With Easter coming tomorrow, the Gunflint Trail is entering a special fifth season that only people who live in areas with dirt roads have – the Mud Season. The ground is not thawed but the snow is melting. That means that water turns every road into a muddy mess. Here is what our driveway looks like.

We track in more dirt at this time of year than during the entire rest of the year.

Of course, this is also the time of year when we are really tearing everything apart to deep clean. The kitchen is closed (until 4/25) and there is no food coming out. That means the managers cook for themselves. The other day was my turn and we had goulash.

As is usual, I made twice as much as we needed so we ate this again the next day. The lunches we normally get are great but it is good to have something different. Also we don’t eat quite a much as when the cooks plate it for us.

Speaking of deep cleaning, even the front desk people get involved in this. Annie was washing up a storm the other day.

When the phone rings, she just dries her hands and answers as if she had nothing better to do. By the end of the day, your clothes are filthy dirty and, hopefully, you have taken a few reservations.

Jason, our head of maintenance, has his hands full this spring. We are replacing 6 hot tubs. He is trying to get them all in during April. It is a huge project but will bring us totally up to the new rules. Surprisingly, all the old tubs are quickly being snapped up by neighbors for use in their own homes.

With all the restaurants closed on the Trail, our Wednesday night dinner group has had to resort to going to individual homes. The other night was my turn. There were 8 of us and the meal is really easy because it is potluck. Everyone has their own specialties that they like to bring. Fran brought a great corn dish, Sue baked potatoes, and Melissa made sure we had a chocolate cake for dessert. I threw a turkey in the oven. After dinner we played Hand and Foot which is a variation of canasta that works for a large group. The women beat the men. Their excuse was that they wanted us to go home happy. No one in our group really takes any game seriously so it is a night filled with laughs.

In case you think that all this talk of spring means my gardening days are coming soon, here is a picture of the garden now.

I think it will be some time before I get into it. The ice on the lake is perfectly solid too. Yesterday we saw a truck out there driving. There is still snow on the lake. The lake conditions are just perfect for skate skiing. As I am writing this, I can hear snowmobiles on the lake. It is about 45 outside today. This morning it was 19 so we didn’t even start melting until late morning.

Wednesday Bruce and I are taking off for a short trip to Missouri. On the way we will stop in Northfield to visit St. Olaf College where Grandson Tanner has been accepted. I am particularly pleased because it’s where I went to school.

Bruce used to tease me about going to a “cow college.” My response was that he was an Ivy League snob (Cornell) who got in through the school’s desire for geographic distribution. Put a nickel in any couple who has been married as long as we have and all these repetitive stories come out. Our kids know them all and just groan.

After the St. Olaf visit, we will spend the weekend with Robert, Miranda, and Zach. You know who’s the most important of those three to see. Then on Monday we will be attending a food show in Duluth. Who knows what tasty new ideas we will get for the dining room.

Last weekend was the tenth edition of Books in the Woods at the lodge. Between two authors (Libby Fischer Hellmann and Ann Bauer) and our coordinators (Joci Tilsen, Jim Bour and Lisa Wagner), we had about 40 people. This picture shows the Joci, Jim, Lisa, Bruce and I on the last night. I think that everyone in the group had a good time. One of the best parts about this event is that all the discussions are small group. That means everyone really gets a chance to ask questions. It is a big difference between what we have and listening to a lecture with 200 other people.
Of course a big part of the weekend was food. That always seems to be the case at Gunflint! Here is a picture of one of the tables at Saturday night’s dinner.

Mark Darling’s keyboard music in the background just added to the extra ambiance in the lodge that night.

On Sunday Bruce and I went out fishing for a bit. We might as well have taken a nap for all the luck we had. Bruce missed one bite but that was all the action we had. Of course, we were out driving around checking other spots. It is such an amazing feeling to just drive the car across the lake. When the ice goes out in May, I will have trouble recapturing the feeling of driving on the ice. Right now, I have trouble thinking about driving a boat across the water. In addition to trucks and cars, the lake had quite a few ATV’s and snowmobiles running around. I don’t think the catching part of fishing was too good.

Last week the Gunflint Trail lost another one of its senior citizens – Irv Benson. Bruce and I think that he may be the last of that generation to live on the Trail. Irv came up here after serving the Air Force during World War II. At that time there were a bunch of single guys in the Saganaga/Seagull Lake area. Some of them included the Powell brothers, the Waters brothers, Irv, Art Madsen, Jock Richardson, and Benny Ambrose. Most of these men found all they needed in life by living in the woods.

In 1950 Irv married Tempest Powell. From her he learned all his woods skills. The two lived on an island home on Sag that they built themselves. It was a combination workshop and home. That way both got what they wanted. They lived there for many years until it was too difficult for Tempest to get around and she moved near her daughter in Silver Bay. Irv remained on Saganaga until this winter when he moved to town where help was available.

I only met Irv a couple of times. Saganaga is just far enough away that I don’t get up there too much. Bruce’s mother, Justine, carried on a great correspondence with him over many years. I have many of the letters he wrote to her. They go back as far as 1979 in my files but there were probably earlier ones.

Here is a paragraph from one of the letters: “Beaver seem to be scarce these days. Same deal as every fall, one tries to be in ten places at once getting traps out, and sleeping/eating habits get sort of erratic, as does the care of clothing and where one puts his various scents. Tempest said I didn’t smell too good when I got home last night, but I feel that this opinion is rather selfish, as she certainly doesn’t have to be as close to me as I do during the next few weeks, and the externally induced aromatics will probably wash or wear off in time anyway.” It is always a great loss when last of these old timers goes.

On the spring-is-coming front, it is snowing outside now. It is now 3 hours after I wrote the original blog. The snow is so thick that you can’t see across the lake. We have about 3-4 inches of new snow. Bruce went to town and said that it is much worse as you get closer to town.

We had some melting this past week so slowly the total depth of snow is going down. The ice on Gunflint Lake has lifted. That means it has broken away from the shoreline and is now actually floating on the water. All the water from melted snow has drained off the ice which is why we it is so nice to drive all over.

Another small sign of spring appeared Sunday night as Bruce and I drove home from the neighbors. We saw a skunk on the shoulder of the road. Skunks hibernate during the winter. It seems a little early to see them but nonetheless a very welcome sign of spring.

This blog is a little earlier in the week because Bruce and I are going to man the Gunflint Lodge booth at the convention center for three days over the weekend.

March Madness

We have had our own variety of March Madness on the Gunflint Trail. It has been our weather! As you have seen the past couple weeks there has been a snow storm and then lots of melting the next week. For variety this week, we tried a little freezing rain on Monday. After we had a nice sheet of ice on everything, our daughter Shawn tried to drive home. Within 6 miles she was in the ditch two times even at 10-15 MPH. They inched their way back to Gunflint. I was due to go into town later in the day. Needless to say, the trip was cancelled.

So Tuesday it rained and rained and froze at night. Our power went out for about 3-4 hours during the night. I was just starting to think about serving breakfast in the lodge when the power came back on. Other staff members were also thinking about no power. Jason, our maintenance head, was planning on coming down to get Bruce’s ice auger to drill holes to get some water. Everyone had their little plans but luckily we never had to use them.

Yesterday (Wednesday) it was in the mid-thirties for most of the day with a drizzle coming down. Last night the drizzle turned to snow. Once again we have snow out the window.

Of course, the overall amount of snow has gone down drastically with all the rain. Inch by melting inch, we are losing our snow. No more skiers are due at the lodge so we’re all happy to see it melt.

The lake ice on Gunflint is still safe. We are all watching an ice house still on the lake. It is a good size wooden one and frozen in. With yesterday’s rain, then snow, and then freezing (it was 20 degrees this morning), that ice house is stuck even more solidly than it was last week. Each day during lunch we watch to see if anyone is trying to get it out. The guys are waiting to see the chain saws come out to cut it free. That’s a really messy, wet way to release the fish house. We will be glad to look out the window at the process.

Bruce got out for a little ice fishing on Saturday. The ice is perfect for just driving out to his new favorite spot. Here he is with two nice trout.

Shawn and her friend were out fishing too but only Bruce caught anything. We had to send the trout home with those who got nothing.

Last weekend was also dog lover’s weekend. We had an abundance of dogs in the cabins. John, our naturalist, spent part of Saturday afternoon introducing the dogs to skijoring. Here he is explaining the equipment to his group.

John’s dog, Rudy, is a real expert at skijoring and he just loves it. In fact, Rudy got a little bored listening to John explain everything. There was a fair amount of barking as Rudy expressed his impatience with John.

On Tuesday (31st) we will be closing the kitchen for almost a month. The last couple days in April we will start up again. Meanwhile, it is deep cleaning time – never one of our favorite projects but very much a necessary one. Every piece of equipment will be taken apart and scrubbed to shine. We always think that cleaning is done as we go along but this week shows us how much is missed. The guys really do a great job at this project. I understand that some painting is also planned for this time.

Bruce talked with son Robert in Missouri the other night. It seems that Grandson Zach went fishing with Nick and Sandy, his other grandparents. Zach hooked and landed on a fly rod a 15-inch rainbow trout all by himself. Pretty good for a 9 year old! Robert said that Zach was pretty proud of himself. We were too.

Ou cabins are now full for the Green Up during the first weekend of May. I understand that overall reservations are up from last year. After the horrible weather we had last May, it’s is really good to hear that people are still interested in tending the forest. Motels in Grand Marais still have space for the weekend.

A Hint of Spring

It seems like the mothers of all our employees read the blog. This week I want to say hello to Sandy Schreiber in Tualatin, Oregon. Her daughter, Kacy, works for us in the housekeeping department. This summer she will be a server/bartender at the lodge. So, hello Sandy!

We are kind of getting hints that spring may be coming our way. If you remember, last week I took a picture out the kitchen window of Bruce snow blowing our 10-inch snow storm. Just a few minutes ago, I took another picture from that same window.

What a difference a week makes! Of course there is no sense in getting excited about this. Mother Nature will still have more snow to dump on us.

The side road is now bare of snow and dry. That is my signal to start walking again. This summer I have a special reason to walk. The week before Labor Day we are going to Rocky Mountain National Park to do some hiking with two other couples from around here. Tom and Melissa started their walking program yesterday so I had to get going too. I must say that it felt good to be outside doing something. I am going to have to up the pace a bit if I plan on doing any mountain hiking. Right now the question is how sore will I be tonight? The first day of two miles usually leaves me groaning. I hedged my bets and took some Advil.

Last Saturday was the Mush For The Cure. Gunflint Pines and Mary Black sponsor this fun run to raise money for breast cancer research. In addition to dog sled teams, there was a special race for the skijoring teams. Adam Trefoil, our winter cook and summer guide, entered the skijoring run. Here is a picture of him all dressed up in his finery.

He placed last but we were still very proud of him. Adam’s dog, Mick, is only 11 months old and has just a couple months of training in skijoring. They will do much better next year. We are also very proud of the fact that of the 40 teams, Adam placed 10th in the amount of money raised. The whole event raised $23,000 which is very good for only the second year.

As spring approaches, it is time to think about the Gunflint Green Up. You may remember this event from last year. It is held on the anniversary of the Ham Lake Fire of 2007. Last spring almost 500 people came and planted 50,000 trees on Saturday. The weather was contrary as usual. On Friday night just as everyone was gathering in the tent for dinner, we had a constant downpour of rain. Overnight it changed to snow and we had about five inches in the morning. Everyone, however, had come ready to work in any weather. The ground was thawed under the snow and the trees went in. Then the melting snow was there to water them.

I worked with some local Girl Scout troops. They were young pre-teen and teens. They ate, sang, and planted constantly. They probably did as much as any adult. I like to think that in 20 years some of them will come back with their children. Can you imagine being able to point to a good sized white pine and tell you children that you planted that one?

So if you think you would be interested in participating in the program, just go to http://www.gunflintgreenup.com/ (or it might be .org). All the details for this year’s program are given at this website. It is a wonderful way to teach us all about stewardship of our forests.

The Gunflint Trail Association and its outfitting companies have just come out with a new book that might appeal to some of you. It is called “Becoming A Boundary Waters Family.” Sue Arendt edited several people’s writings for the book. The premise is that there are lots of family activities that anyone can do with their children (or grandchildren) to teach them about the woods. As more and more Americans live the cities and suburbs, this book offers a great opportunity for parents and children to become familiar with the northwoods. The book is about $15 plus shipping and sales tax. I know you will all be surprised to hear that we have it for sale.

I will be watching the progress of spring all week and bring you an update in my next column.

March Is Here

The first week of March was really quite nice. We all got used to melting temperatures during the day. On Tuesday reality hit us. A storm moved in from the west with lots of snow in it. Here is a picture I took in the afternoon of a deer looking for any kernels of corn still left in the yard.

All the deer were covered with snow just like this one.

The next morning the temperatures had dropped to just below freezing. Bruce got out the snow blower and went to work on the path to the house and just in front of the garage door. Here he is.

The wind had blown most of the night so we got a lot of drifting. Jason was plowing so much snow that it was coming over the top of the plow. Jacob had trouble with the snow blower icing up. Don and Steve wished that their shovels would ice up but they just kept throwing snow around.

After Bruce was finished on the path, I went out with an 18” ruler to see how much snow there was. Most of this is new snow.

You can’t really read the depth in this picture but we got 10” of new snow. Needless to say, the ski trails and snow mobile trails are wonderful. The only problem is getting them groomed fast enough for people to get out on them.

One night this week we had our friend, Lisa Wagner, over for dinner. As you may remember, Bruce had just gilled and gutted one of the trout he caught last week. So I made a bread dressing with apples and shrimp in it. I just piled it on the baking pan and then draped the fish on top. After smelling it for an hour, we all dug in. There is something wonderful about baked fish that just flakes with a fork. Bruce was trying to tell me how healthy it was. I had to remind him of the ¼ pound of butter in the dressing. At any rate, we all pigged out and finished every morsel of fish.

Bruce and I are off to the Cities this weekend. Last weekend we exhibited at the Women’s Expo in St. Paul. This weekend we will go to a gift show for items to sell in the gift shops. Then on Sunday Bruce will place orders while Shawn and I man our booth at the Twin Cities Wedding Show. I am getting a little tired of weekends in the Cities. The best part about it is dinners. Last weekend we hit an Italian restaurant, a Chinese joint and a Jewish deli. Needless to say, Grand Marais does not offer much in the way of ethnic cuisine. Who knows where we will be this weekend for dinner.

Reservations are coming in steadily for March. I always wish they came in faster but this year we are just pleased to be getting them. March is going to be quite busy due to the good snow conditions. People are still making reservations at the last minute and we are happy to accommodate them.

Summer reservations are also coming in steadily. Bruce has been spending a lot of his time on marketing. We are lucky to have four really good people answering the telephone at the front desk. Their attitude is that we have worked hard to get these phone calls and we aren’t wasting them. When you call to make your summer plans, I am sure that you will be pleased with the help they give you. So much for the commercial.

I wish you could all see the view out my window today. It got down to 14 below last night with a full moon. Today the sun has been shining brightly and warmed it up to about 20 degrees. The new snow is just sparkling in the sunlight. All the old gray melting snow is covered up. The lake snow is full of small dips and hills from being whipped up by the wind. There is still a little wind. It is a perfect March day.

It's Busy Up Here!

Before I start, it's time to say hello to Annie and Eugene Greeno. They are Bonnie at the outfitters parents. They were just up visiting the kids over the weekend. Annie is an exception canner of pickles, saurkraut, tomatoes and tomato soup. In fact all of her canned goods are to die for.

Life on Gunflint Lake has been busy this past weekend and into the week. On Saturday the various activities for Winter Tracks were held up and down the Trail. At Gunflint we hosted the Snowboot Ball with dinner and dancing. About 100 people turned up. This was after a very busy afternoon in the bistro with people stopping by almost constantly.

On Sunday Winter Tracks was over but the local snowmobile club hosted a trout derby on the lake. Here is a picture of the scene that afternoon.

A road had been plowed on the lake so people could drive on it. Needless to say, our ice is plenty thick. Fishing was good and they accumulated an entire board of fish for the contest.

On Monday some neighbors were out fishing. They came across a tip-up (used for ice fishing) that was frozen into the lake. Someone must have set it and forgot to bring it in. At any rate the neighbors dug it out and started to reel in the line. There was a 9-lb. trout still hooked on the line. The funny part was that this fish would have been the big winner the day before.

Monday was also a busy day at the lodge. One of the middle school classes came up for some winter activities. They sledded, fished, played broomball and carved snow figures. We had lunch for them at the lodge. Several fathers came up to do a little ice fishing. For the third day in a row the lake filled with fishermen.

Of course, by this time even Bruce is ready to go fishing. He and Bob Baker went out this morning. Bruce had a couple things to do before he could go out so Bob got a head start on fishing. He caught 3 trout and released one of them to stay at the legal limit. Here are the two Bob kept.

Ten minutes later Bruce came out.

I went out after lunch to see how they were doing. The lake is so perfect that I just drove out to their spot. Before Bruce left I asked if he wanted a sandwich packed but he was in too much of a hurry to even think about food. When I got out on the lake, it was a different story. Where were their sandwiches and coffee? So back I went to the lodge to get sandwiches, cookies and coffee. Not only do they want take-out service but they also want delivery service.

The guys caught two more trout (one while I was getting lunch). While Bruce was cleaning ours, he remarked on how easy it was to just drive out on the lake. The conditions have to be perfect but does it make fishing easy. One of our trout produced two big fillets – two dinners for us. Bruce gilled and gutted the other one. I will stuff it and bake it one night for dinner.

While we have been looking at the lake, Sheryl has been looking at the great ski trails. Here is her picture of one of the newly groomed trails.

In the background is the high cliffs. March offers some of the most wonderful skiing of the entire winter. It warms up during the day. Today was in the 30’s. It felt like summer. I know that a day in the 30’s in May will feel like winter.

Now only are the ski trails in great shape but the snowmobile trails are wonderful. We had two guys stop in for lunch yesterday who had snowmobiled from Side Lake up north of Hibbing. They said all the trails were wonderful. Each weekend we are seeing lots of machines stop by for lunch.

If you are looking for one more ski trip or snowmobile run, this is the place to be. The trails are all in top notch condition.

The Best Ambulance Run

Bruce, Shawn and I got home from Jamaica late on Monday. It was a great trip. We interviewed around 200 students which kept all of us busy. It is not just one visit with each student. Many of them come back to talk several times. We also have over 50 students who were returning so they had lots to tell us. Some of these kids have been in our program for three years. Now they are moving on with us to a twelve month program. It is an exciting time for them and for us.

This was Shawn’s first visit to Jamaica with us. She was just overwhelmed with how nice the students were. It is something that Bruce and I have always felt but we tend to forget. So now we are all invigorated to find the 200 jobs we need for everyone.

Of course, there were a few changes. Our Jamaican coordinate, Arlene Garrick, is in Oklahoma doing course work for her PhD. We missed her but learned to work with a new bunch of teachers who had been well trained by her. Sharon Black and Suzette Morrison took good care of us.

Our greatest find was Clive. He is the taxi driver who took us to our schools every day and picked us up after the interviews. He recommended restaurants, found the factory outlet for T-shirts and got us a stapler. Our most interesting adventure with Clive was on our last day. He was taking us to the handicraft market. It was two o’clock and none of us had eaten. So Clive took us to Miss Carmen’s. It is in the middle of the market that locals use. There were no tourists around. The snack bar is made from a 40-foot freight container. Shawn and I had jerk chicken while Bruce had oxtail. It was all excellent!

One other interesting event happened. Mid-week one day we returned to the hotel to find everyone bustling about. The general manager and the operations manager were standing ready to greet someone. There were police and soldiers and red carpets. So Bruce went up to the operations manager to find out what was going on. The King and Queen of Spain were staying at the hotel that night and all the fuss was to greet them. So we stayed to watch. When they arrived, King Juan Carlos walked past us and smiled at Bruce. Anway that is Bruce’s story and he’s sticking to it. It is one of those things that is no big deal but is still fun to see.

Flying home the airlines gave me an extra freebie – a cold. So I have been wimping around for several days and don’t have a lot to tell you. Pictures will have to wait until next week too.

There is, however, one wonderful event that occurred last night. We have a large party staying in Cabin #2. One of them was 9 months pregnant. Last night they came to the front desk to say that the baby was coming. The rescue squad came out in force and quickly had the mother and father on their way to Grand Marais. There were many volunteers to make this run.

As it turned out this was the couple’s fifth child. The mom was an RN and the father was an EMT. The other children were three girls and one boy. Yesterday was the boy’s birthday. The squad moved along to the hospital. Towels were being warmed where hot air came into the back. With the driver there were six attendants ready to help in anyway.

Just as they headed down the hill into Grand Marais, the father delivered his son. The baby was dried and wrapped in the warm towels and placed with his mom. At the hospital were two doctors and a host of assistants ready to finish the job.

It was the first time this rescue squad has ever had a birth. Everyone agreed that it was the best of all possible runs.

A Little Melt and New Snow

We have had some thawing weather the last few days. About all it has done is to make a mess in the parking lots and driveways. Jason Merrill, our maintenance head, has been out with the bobcat clearing away the slippery slush. When the main driveway starts to melt, it is always a mess. Even with all-wheel drive, it is hard to get up the driveway. So Jason goes and scoops it all up and piles it out of the way. Here is a picture of two of his piles.

They don’t look too pretty until they are covered with snow again. Right after scooping up, they are just brown yuck. It is the gravel from the driveway that gets mixed in with them. When these piles melt in the spring, they leave behind a pile of gravel that can be spread on the driveway again. In case you are wondering, we still have lots and lots of snow on the ski trails.- and the forecast is for 4-6 inches more.

Last night the temperature slipped below freezing again. The misty rain turned to snow. Because the branches were wet, the snow stuck to the freezing branches as if it had been glued on. This morning we had some beautiful trees with every branch covered with snow. There was very little wind so even now at 4:00 p.m., there is lots of snow on the trees. Here was the view off our front porch this morning.

Tucker Lake seems to be providing the best stories this week. In the winter with lots of snow one of our neighbors burns brush piles that he has collected all summer. Last weekend his wife was at a quilting retreat and he decided it was the perfect time to burn some brush. In honor of the occasion he wore his favorite stocking cap – a Snoopy cap. He got it from his daughter when she stopped using it at age 8. (The daughter is now 37 but Bruce tells me that men particularly like these well used articles of clothing.)

At any rate, the neighbor is busy with his burning project. After a bit, he begins to smell fumes like something other than brush is burning. Then it starts to smell like hair is burning – a very distinctive smell. He thinks that maybe there is a death animal at the bottom of the burn pile. In a few minutes his head begins to hurt – badly. He pulls his hat off only to discover that a burning ember has started burning the hat and worked its way down to his hair and scalp. Luckily a handful of snow solves the problem with little damage. Of course, even with a 2” hole, the hat is good to go for several more years.

A mystery on Tucker Lake has also been solved this year. Our neighbors there have gone through three blue fire number signs. I am sure that you have seen these signs. They are the assigned identification numbers each house has so that the fire department can find you in case of a fire. I suppose the signs are about 4” by 6” and blue with white numerals on the Gunflint Trail.

Well, these people are now on their third sign. All the blue and white paint is gone from the face of the sign after a short time. No one knows how. Last week they finally saw two Blue Jays pecking the paint off the sign! An examination of the ground beneath the sign did not show any blue flecks. The birds must either be eating it or storing it for future use. The question now is, “How do you stop them?” You wonder what started this. No one else has reported anything like this.

Bruce and I are off the sunny Jamaica on Monday. Before you get too jealous, let me tell you that this is a purely business trip. The two of us and our daughter, Shawn, are going to interview students for work in the U. S. during the summer college break. We go to Kingston which has no tourist development. We interview from 7:30 in the morning until 6:00 at night with no break. Lunch is delivered from the school’s cooking class while we continue interviewing. After dinner we often interview more students at our hotel. And did I mention that there generally is no A/C in the room we use at the school. So, all of you can take pity on us.

We will be back at Gunflint on the 23rd with no tan.

Oh, Deer

The weather has been quite nice during the day and even seems to have moderated at night. I know that the night before last it was 30 below but we have had a string of nights above zero. That doesn’t sound like much to those of you who live south of us but it is big here. Of course, all these temperatures have nothing to do with wind chill. Beyond saying that the wind is cold, we don’t even worry about wind chill.

It seems like the animals have been busier in these relatively warm temperatures. One of the joys of living on the Trail in the winter is hearing and seeing all the inaction that we have with animals. Some of it is a little scary or sad.

Shadow, one of the dogs at Gunflint Pines, had a scary encounter last week. She was out and about inspecting the property when a wolf appeared. We call this wolf the “mangy wolf” because his hide is so mangy and he looks sick. At any rate the wolf started chasing Shadow. After one run around the main building at the Pines, the wolf was catching up to the dog. Shadow’s last inspiration was to run into the open porch attached to the Pines lodge. Meanwhile, Bob and Sharon up on the hill had noticed the race. They were getting in their car just as Shadow went in the porch. Sharon yelled and the wolf looked up at them. Then Bob and Sharon quickly drove down to the lodge. As they stopped for the side road, the wolf ran past them to the east. Shadow was still hiding in the porch and quickly went in when Bob opened the door.

There was also a sad encounter at the Pines. One morning Bob groomed the short ski trail that goes through the campground. Later that morning he was out on this ski trail. Between the time he groomed and the time he walked out (before noon), the wolves had killed a deer right in the middle of the ski trail. Now I must admit that I don’t get overly sentimental about kills like this. After all, the wolves have to live too. Usually, we do not expect a wolf kill to happen so close to occupied buildings and in the middle of the day.

Most of our encounters lately have been of the happy kind. On Saturday Susie, one of our favorite waitresses at Trail Center, snowmobiled up for lunch with a group. She could not get over all the deer in our yard. She went into the lodge and brought out several large handfuls of corn which the deer promptly ate right out of her hands. In fact, one deer was so close to Susie’s face that when the deer raised his head, he gave her a “kiss.” Since I don't have a picture of Susie getting her kiss, this picture is of Steve being a little more careful feeding the deer.

Here is one of a deer eating right outside the door to the main lodge.

It is really unusually to go down to the lodge and not see deer everywhere you look. They give every person going in or out a mournful look until you just have to feed them.

The other morning Sheryl came down early to open the lodge. Here is the scene she captured with her camera. Well, you were going to get a short video from Sheryl but for some reason it doesn't want to upload. Being the super IT person that I am, you will not get to see the video.

The first person to the lodge each morning doesn’t just encounter deer. The other day Gimpy (our fox with one paw gone) was curled up in a ball in front of the door. Just like the rest of us, Dave went in and found a scrap of meat for Gimpy. Gimpy and his girl friend have taken up residence underneath Justine’s north wing. By May we should have another batch of kits. We will keep feeding both fox so the kits are healthy.

We have so many deer around that I could go on and on about the stories. The best idea, however, is to come up and see for yourself.

It's Busy On Gunflint

As it usually is, life has been busy at Gunflint Lodge this past week. The absolute first thing I want to tell you is about our telephones. For about two weeks in December we had what could be graciously called intermittent telephone service. The real problem came when anyone tried to call us because it sounded like the phone was ringing and we just weren’t answering it. Let me tell you – we ALWAYS answer the telephone. This last week the same thing has started to happen again. If you try to call us and there is no answer, assume the phone is not working. Try again. CenturyTel thinks they have it fixed but they thought it was fixed in December too. The real problem is a lot of old, old equipment and not enough customers to pay for new equipment.

On Monday night and early Tuesday morning the Beargrease Sled Dog Race came through Gunflint Lake. They entered the lake over by the bridge at Cross River and then went over to the public landing on our side and up the snowmobile trail on their way to Loon Lake. Here is a picture of one of the sleds starting on Gunflint, looking east into that beautiful morning sun.

The race starts and ends in Duluth. I believe it is about 380 miles long.

Sheryl and Bonnie spent a few hours this morning trout fishing on Gunflint. Here is a picture of Sheryl’s trout, the only one they caught.

Now here is how Sheryl described the experience: “This is my first lake trout ice fishing, ever! I'm not secretive: Gunflint Lake, MN side, minnow, jigging. The trick is to be out in the open, not in a house. It must be the shivering that causes the rod to wiggle and the line to waver, so there is added action when jigging!” They used Dave and Bonnie’s snowmobiles to get there so Dave thought he should have one fillet for snowmobile rental. They used Bruce’s ice auger to cut the hole so he thought he should have one fillet for auger rental. I think Sheryl is going to have two fillets for dinner.

Jason Merrill is getting ready for Winter Tracks later in the winter. His job is to prepare a broomball field. Today after checking the ice depth (17 inches) he brought the bobcat out to plow the field for the first time. By removing the snow, the ice will get thicker. Here he is plowing away. Both he and Bruce were concerned that the ice was thick enough to support the bobcat. We all know how men worry about their pieces of machinery.

In case the far hills look a little foggy to you, that is not your eyesight or my photography. It’s snow coming down. It is not a lot of snow but with our great base, all we need is a few inches of new snow ever so often.

I think I told you that ice fishing has opened up on Gunflint Lake. It has made the view from the managers’ lunch table very interesting. We watch ice houses being taken down and moved. Sometimes they end up in places that the fishermen at the table think is not so good. There are a lot of people dragging what appear to be heavy sleds with collapsed ice houses on them. Looks like a lot of work to me.

Last weekend was the Chocolate Lover’s Weekend. We all OD’d on chocolate. The cookies are what really did me in. I, of course, tested them for quality while baking. Then we all had to test them before presenting them to the guests. On Sunday morning even the guests could hardly take any home so we had to finish them up. I don’t think I want to even look at another chocolate cookie.

By late in the afternoon on the 23rd, the deer began to appear around the lodge and our house again. They have been here every day since. Like I said last week, our only explanation is that a pack of wolves was passing through.

A Strange Day

It is a strange day today. After breakfast Bruce went out to feed some corn to the deer. Not one deer came looking for food. In fact, right now at almost 10:30 a.m. we have yet to have even one deer in the yard. I went down to the lodge earlier and there are no deer around the lodge either. Our speculation is that there is a wolf pack hanging around and the deer won’t come in. We will see what happens as the day continues.

Today is partially cloudy with the sun peaking out between the clouds. It’s about 5 degrees outside but feels colder because the wind is blowing. I can hear the wind inside my office as I type this blog. Just a couple of minutes ago I poked my head out the door to listen to the sled dogs yipping as they went down to Campers’ Island. The clouds are supposed to clear up tonight and the temperature drop. I don’t really care as we got 3-4 inches of new snow last night. We have been getting a few new inches on a regular basis. It keeps our ski trails in great shape. Bob Baker was going out this morning to groom the trails after our snowfall.

One of the neighbors saw a wolf down by the Tucker Lake Road. She said it was huge and in no rush to move off the road. It is times like that when you are happy to be in a vehicle. You kind of get a chill up and down your spine.

Another neighbor was snowmobiling down Gunflint to go fishing on Tuesday. He came across a dead coyote on the ice. My immediate question was how he knew it was a coyote and not a wolf. The answer was its size. Coyote are lots smaller than wolves. Again we speculate on what happened. It probably was a wolf kill.

Gunflint Lodge is starting to be an engagement capital. This week we had Emily and Matt get engaged. He popped the question during a pre-arranged stop on their dog sled ride. The mushers conveniently got lost in the woods during the moment. Here is the happy couple at dinner that night.

Bruce and I along with Daughter Shawn spent last weekend in Minneapolis. We exhibited at a three-day Women’s Expo and a one-day Bridal Fair. Both events were in the same building which was handy. The Women’s Expo was not always as busy as we might have liked. During one quiet moment Bruce was enticed over to the booth across from us. They advertised an instant facelift in a bottle. Here is Bruce sampling their wares.

He didn’t buy so I guess his face will continue to sag.

Sheryl and Bonnie took a day off yesterday. They went up to Grand Portage and hiked into the High Falls on the Pigeon River. Sheryl said it was just gorgeous. Here is her picture to prove it.

With the cold temperatures we have had this winter, there are plenty of ice creations to see anytime you get near water.

One of the neighbors on Seagull Lake reports that a lynx has been hanging around their home for the past couple of days. She has seen it but can’t get a picture. She is a little concerned about her dog and won’t let him out alone. A lynx could take a dog with no trouble. Meanwhile there are lots of rabbits and fox around to keep the big cat happy.

This weekend is the chocolate lovers’ weekend. I have been baking cookies for their cabins, the front desk, and the car ride home. I also made a pumpkin seed-cacao brittle to be crumbled on one of the salads. The rest of the salad is endive, roasted beets, goat cheese, and a vinaigrette. We have found appetizers, entrees, pastas, and desserts that all have varying degrees of chocolate flavoring from just a hint to very intense. I hope that everyone enjoys it.

I just walked back to the kitchen. Still no deer coming in. It is very strange.

January Doings

Although January is not our busiest winter month for guests, there still seem to be a few around. Our phone is ringing and people just want to get away for several days. We are happy to have them come to visit us.

As you know, Bruce and I like to spend some time talking with guests, usually in the evening. It is not just a one way street of us telling stories about Gunflint. This last week, I was talking with a couple of gals who were up. Next thing I knew they had some recipes to e-mail for some vegetarian entrees. Bruce got to talking to another couple about our planned trip to Greece this fall. The wife was an archeologist who had worked in Greece and knew it well. She was going to send me some names of books to read about the country. We truly have a very interesting group of guests.

Anyone who has been around the lodge may have noticed that the managers try to eat lunch together at the big table in the main room. Here is a picture of us today.

We eat at 11:30 each day. The cooks prepare us something. We are not fuss and don’t object to leftover or trying new recipes. A bigger decision is what side of the table to sit on. If you decide to look out the window, then the face of the person opposite you is in the dark. Sitting with your back to the window doesn’t let you observe the activities on the lake.

You might think that not much is going on out there but that would be a mistake. Just the other day we had quite a bit of activity. The morning started by observing a group of crows about 500 feet out. They were feeding on the remains of a deer the wolves had killed the night before. Even with binoculars, we could see that most of the deer was gone. Some guests saw 4 or 5 wolves hanging out by the point just west (left) of us. The crows were still there at lunch.

In the late morning and throughout lunch, the dog teams were out giving groups of guests short rides on the lake. In addition to giving the guests a taste of a dog sled ride, it was a training trip for new dogs.

The next thing to show up was two snowmobiles with one of them towing a large ice house. It promptly got stuck in slush just in front of the lodge. We watched them push it out, get another tow rope, and attach a tow rope to each snowmobile. With two guys driving the snowmobiles and two guys pushing the ice house, they managed to get out of the slush. Then they stopped and the two pushers got on as passengers on each snowmobile. Would the machines be able to tow the ice house with two riders? They did but it was probably just down to the next slush pocket. Tomorrow ice fishing for trout opens up on Gunflint. Those guys earned a nice catch.

Things are just as entertaining during the summer as guests recreate at the beach or canoeists paddle past. I must admit that today at 20 some degrees below zero with a wind, there was not too much activity on the lake.

The wolves must be pretty close into the lodge. What makes me say that is the number of deer that are bedding down by our house. Just like the cabins, our house is earth-sheltered up to the bottom of the windows. It helps keep us nice and toasty warm all winter. Imagine my surprise the other day when I walked into my office and saw a deer bedded down right in the iris patch. After lunch the deer was still there and another was right next to the window. Here is a picture of that.

If you look between the legs of the closer deer, you can see the other one bedded down. Today when I came back from lunch at the lodge, there were three deer bedded down. One was just above the house and two were right outside the garage door.

If you happened to be on the Trail on Saturday nights during the winter, be sure to stop by if for no other reason than to listen to Mark Darling play his keyboard from 5:30 to 7:30. Here he is.

There is something about live music that just livens up the place. It is fun listening to him but you can still carry on a conversation.

The menu is completed for the Chocolate Lovers Weekend. I now have seven different kinds of chocolate that will be used for various recipes over the weekend. We are testing and tasting them now. An extra surcharge should be added to guest bills for the weight loss program Bruce and I need after tasting all this chocolate. Guests from other resorts are welcome to join us Friday and Saturday in Justine’s on the 23th and 24th for the chocolate feast. (Just be sure to make a reservation at 388-2294) Each night we will have a medley of 3 chocolate appetizers, chocolate in a salad, 2 entrees with chocolate to pick from, pasta with chocolate, and two chocolate desserts to pick from. Needless to say, all the regular menu items will also be available. Right now the most surprising item has been the chocolate and almond covered bacon. It’s really good!

Let It Snow!

This is turning out to be a really great winter for snow. It is like the ones we used to have several years ago. The best estimate we have is 24-30 inches so far. A little of this variance comes from whether you just measure the number of inches that have fallen or whether you measure the depth of the snow on any given day. This picture shows you the snow bank on the main dock. The truck in front of it gives a way to gauge the depth.


Down at our house Bruce is happy to have the high snow banks. He calls them his bumpers. Our driveway is very steep. On really warm days when the snow is particularly slippery, we come to a complete stop at the top of the hill, put the car in neutral, and coast down. Even so the car occasionally gets going too fast. That’s when the bumpers come into play to stop it.

Going uphill on those days is also great fun. It can’t be done without four-wheel drive. If the driver is inexperienced with driving on snow, Bruce gives them a little help. We save all the ashes from our fireplace and use them to make a path for the wheels. It works every time.

All the snow has made slush pockets on the lake. In fact we have not been able to run any dog sled rides until a slush-free trail was established on the lake. Today was our first day to run this trail. Here is a picture of Linda and Neal with two guests. You can see how the dog team is tethered front and back to the trees frozen in the ice.

I left the lodge before they came back, so I’ll find out tonight how it went.

As I looked at the pictures, it surprised me how dark they were. I took them about 1:00 p.m. on a bright day. I suppose that even this early in the day, we are starting to darken down. It's 5:00 p.m. now and almost totally dark.

Once a trail is established, it will stay free of slush all winter. This is because the ice gets thicker on the trail than other places. That makes it stronger and less likely to crack from the weight of the newly fallen snow. Slush is created from the weight of the snow pushing down on the ice until the water beneath is under so much pressure that the water is able to crack the ice and seep out into the dry snow. It rarely seeps out through all the snow which is why you can’t see it. All you see is dry snow. Although this year there is so much snow that several slush pockets have soaked through all the snow. That is the best thing because it will freeze up that night with no insulating snow. As you can tell, I think all the changes that occur in the ice over the winter are quite interesting.

Bruce and I were in Duluth yesterday. It snowed most of the way down but wasn’t too bad coming back. We saw one moose going down and 2 moose coming back. The two were running on the road, one on each side. One was a young cow and the other was a young bull. We were only about 3-4 miles from home and had decided that we were not going to see any moose. Suddenly we saw lots of tracks on the road and slowed down. It was a good decision because this pair thought they owned the road. Remember when you drive the Trail to look for fresh animal tracks and slow down if there are lots of them.

As we turned off the main trail at the lodge corner, Bruce noticed that someone had gone into the ditch. It is a common happening at our junction. In fact, we have all done it too. You have to slow down almost to a complete stop before making the turn. Then you take your foot off the brake and make the turn. If you keep braking through the turn, there is a good chance you will end up in the snow bank.

One of Bruce’s errands was to interview some high school students who are applying to Cornell University for next fall. Bruce is an alumnus of Cornell. He has interviewed 6 students so far and it has been most interesting. His report back to the school will not make or break any student but it just gives a human face to the application process. Listening to the scores of the kids on the ACT’s and SAT’s, all the activities they are in, and all the jobs they have had just makes me feel tired. If these are our college-bound kids, we have nothing to worry about.

Reservations are coming in steadily for the rest of the winter. As part of our monitoring process we keep track of how many days of cabin rentals we have for each month. Right now January has passed last year’s mark at the end of the month for nights of cabin rentals. That is really good news because it means we can expect a nice increase in business for January. I am sure that a lot of this is due to all our snow. So, let it snow!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to everyone! We had a great time at the lodge. There were just over 100 people for dinner, about 30 showed up at the bonfire and then about 30 were in the Bistro for midnight champagne.

The house is quiet today. Robert, Miranda and Zach left for home about 5:30 a.m. Ever since they arrived on the 26th, things have been hopping in here. On his first day Zach went sledding down our driveway, took a dog sled ride, fed the deer and reacquainted himself with the staff at the lodge. Here is a picture of Zach and Carter sledding.

The expressions on their faces tell how much fun it was.

The best picture of Zach feeding the deer happened about 5:30 one night. Here he is.

You can tell that the deer have no fear. We have had up to 14 deer in at one time. There is a growing list of food that they eat. This week we added the rinds from cantaloupe. Of course the birds will eat almost anything the deer leave.

Most of our bucks have lost their antlers already. This morning we saw one that still has antlers. It’s a ten-pointer and does he look majestic. No one else was allowed into the yard as long as he was there. Dave at the front desk says this buck has been around for about 8 years. No one has spotted him during hunting season nor does anyone know where he goes. Now that the season is over, he is back to come into our feeding areas.

Another of Zach’s activities was cross country skiing. He went around the Big Pine Trail twice one day and loved it. Not too bad for a Missouri boy. He also learned a lesson that day about keeping your ears covered. When his ears started to hurt, he complained to his mother. Miranda warmed them up with her hands and pulled his cap down until the ears were completely covered. Frost bite is nothing to mess around with.

Our forest has appeared in the lake just off the dock area. As you may remember from last winter, we freeze small pine trees into the lake in an upright position. They act as hitching posts for the dog teams when rides are given on the lake. We used to use 4x4’s but they kept getting buried in the snow or snowmobiles ran them over. Ten foot trees work lots better.

Another project of Zach’s was to help in the dining room one morning. I was doing dishes and noticed that suddenly the front desk was filled with people and another bunch was looking for clean tables to eat breakfast at. I called Bruce down from his office to help at the front desk. Miranda and Zach went out to clear and re-set dining room tables. Then Zach came in back to help me do dishes. Mandy and Mark, who were waiting tables that morning, gave Zach $10 for his help. Did his eyes light up with that! I asked him if was going to tell his class at school about doing dishes.

Last night Zach fixed dinner for us. Well, he and Miranda and Robert did it together. For Christmas Zach had asked for a cast-iron Dutch oven which was what we gave him. He had learned how to cook a boneless pork loin in it so that was a main entre at our dinner last night. He and his father put a metal garbage can on the screened porch just outside our kitchen. The garbage can lid was put on upside down. Charcoal was lite and put on the lid. The Dutch oven went on next with the pork loin and some apple cider. The lid went on and them some burning charcoal on top of the lid. In a very short time we could hear the cider boiling. About half an hour before it was done, some cinnamon-covered apples were added. It made a great dinner along with everything else Miranda fixed. We ate way too much.

In fact, Bruce and I have been eating too much throughout the holiday season. This morning reality entered with our breakfast – cold cereal with bananas and an orange. My excuse for this weight gain was that when children come home, you get requests for their favorite meals and you try to make them all. In this home that includes making eight kinds of Christmas cookies and fudge. As soon as everyone had a good portion, the cookies were put out for the guests at the lodge. So, Bruce and I are back to reasonable meals again but we also have to shed a few pounds.

Christmas

There is nothing like the holidays to get one behind on schedules. Here I am a day or so late with the blog. We are at the better late than never stage.

Last week Don and Jacob went out to check the thickness of the ice. Here they are all dress up to go. They are checking it several weeks earlier than last year which is good news. The thickness of the ice ranged from 5 to 10 inches, another good thing. The bad news is that we have snow on the ice which is leading to slush on the ice. If anyone is planning on traveling across the ice, be sure you know what the slush conditions are on that particular lake. Later in the day after Don and Jacob came in, we noticed two deer following the guys’ path on the lake. The deer went to each drilled hole and took a drink of water.

One of my favorite slush stories happened right in front of the lodge. Bruce’s mother, Justine, had two small Polaris Playmate snowmobiles. As boys, Robert and Lee rode out on the ice in front of the lodge. Eventually, they put one of the snowmobiles in a slush pocket.

Of course, Bruce was gone somewhere that day so Mom and I were down helping the boys deal with the slush. We weren’t 100 feet off the shore but what a mess. They were in about a foot of slush. Now slush doesn’t freeze until the insulating dry snow on top of it is disturbed. Obviously a snowmobile disturbs the dry snow. This means that you must get a snowmobile out of the slush before it freezes in for the winter.

The first step is to get the snowmobile above the slush. We piled firewood under it. Lifting the machine was no easy task as the slush in the track added lots of weight to an already heavy machine. Once you get the snowmobile up, the next job is to clear the track of all slush otherwise the track will freeze solid. So first we dug out as much as possible with our hands. That’s a really fun, warm job. Then we started the machine. Two of us held the back end up so the snowmobile was resting only on its front two skis. A third person then runs the machine at full speed so any remaining slush was shot out the back. The lifters have to stay off to one side if they don’t want to get covered with spitting slush. The snowmobile is then lowered onto its dry stack of firewood. If there had been a couple of strong men there, they would have pushed until the snowmobile got to shore but we couldn’t do it. So, then final step was to make a path through the slush disturbing the dry snow until we got to shore. This was left to freeze overnight. As we left the machine, all four of us were tired and soaking wet.

The next morning we started the machine up and drove it to shore. It was put in a heated garage to thaw out all the remaining slush. Luckily we just had to deal with a small machine that was close to home. Putting one of today’s big machines in a slush pocket on a remote lake is a real problem. The boys and I alone would not have been able to get the machine out and home.

Last week we had a first time experience at Gunflint Lodge. After running the place since 1929, the Kerfoot family does not often have a first time experience at the lodge but this was such a time. One night in front of the fireplace Dave got down on one knee and asked Melissa to marry him. He had planned it all in advance and knew it would really thrill her. The next evening I caught up with them and here is a picture of the newly engaged couple.

They were both still glowing from the night before.

Everyone seemed to have a good Christmas at Gunflint. As many staff as possible made it home for Christmas. That meant that many of them were driving or flying back on the 26th to be at work on the 27th. They shared the roads with guests who were also coming up to Gunflint. Right now we have an almost full resort with people out exploring the woods all around us. The dog teams are giving rides. Guests are out snowshoeing everywhere. The ski trails are great. We even had a few flakes of snow coming down about an hour ago. The dining room is busy as the fireplaces merrily blaze away. For those of us who love the resort business there is nothing more fun than a houseful of happy, busy guests.