Two Fine Stories

There have been a couple of interesting stories on Gunflint Lake this past week.

Last Saturday Adam gave dog sled rides on the lake during the morning. In the early afternoon he decided to give his dogs a little more exercise with a run down to Camper’s Island, about five miles down the lake. So he and the dogs took off. The dogs were running so well that Adam climbed into the sled, pulled up the sleeping bag and sat down. In two minutes he was sound asleep. He woke up later on as two snowmobiles buzzed him. They had seen what appeared to be a rider-less sled going down the lake. Adam waved to them and they backed off. Coming back home, Adam took care to be visible as he slept in the sled.

My neighbor, Bob Baker, has been busy fishing on Gunflint this winter. I have to tell you about his latest technique. He goes out on the ice to about 40 feet of water. There he cuts a 2 foot x 4 foot hole in the ice. The free piece of ice is slid under the main ice to get it out of the way. Bob puts his ice house over this hole.

Now he is ready to fish. He has two lines which is legal for ice fishing. One just has a minnow on it. The other has either a Glow Buckshot (made by Northland Fishing Tackle) or one of about 10 other baits. This bait is either down on the bottom or just below the ice. He fishes with this for about 10 minutes. If nothing happens, he switches either the bait or its position.

Now the fun part starts. Bob has caught every fish this winter on his Glow Buckshot. It is actually light green in color. Many of the lake trout come right to the surface and hit on the shallow bait. He can look down and watch them making passes and hitting on his bait. There was even one time when he had a fish on the bait and he was watching another fish make a pass at his minnow. For a bit Bob thought he might have two fish on at once.

As Bob says, catching one or two lake trout is a good day of ice fishing. He usually fishes in the morning. By noon it is time to come in with his catch. Of course, with the big hole cut in the ice, you have to be careful not to fall in. The water is a little too cold for swimming but the lake trout love it.

Bruce and I spent yesterday running errands in Duluth. Among other things we bought one of those tiny digital video cameras. The idea is that I can upload a short movie for you. I am sure that this is going to take some practice. These things are never quite as easy as the directions say. It is like putting together Christmas toys for your children. So stay tuned in and we will see what happens.

A Busy Weekend

It was a busy weekend at the lodge and much of it centered around sled dogs. In addition to Adam’s team of 8 dogs, there were three other teams here. On Sunday morning the dogs made an impressive gang line on the lake with 35 of them. They were all excited to get going and not shy about talking to us. Their barking and yelping carried all across the lake. It just added a festive nature of the day. In addition to folks who were going on rides, many of the guests stopped by to take pictures. Although cold (22 below), there was no wind on the lake. It was a perfect day for lake rides.

Here are a couple of pictures of the rides for you. One is Adam and his team approaching the end of their ride. Behind Adam you can see the ice houses for fishermen. Saturday was the opening of ice fishing for lake trout on Gunflint. Between fishing and dog sled rides, it was a busy day on the lake.

Another picture shows one of our guests trying her hand at riding the runners and driving. The lake with a flat surface is a good place to learn about driving. On woods trails it is a lot hard to drive the team. You are constantly shifting your body to help the dogs on turns. Then there are the hills that you are running up and helping to push the sled up. Adam says that he has lost 12 pounds since the sledding season started. I wonder why.

There are a couple more weekends for dog mushing this winter. On the March 10-14 weekend, we still have a few cabins open. Adam is also here all the time to give rides.

Monday we got some fresh snow. All the tracks from dogs, sleds, and people were erased from the surface of the lake. It is like no one was ever out there.

Back at our house, Bruce and I have some interesting entertainment while we eat breakfast: the deer are coming in and expecting to get their handout of corn. It is still half dark outside but the lights from our kitchen must attract them. They nose right up to the window. Usually there are anywhere from three to eight deer. With the smaller numbers it is a pretty quiet affair. Bruce often has one of them eating right from his bucket while he scratches its ears.

When they are all there, it is like a bunch of kids. They are all pushing and shoving to get the most corn. The bigger ones like to drive off the smaller ones. Sometimes two big ones are on their hind feet pushing each other away. Little ones try to sneak in on the sides while the big ones are occupied. Eventually, of course, the corn is all gone. It’s time to move down to the cabins at the lodge. Guests are getting up and ready to hand out more corn.

Winter on the Kekekabic Trail

Last week I met two young men who were leaving the next morning to snowshoe the Kekekabic Trail from here to Ely. They both had winter camping experience and seemed prepared for the trip. We have not heard otherwise, so they must have had a good trip.

This has not always been the case with people trying to do the Kek in the winter. Mother Nature has a way of changing your plans. Many years ago we had a party stop by who had turned around on their trip due to problems with extremely cold temperatures. In those years you did not just start a car in the winter and it was bloody cold out. They came into the house and called down the trail for a pickup.

Meanwhile some their toes were black with frostbite! I knew that we had to slowly warm them up but it is hard to find something to put water and men’s feet into. Two of them went on the side of the bath tub. Bruce got roasting pans from the lodge for more of them. When their friends came to get them, they went down to Grand Marais. No one lost toes but it was touch and go.

Some years later we had another party come for help. Their experience on the Kek had been just the opposite. They were planning on snowshoeing to Ely and had all the warm weather gear. Mother Nature decided to warm the temperatures up and it stopped them immediately. Their clothes were too hot and they had too much gear. They came in and called for a pick up from Ely. During the three hours at our house I fed them a full dinner which included two t-bones steaks each. My very young sons were quite intimidated by these exhausted strangers.

We have had several light snowfalls this week. The picture is just on our driveway. It shows you how totally full of snow all the trees are. Anyone driving in the area will see these beautiful trees everywhere. By now the snow has been pasted onto them. It is going to take a strong wind to blow the snow off. I have read that the sloping nature of pine tree branches is to help them support the snow load without breaking. Looking at this picture, it makes sense to me.

Today is the opening of the lake trout season on the Minnesota side of Gunflint Lake. There are ice houses that have appeared during the week. The managers sit at lunch in the lodge and watch these house being placed on the lake. Sometimes it is very interesting. Another fun time is to watch people trying to take them off in March. After snowfalls and slush some of them are frozen in. Again we sit and watch from the warmth of the lodge.

Bruce is going to wait until after the weekend to go out. He will drive his truck around looking for blood (from caught fish) on the snow by houses and fish holes. Then he will pick his spot to fish. A little luck might give us fresh fish for dinner.

A New Adventure

It’s the beginning of the year and I have started a new adventure. Sometime during the summer Bruce went on Facebook. As part of his page he opened a page for “Gunflint Lodge in northern Minnesota.” Then he let it sit there. So now I have gotten into the page as an administrator and will be trying to write short whatevers regularly. It is going to be most interesting. If you wish, look for the page in the quotes above otherwise you just get Wikipedia’s listing or so I have been told. Meanwhile, I will be continuing to also write this blog. We are all going to find out together how much stuff I can come up with and if it is interesting.

All of this writing would be much more interesting if you would share your stories of Gunflint with me. We all know that I have a lot of hot air for stories in me but you must also have some good stories to share. Don’t you get tired of just listening to me? I get very few responses to my blog and people who may know more than I do say that I should promote discussions -- who knows. Sometimes I feel like I am writing for the blue skies. Bruce says that his statistics show that about 100 of you check in on any given day. I have no idea if that is good or bad.

Meanwhile the lodge is busy this week. Our ski trails are in excellent condition. We have enough snow that today South Rim and Magnetic Rock were track set. People are out exploring. Unlike many early Januarys, we have not had the bitter cold weather. It makes everyone willing to go out a bit more. Adam and his dogs have been particularly busy with rides. People seem to like the shorter 15 and 30 minute jaunts into the woods.

There have also been people out on snowmobiles. Of course, they are on separate trails from the ski trails. The most interesting story came from a family who rented one of our machines and had some of their own. They crested a hill and found a pack of six wolves right in front of them! Five of the wolves immediately took off but the sixth one was not the least bit intimidated by the snowmobilers. He just sauntered off at a leisurely pace.

It reminds me of the story Bruce tells about trapping minnows. As you may know, Bruce traps all the minnows for the lodge. I am sure we could buy them but he likes being out in the woods. Bruce is not much on just taking a walk. He needs a job in the woods. At any rate one day he was driving over to some of his traps on Kings Road. Around the corner were two huge, black wolves who just looked at him. Bruce said that it was one of the few times when he was glad he was in a vehicle.

Another current story I posted on Facebook (I think it may have gone away into cyberspace.) was about several sightings of lynx that guests have had around the lodge and the back side road. I have lived here 42 years and have never seen a lynx but we had about three parties who saw one over the holidays. It will be fun to see if guests continue to spot this lynx.

As with all animal sightings, it is a matter of being in the right place at the right time. In other words – luck.

Time To Start Another Year

We had a nice snow day yesterday. It started out not so good. The temperature was 35 and we got rain off and on for most of the morning and afternoon. By late afternoon, we got down to 32 degrees and then it started to snow – a wet, heavy snow. The trees held onto every snowflake until they looked flocked. Overnight we got about 6 inches of new snow. It was really nice to see.

This morning everyone was out cleaning up. Don and our dishwasher, Jon Prasil, were shoveling. Bruce pulled rank and got to drive the plow truck. Luckily he didn’t hit anything or Jason would have given him a hard time.

I tried to at least shovel the front steps but the shovel got taken out of my hands. So I went home for a few minutes late in the morning and got to shovel the twenty feet from the drive to my door. As a child, I used to shovel the driveway all the time. Sometimes I did it at night or even early in the morning before school. It is kind of like cutting the grass – both are things I enjoy doing but rarely get to do now.

Don and I went out to check the thickness of the ice the other day. As a fire department member he has a bright yellow dry suit he puts on. Then we attach a 50 foot rope to him. I hold the other end of the rope as if I was walking a dog. There is a radio in my pocket to call for help if Don goes through. We have never had to use it.

At any rate we found that the ice is quite thick and solid. Generally there was 10-16 inches of solid blue ice. At one spot where there was a crack, we only had 6 inches but that is still plenty thick. The fact that the ice was solid blue meant it was a strongest kind of ice. Sometimes we have an accumulation of slush ice on top which is not nearly as strong. Of course, there still could be weak spots where a spring hole comes up. It is hard to realize that the ice changes constantly during the winter.

At the lodge we have been particularly busy. In fact, it is difficult to tell where all these people are coming from. Tonight is also going to be busy. We don’t make a big deal about New Year’s Eve but the dining room is packed. At about 10:00 p.m. John Silliman will have a bonfire in front of the lodge. That’s our big celebration. I haven’t made it to midnight in many years.

The phones have been particularly busy with reservations. If you are planning a winter trip to Gunflint, be sure to call us as soon as you can set your dates. I don’t know if it’s the economy or us, but it is going to be a very busy winter.

'Twas the Night before Christmas

Those of us who live in the northwoods are ready for Santa. All our cards and packages have been sent. There is a steady stream of incoming cards and packages. Christmas trees have been cut in the back lot. At our house we have an “organic” tree – it’s from the grove of trees between our garden and the side road. Yesterday Bruce put on the lights. My job is the ornaments. It is one of our better efforts.

Meanwhile at the lodge we have a lots of guests coming and going. Most of the pre-Christmas guests left on the 23rd. Nine new parties checked in and most of them will be with us through Christmas. When they leave, we will have the New Year’s guests. It is all great fun since many of them are repeat guests.

There will be nine at our dinner table on Christmas. Tom and Melissa from Tucker Lake with Melissa’s sister and brother-in-law will be there. Sheryl from the lodge will come down. Our two Jamaican girls, Crystale and Ashenna, will also join us. I had to warn them that Christmas food is pretty bland by their standards. Bruce says that Norwegians (me) think salt and pepper are exotic spices.

In our house we always eat Christmas dinner around 1:00. This dates back to when Butchie and Charlie, our Native American neighbors, would join us. They always liked to be home before dark so an early dinner gave them plenty of time to be sociable. It was always fun to have them for dinner. As you may know, neither of them could read or write but they had perfect table manners. One time I saw Butchie elbow Charlie and tell him to use his salad fork. They learned by watching us and there was never a miscue. We always sent them home with fixings for sandwiches that night.

In fact, I enjoy a leftover sandwich about 8:00 p.m. almost as much as I enjoy the main meal. There are only 9 of us for dinner but we have a 20 lb. turkey just to make sure that there are plenty of leftovers to send home with everyone and still leave some for me. I will make enough dressing, and mashed potatoes to feed an army. Bruce carves and does the gravy. Melissa brings the cranberry relish, green bean casserole and chocolate pie. Sheryl brings rice pudding. The girls are bringing cornmeal muffins. I love Christmas cookies and that is the problem so I don’t make them anymore.

Of course, all four of the kids will check in during the day. I’ll call my sister and my good friend Bev in Grand Marais. It’s Bev’s fault that I am here at all but that story will have to wait for another day. There are two different versions of the story depending on whether Bruce or I am telling.

At any rate, Bruce and I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

A Commercial Break

Occasionally it is time for a commercial break. This is my time.

If you look back at our website, you will see that Bruce is offering a piece of jewelry when you make a reservation for Gunflint Lodge in May, 2011. The immediate reaction is the same one that Dave at the front desk had – “What is this? How did Bruce decide on a website called www.loveofpretty.com to supply the jewelry?”

Now it is time to think about helping your children. Bruce and I are proud to say that our daughter-in-law, Eva, has launched this site with her friend, Sarah. Sarah designs and makes the jewelry. Eva takes care of the rest of the business. This is a brand new venture for each of them. Many of you know that new ventures are started on a shoe string. As parents it is our responsibility to make that shoe string stretch a little further.

With this in mind, please take a minute to look at the website at www.loveofpretty.com. The holidays are almost upon us and one of their pieces might work for someone on your list who still needs a gift.

Fashion is not my strong point but I know my family. Eva would never be involved in anything that was not top quality.

I think this qualifies as a 60-second commercial.

Winter Wins

Yesterday, the last barrier to winter collapsed, or rather tightened up. The lake is now frozen everywhere. It was about 12 below the night before last and 15 below last night. We would like several more nights of below zero to give the ice a good start. If we get snow too soon, the snow insulates the ice and it does not get thick quickly. The general rule of thumb is to wait for a week to ten days before testing the ice. If there is any question, we just wait a little longer. No one is anxious to go swimming now.

This cold weather looks absolutely beautiful from my window looking out. There is a real sparkle to the snow and ice. I am ready to send Bruce out for the Christmas tree. We have a favorite story from years ago when Bruce went out one Sunday to cut a tree for the house. I am at home making Christmas cookies when suddenly the power goes out. My immediate thought was, “He couldn’t have.” But he did. It was the most expensive tree we ever had.

Adam Treeful, who has guided many of you for fishing, is now running a team of sled dogs for rides. I went out with him about a week ago. It is such great fun. Saturday and Sunday many of our guests went out with him and everyone had a great time. At the end, it was hard to tell who was the most tired: Adam or the dogs. Both dogs and trainer always go through this early fatigue while they get in shape.

Bruce and I were gone most of last week. We went near Chetek, Wisconsin, for the annual meeting of six Minnesota resorts who belong to the Distinguished Lodges group. It is a great time to share our successes, failures, frustrations, and surprises after a busy season. It is truly amazing how similar are summers are.

After a couple days there, we flew to Salt Lake City for the annual convention of America Outdoors. This group is primarily made up of rafters, kayaks, dude ranches, canoers, etc. Many have lodging as part of their operation. We have known lots of these people for years. They come from all over the country. Again it is a great time to share our summer experiences and to get new ideas.

My big new project (as a result of these two conferences) is to learn Facebook. I am a little intimidated by it all. So if any of you are looking for friends or have so helpful suggestions, I am ready to listen. I think I have signed up as Susan Kerfoot but it was so long ago that I can really remember. Once I figure out my personal page, the next step is to figure out a page for Gunflint Lodge. So spend a few moments, folks, and help educate me about Facebook.

Home Again

I skipped a week of writing. Last Tuesday Bruce and I drove down to the Twin Cities and the next day we flew to California. It was time to see how our three grandchildren out there were growing up. As might be expected, they had grown much more than we expected and not just in height. It is such fun to see how each of them is developing their own personality.

Thanksgiving morning we participated in a run for the hungry. This is a longstanding event that raises money for the local food shelf. About 35,000 people bought bibs for the 10k run, 5k run and walk. Needless to say we were in the walking group which was pretty much a stroll due to the number of people. The best part was that later in the day we could eat a great Thanksgiving Day meal and truly enjoy it.

On Monday we flew back to Minneapolis and drove home. It rained all the way to Poplar Lake. Once we got over the Laurentian Divide, it was snowing. Our snow conditions are the best they have been in years. For Thanksgiving we even had some groomed trails. It is just lovely out. I understand that later in the week the temperature is supposed to get below zero. If the wind dies down, the lake could freeze. We will see what happens.

Above this blog are two pictures. One is of the meeting of a yellow lab and a deer with the pane of glass between them. Wouldn’t you love to know what was going through their minds? The other picture shows the lake and shore as it is now. My thanks go to two guests who sent us the pictures. I am always willing to put someone else’s pictures on the blog.

The rifle deer hunting season is over. My neighbor said that during the season he had not seen one deer in his yard. The day after the season closed the bunch of deer came in. How do they know it is safe to come in now?

Bruce went out one morning for a little deer hunting. I reminded him to bring home the heart and liver if he got a deer. He said this was just to look around and he probably wouldn’t see anything. Well, two and a half hours later, he had two deer! Neither one was big. They were both just nice eating size. That night for dinner, he had part of the heart and I had part of the liver. A pile of fried onions topped off the meat. Since then we have had several meals of chops, roasts, and burgers. It is a treat for both of us.

As the holiday season comes along, our calendars are full of parties. Most of the presents are bought and just need to be wrapped shipped. Christmas cards are staring me in the face. They will be done over the weekend. Bruce has to get out and cut down a tree. I am anxious to get it up. The living room is so much warmer with the lights from a Christmas tree.

Tonight we are joining our neighbors for dinner in the Red Paddle. Every Wednesday we try to get together at some place for dinner. The meals are good but the friendship is better.

The Project Lis Neveer Ends

Sheryl sent me the two pictures above. As you can see, we have received our first snow of about 4-5 inches. It was wet and heavy and beautiful. It is interesting to me to look at these two pictures. Both are “in color” but there is not much color showing. The lake is really a slate gray and everything else seems to be in the same gray and white hues. I have to tell you that it really does look just like this today.

Of course, Sheryl sends me these pictures because she likes them. It is also a general reminder that it’s time to write another blog. So what is going on around here?

The dining rooms closed at noon on Sunday. They will open again on Thursday evening with the Red Paddle and Friday evening with Justine’s. We will now be serving meals in at least the Red Paddle until spring. Meanwhile, the kitchen is sparkling clean. A new two-door refrigerator has replaced one of the old ones. The cooks moved a little equipment around to make things flow more smoothly.

The work weekend guests last weekend did another awesome job finishing up projects. All the canoes and kayaks are up to the canoe yard for the winter. Skis and snowshoes are out in the outfitters ready for rental. Two of the women even helped Bonnie clean a needed cabin. They were nurses and knew how to make beds. All the wood piles got another hit. No matter how big the piles are, they will be down to nothing by spring.

Meanwhile everyone else is working to finish up their regular projects. Katie and Kaci at the front desk are inventorying the gift shop in between answering the telephone. Everyone from the kitchen is helping Bonnie with deep cleaning in cabins. Jason Merrill and Lance Huskey are building new steps leading up to the conference center. Justin has moved from the stable to the outside crew. He got his first baptism into shoveling snow the last few days. All the steps are done the old fashioned way with shovel. Think how many steps there are around the property.

Bruce and I have our projects too. He is busy laying out the lodge summer and outfitters rate sheets for 2011. Another job is to plan the marketing for next summer. Writing this blog is one of my jobs. I am also in charge of Christmas presents for the staff. They are all figured out but still need to be ordered. Another of my projects is organizing and cataloging all the pictures for the Gunflint Trail Historical Society. I have an Access program designed and about 300 pictures entered in. It is a drop in the bucket as I think there are 3000 pictures in our database.

Slowly we are all getting through our project lists as I imagine you are too. The lists only get longer as the Holidays get closer.

More Fall Projects

We are still working on getting ready for winter. There always seems to be just one more task to do. The second picture shows Jason ready to push the smaller dock across the lake to its winter mooring spot. The large dock has been completely dismantled and sent to the dump. A new one will replace it next spring. It is always a toss up to replace the dock when you think it is worn out or to wait until is actually breaks up during a bad wind storm. This time we opted to be conservative and replace it before it broke apart.

The first picture shows the dock and porch area set for winter. The docks are gone. All the furniture is put away for another year. There is still one boat on a trailer. This is in case we need a boat and motor for an emergency. It will go into storage when the lake freezes in about a month.

This weekend was the first of our two fall work weekends. We had a great group of about 50 people who spent time Saturday helping us with chores. All the summer furniture was put away. The flowers beds were cleaned of dead annuals from last summer. A load of hay went into the stable storage. Firewood was split and hauled all over. An especially large amount was hauled for use in the lodge. The staff told everyone that “Bruce and Sue really like to burn a lot in the lodge fireplaces.” I admit we are both guilty. A fire in the fireplace raises more than just the temperature.

Even in our own home, we burn lots of wood. The other day Bruce came home about 4:00 p.m. to announce that we were going logging. Right about where he parks his truck in our yard was a dead, dead cedar tree. This type of cedar tree is his favorite for kindling. So out we went. He cut and I hauled into the truck. After the trunk had been cut, we broke off all the branches for more kindling. It was quite a nice addition to the firewood on the front porch.

Another part of the firewood is our garbage can filled with birch bark. This is used instead of newspaper to get stuff going. Bruce says that I use too much to start a fire. There is a huge pile of birch bark back by where the firewood is cut, split, and stacked for the lodge. I am the one who hauls that down to the house. So who cares how much I use?

We were talking with one of the kids this morning. As is often the case, they regularly have suggestions for us. Today’s suggestion was a name for a new package. Everyone knows how Bruce loves packages. The name was “Star Struck.” It resonated with both Bruce and I. Last night we had stepped outside the house after dark. Just above the northern tree tops was the Big Dipper perfectly outlined by a black sky. It was just glorious. Part of the thrill probably is because that’s the only constellation that I truly recognize. I often look for it when we are on vacation. Wherever it is, I’m home.

Justine’s and the Red Paddle are closed for several days. The kitchen staff is tearing apart the stoves, exhaust hoods, grills, and fryers for semi-annual deep cleaning. It is the kind of work that is hard to do when we are using the same equipment to cook meals. It will all be spick and span again in a couple of days.

With all the cleaning going on, I will have to try some at home.

Back In The Door

It is good to be back home again but we did have a marvelous vacation. We spent four nights in Lauderbrunen, Switzerland, and loved it. Our hotel was into the fourth generation of family ownership. Naturally we got to talk to the current generation and see some of the back of the house operations. Many of their issues are the same ones we deal with. The valley they are located in is spectacular. There are three glaciers at the end – the Jungfrau, the Monch, and the Eiger. We took trains up and walked down. All too soon it was time to move on.

The next major stop was Tuscany and our villa. I think everyone enjoyed being in a house rather than a hotel. We stopped for wine tasting and house tours at vineyards. We went to a local weekly fair. We spent time in Siena and Florence. We ate at Trattoria Za Za which was good and we bought their cookbook. We also got stuck in an elevator in the parking lot for about an hour.

Our last stop was Rome. I dragged everyone around to the major sites to see – catacombs, churches, piazzas, fountains, and museums. We attended a Papal audience. We climbed to the top of St. Peter’s. We spent 5 hours in the Vatican Museum. We walked all over and averaged probably 5 miles a day of walking.

Needless to say, we ate every kind of pizza and pasta there was available. We also ate venison in Switzerland. We picnicked in the Alps as we walked down a valley and at the top of the Gottard Pass as we drove through. We ate gelato in Rome and chocolate in Switzerland. It was all great fun made even better by sharing it with our friends.

Time was not standing still at Gunflint while we were gone. In fact winter is almost here. Our first couple days home were windy and rainy and miserable. Today it is cold (25 this morning) but the sun is out. I noticed that Jason has the plow truck plugged in each night and the snow plow is right behind the truck ready to be put on immediately.

The animals are anticipating winter too. Snow buntings are migrating through. Snowshoe rabbits are changing color. The ones in my yard have white feet and white bellies. I understand they also have a white edge around each ear but I missed that.

As things are a little slower here, the staff is taking some vacation time. I have to look are a written schedule to figure out who is here on any given day. Our weekends are busy but mid-week is slow. We are closing the dining rooms a bit so that deep cleaning can go on in the kitchen. It is hard to clean the stove exhaust hood if you are trying to cook.

Reservations are still coming in strongly, especially for the winter. Both of our fall work weekends are full. Thanksgiving is filling up with cabin guests and locals coming for dinner. I haven’t really looked at Christmas and New Year’s yet but they will be busy too.

So Bruce and I are enjoying some home-cooked meals and evening down time but we will be ready to welcome you all this winter.

One Foot Out The Door

We are in the midst of the peak of fall color. About the only thing that hasn’t turned is the tamarack. Tamarack are the only pine trees to shed their needles every fall. The needles turn a beautiful yellow/gold color. With all the wind we have been having, I am not sure how long the leaves will remain on the trees. A few have already blown off but there are still plenty hanging on to the branches.

Yesterday was the last day of the lake trout fishing season. It was windy, overcast and generally nasty. So, of course, we decided to go fishing. After lunch we piled on a few layers of clothing and topped it all off with our rain suits. The sky and the water were both black. We went across the lake to a reef that is almost out of the water due to the low water level. First we tried jigging but that didn’t do anything. Next was to troll some rapalas. I got a bite but it snapped my line taking my orange lure. Then I had another bite on our last orange rapala. The fish spit that one back at me. Finally I landed a nice lake trout. We trolled a bit more with no luck.

Down the lake we went to try a couple of other spots. Still no luck. Back we came to our original spot. It was Bruce’s turn to catch three in a row – one bass and two lake trout. It was time to go home. Bruce caught the most fish but I got the biggest. We ate the bass for dinner and had enough trout to put in the freezer for seven meals over the winter. That is something to look forward to.

Our guests this weekend are a great bunch a ladies called Always an Adventure. There are 32 of them. They have been out exploring all over the countryside. Yesterday John took them over the to hike the Centennial Trail. Today 6 of them went with him to Stairway Portage. Meanwhile the others have been out kayaking and hiking some of the trails in the back basin. Two of them took a boat out for a little fishing this morning. It is great fun to see them all our enjoying fall in the woods.

I have been sneaking back to the house to do washing and planning the packing for our trip. We will be leaving on Tuesday, October 5th, and drive to the Cities. Then on the 6th we fly to Milan and meet our friends. They are all flying out of JFK in New York. It was going to cost us $1000 (I didn’t add an extra zero) each to fly out of JFK. Needless to say we are flying out of Atlanta. Each night I am reading my guide books.

My mouth can already taste all the wonderful food. Patty Feeney, I already have the Trattoria Za Za in Florence marked on my city map. Patty has heard that it is a great place to eat in Florence. I will let you all know.

So don’t expect anything from me until the end of October. I’ll give you a blow by blow account of our trip. There will be some unexpected adventures to tell you, I am sure.

After Fall Comes Winter

We have just finished a perfect fall weekend. The maple trees are at their peak. Red and orange leaves are visible around every corner. The yellows of the poplar, birch, ash and tamarack are slowly coming. They will probably not peak for about ten days. I will enjoy every day of this colorful season. In fact I have trouble deciding if the color looks best on bright sunny days or dark overcast days.

Across the lake behind Cross River Lodge (formerly Borderland) a large stand of maples is making an appearance. Bruce and I assume that it is a bunch of trees growing up from the blowdown in 1999. They are now big enough for us to see.

Last weekend the partridge hunting season opened. Bruce and I have been very successful as we wander on the back roads looking for birds. Yesterday I even got two birds with one shot. The second bird was perfectly lined up with the first and I never even saw it. On Sunday we had our first partridge dinner with wild rice and acorn squash. Unfortunately, we either got a really tough old bird or my timing was off. The meat was tough! I was so disappointed. Maybe I have forgotten how to cook.

In the annual cycle of seasons, the coming of fall months mean that winter is not far away. I like winter but around the resort there are lots of projects that have to be finished before snow hits the ground.

My garden, pitiful as it was, got a last hit. The basil was cut and taken to the kitchen to be made into pesto and frozen for winter. The parsley was also cut and put in my dehydrator for the winter supply of dried parsley flakes in our house.

Up at the stable Mandy and Justin are washing all the saddle blankets. With a chance of frost, they leave the water running a bit so it won’t freeze overnight. Mandy also received a load of hay to carry us through next summer until a new crop is ready.

Jason and Lance have been busy winterizing everything. This week’s project was to pull all the pumps from the fire protection water system. They will be stored in a heated garage all winter. Then all the hoses are drained. I also noticed that the plow is now sitting in front of the workshop ready to be put on the truck as soon as needed.

Ronnie and Rick are working on the plants. All small trees and shrubs get wrapped in chicken wire or burlap. It doesn’t look very pretty but it saves the trees from deer until we get taller trees. Ronnie has also finished the plant order for next spring. Some of the neighbors will add to that order.

Firewood is the project of the dock staff. They have almost everything cut and split that we have on hand. Now it is time for the new loads of firewood to appear. It comes in 8’ lengths. Jason and Don cut it up and the dock staff splits it. The final step is to store it down behind the lodge and around each cabin.

Ski trails are getting their fall mowing. When you have to make two or three passes over every trail, it takes a bit of time. Jason has gone over the trails first to take out the windfalls that always occur.

Through all this the kitchen just keeps putting out more meals. The Red Paddle Bistro and Justine’s have been busier than ever. During slow times we are cleaning everywhere in the kitchen. Freezer supplies are going down to the lower levels of winter.

Up at the outfitters the last parties are coming in. All the food is being stored in mouse-proof containers. Sleeping bags are hung open for the winter. Air mattresses that are usually rolled up spend the winter lying flat. Soon all the equipment will be covered with plywood. The cross country ski equipment and snowshoes will hang against the plywood and be stacked on shelves..

As I write today a northwest wind is howling outside. My thoughts turn to Bonnie and Sheryl who are on their annual fall trip. This year the trip started at Beaverhouse Lake on the north side of the Quetico. They took with them a new fancy GPS that sends us a signal showing where they are. Our e-mail said they spent a couple of days on Quetico Lake. Yesterday they were on Snow Lake. Hopefully the wind will continue to be at their back.

September is Going Fast.

Labor Day and the main of the summer are now behind us. Leaves are turning and fall is definitely here. The maple tree across from the front door of the lodge has almost completely turned. Today we have a strong northwest wind that is blowing orange maple leaves all over. I just love it.

During the past couple weeks we have had several weddings at the lodge. Our favorite occurred last Friday (Sept. 10th). Mandy Kroeger (who runs the stable in the summer and waitresses in the winter) married Lance Huskey (who works on maintenance). Both of them are really outdoor lovers. Above is a picture of them from the wedding with Lance’s son, Jonathan, who was the ring bearer. We all wish them the very best.

Bruce is working on a project at the house for me. At our house there is a long cement porch facing the lake and under the roof line. Our plan was to put a slate floor on this and then a fire ring out further. Well, this fall the slate floor is going in. Lance and Jason have both been helping him at various times. By today, they will be almost 2/3’s finished. I told Bruce that now I will have to buy some outdoor furniture. I will be kind of working up to that purchase over the winter.

Thursday, I finally got another story out to Lee’s son, Grant. In June I wrote “Grandpa goes Minnow Trapping.” This one is “Grandma and Grandpa take a Canoe Trip.” Generally I take a bunch of pictures with my little camera and then write a story about the event. Each page has a picture and some text. This one was 20 pages long. For a three-year-old boy there doesn’t need to be a lot of plot or character development. He seems to enjoy them. I think my next book might be “Grandma and Grandpa live in the Northwoods.” Maybe he and I will grow up together into more developed stories.

Winter reservations are steadily coming in. I am amazed at how fast they are coming. Yesterday was Saturday night which is generally a dead telephone night. We took three new reservations!

Tonight is very quiet in the dining room. Bruce and I have decided to not go down to the lodge. Usually we are there for every dinner but today is a good day to take a break. If it gets really busy, the front desk will call us. Actually they do just about everything to avoid calling us which is nice. We’ll probably watch a football game before we fall asleep in front of the TV.