Creative Composition

It was lightly snowing on the 31st day of January 2007 when we arrived at the ranch in Cordillera, Colorado.   As I stepped out of the van and pressed my foot into the powdery snow, I was captivated by the icy blue eyes staring back at me.   Her name was Penny.   She was the most beautiful dog I had ever seen.   My eyes remained transfixed with hers as my mom and I prepared for our dog sledding adventure.   Suddenly, I remembered I wasn’t there to gawk at a dog, but rather to spend one-on-one time with my mom.   I knew this was a time I would do something with someone special.
Here we go, I thought as I placed myself into the sled basket with my mom. Our musher, Cameron, commanded the team of twelve sled dogs to begin our journey through the glades of aspen. “Hike!” he hollered and the sled jerked forward, gliding across the snowy trail.   “Woo Hoo!” I cheered enthusiastically as we caught air over the first of many inescapable bumps.   My eardrums pounded with the sound of barking dogs.   Trees were blurs as we zoomed through the forest with sharp turns.   As we traveled swiftly, an immense clearing grabbed my attention.
This was the halfway point of our trek. Cameron yelled, “Whoa!” and ordered the dogs to stop.   As I exited the sled, Penny jumped up and kissed me.   As she slobbered all over my face, I petted her copper coat.   Cameron then announced, “Time for cocoa and pumpkin bread.”   I sprinted to Cameron and he poured the steamy hot chocolate into my mug.   After we refueled and enjoyed the serenity of nature, it was time to return to the sled.   “Time to go,” said Cameron.   I gladly jumped into the sled and cuddled with my mom under the scratchy wool blankets.
Cameron hurriedly kicked off and asked, “Zach, do you want to drive?”   “Of course!” I answered joyfully.   Cameron then explained the commands.   “If you want the dogs to go left, say ‘haw’”, stated Cameron, “and if you want the dogs to go right, say ‘gee’”.   “Haw!” I yelled as we made a sharp left turn....