Thanksgiving

The picture above is of a large moose track. We have a two part story revolving around this track. Yesterday morning about 7:00 a.m. Kevin Walsh yells at Sheryl to come out. There is a small bull moose swimming past the lodge dock to the west. They grab Sheryl’s camera and hop into her truck. The plan is to meet the moose at the public landing and get pictures. The moose does not cooperate and gets out of the lake in front of Cabin #11. As they came back, the moose must have heard them. He disappears by Cabin #9. There was no chance of a picture.

This morning Kevin’s hunting partner comes to get me. They have discovered tracks by the outdoor hot tub for Cabin #9 and near Cabin #3. This is the picture of one those tracks. There are also tracks of a smaller cow moose. The guys seem to think that the big bull drove off the smaller bull to keep the little guy from the cow moose. It sounds as good as any other explanation.

For most of the morning Gunflint Lake has been steaming. This occurs when the lake water is warmer than the air temperature (I had 7 degrees at my house.). The steaming means that the lake is cooling down in anticipation of freezing. Usually Gunflint freezes during the first ten days of December. A night with clear skies, a full moon, and no wind usually is needed to freeze the lake. We will see when it freezes this year.

The lodge is now in our winter mode. Fires are lit in the two fireplaces each night. Bruce loves to come in and add more wood to each fire. If it is a cold morning, we start them even earlier. On Friday and Saturday, Mark Darling comes in to play his keyboard during dinner. There is nothing that warms a room more than some mellow live music. Of course, the lodge also looks welcoming because of the soft yellow glow from the room lights in contrast to the black night outside. We are now getting dark around 5-5:30 p.m.

The kitchen is not mellow right now. Preparations have started for Thanksgiving dinner. With the staff, we will be having about 150 people. Four huge turkeys are thawing. Two 40-pound bison roasts are also thawing. Several hams will be smoked. Don starts smoking all this meat in the wee hours of the morning. It has to be ready to serve at noon. In addition Adam, Hudson, Dan and Curtis will be preparing an assortment of side dishes and desserts to fill everyone’s hollow legs.

From all of the Gunflint family to your families, we wish you a very happy Thanksgiving. Just like you, we are very thankful for all our blessings.