforters... You get the picture. He's 77 in people years, for God's sake!! Last February, he welcomed to his home a bubbly, effervescent, adolescent bitch who's name is Stevie (Trailblazer's Leather N Lace) . It wasn't long before Stevie assumed the alpha role. I believe it happened before I brought her home. Stevie is not yet aware that she is soon to be on the show circuit. We have a few more handling classes prior to losing that comfortable position assumed on the sofa.

Never an active participant, I have followed dogsled racing for years. The Last Great Race, the Iditarod, is beyond a doubt the greatest competitive event in the sport. This year, I found myself as a spectator, at two such local events in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Primarily used as a team, are the Alaskan Huskies and I have to admit the all Samoyed teams are hardly a match to these dogs built for speed in these sprint races. Comparatively, nothing comes close to the beauty exuded by a team comprised of nothing but Samoyeds.

Kriskella and TundraWinds both compete proudly, with a team of white, exuberant, snow pounding Sams. These animals are obviously in their glory as the mood suddenly changes when harnesses and ropes are attached as the team is readied for the run. Mushers alike, become focused just minutes before charging from the chute. The excitement is electrifying and the beauty is beyond comparison.

As an amateur photographer, expect to see some of my work on these pages. I've recently delved into the digital still side of the photography world. The medium provides for instant gratification, but the technology has yet to measure up to the conventional artform. Given a few years, and huge capacities of storage, it may achieve the purest quality of medium to large format cameras. Today, digital imaging doesn't compare to a layer of emulsion and professional photo lab processing. What you will see on these pages are a combination of scanned traditional photography and digital images recorded on magnetic media.

Motorcycling has been in my blood for years. First, a Honda Trail 90 which soon gave way to a Yamaha 250cc Enduro. Desert riding was inherent to my childhood by virtue of the geography in which the family resided. It was freedom at its best. There were endless trails into nowhere and countless hours of eating dust, just to learn what was beyond that next sand dune or ravine. Not long after, the fond memories were dashed by environmentalists who felt that the vast expanses were better served to develop subdivisions, 7-11's, and strip malls. Being forced to the streets to pursue our pleasures, I found a low mileage Gold Wing to fulfill my innermost passions. The Wing performed well with comforts I had not yet experienced. With a shaft drive, I soon found myself using it as a commuter vehicle during the gas crunch of the early 80's. Toward the latter side of the decade, I had become enamored with the thought of truly being in the wind on a piece of American Iron; the Harley Davidson. The dream came true when I ordered a '91 Softail Custom - FXSTC. Two tone blue, it was gorgeous, and I had finally found my destiny.

I had good riding friends that year. Most noteably would be Walt and Cindy on their '47 Knuckle, with an aftermarket Paughco rigid frame. Believe me, when I say I took a lot of ribbing about riding an Evolution. But, the first 8 months of ownership, yielded 3 vacations and in excess of 13,000 miles of saddle time. We did the Laughlin River Run, a 1.5 week trek exploring the Gold Country comprised of California Hwy 49, and another week cruising the streets of San Fransisco, hanging out with the weird of the weird in Big Sur, and the ever gorgeous coastal Hwy 1. The following year included a solo trip to Oregon as well as the recurring visit to the annual River Run in Laughlin. By this time, my relocation to Colorado was immenent and once again, visions of riding helmet free danced in my head. Perhaps some of my best seat time has been in the Black Hills of South Dakota with four consecutive excursions to Sturgis. Good friends, bikers, and those who enjoy being In The Wind.

"I wonder what goes through his mind when he sees us peeing in his water bowl."

-Penny Ward Moser