Resident Animals

It is the day after and life is somewhat back to normal. We had a very quiet Christmas. Neighbors came for dinner. It was relaxed and pleasant. However, we still ate too much. I could hardly face food this morning or at lunch. Luckily it is just soup for dinner. I didn’t do a turkey so we do not have lots of leftovers. We didn’t miss the turkey since there were lobsters for dinner.

Christmas Eve we went to town for church services and dinner with friends. On the way home I took a picture of a tree right near the Birch Lake Road. My camera is not really good at night so you will have to imagine it. This is a 25 foot spruce tree that is about ¼ mile from the nearest electricity. Daryl Popkes and Tom Leddy dreamed it up. They got a neighbor with a cherry-picker truck to help string the white lights Tom had purchased. Since they were LED lights, not a lot of power was required. Daryl figured out how they could use a timer and a car battery to do the job. It is really a striking addition to the Trail. Our thanks go out to Tom and Daryl.

Due to warm temperatures and wind, Gunflint Lake has virtually no ice. We had some but the wind has broken it up. A night that gets down to below zero would solve the problem immediately. Keep your fingers crossed.

Of course, we have had lots of the resident animals visiting over the holiday season. For several years we have had a doe with a hole in her left cheek. She is back again this year with two youngsters. None of us expected her to be around for these past few years.

Fred and Fran saw a beautiful wolf when they drove down to our house for Christmas dinner. They have been seeing wolves regularly. Also some of the staff who walk our trails have seen large prints that look like dogs but couldn’t be. I have my camera and hope to capture one of these with the camera. Hopefully I will have better luck than the moose.

With open water we have also seen otter at the dock. Today there were three of them playing around. Just in front of the dock house there is still a little bit of ice. One of the guests watched as an otter brought a fish up onto the ice. It quickly became breakfast for the otter. It is a real bonus for all of us to see these animals right in front of the lodge.

Not to be left out are all the deer that have appeared as if by magic. Bruce put some corn out at our house and 6 deer appeared immediately. Someone dropped corn right at the front door of the lodge. This morning there was a deer feasting on the corn. Pretty soon they will be eating out of our hands.

It is amazing how many animals we are seeing. I don’t remember this many (except the deer) in years past. What a blessing they are.

Christmas 2011

As Sheryl’s picture taken yesterday morning shows, we are still waiting for the lake to freeze over. It all comes down to clear skies, no wind, and low temperatures. Eventually we get it all together but patience seems to be the word this year.

The snow is doing a little better. We have about 5-7 inches depending on where you are on the trails. Adam has been able to do a few dog sled rides on one of his trails. Tomorrow we are due to get some snow. It is always hard to figure out exactly what that means but we will hope for lots of inches. All the ski trails have been rolled and are ready for a few inches on top to smooth them out a little more.

On Sunday we had two sets of guests check in after seeing moose on their drive up. One saw a huge bull moose somewhere near Loon Lake. The other couple saw a cow and a young bull somewhere down the Trail. So on Monday when I drove to town, my camera was right up there in front. I saw 5 birds. From way last year my goal has been to take a picture of a moose out the car window and send it to Grandson Grant. I have lots of moose pictures but this was going to be one I took myself from the car. The most common reason I don’t have the picture is because I forget the camera. When I finally get the picture, I will share it with you.

As the holidays approach, the pace is picking up at the lodge. Once again we have more guests coming in than in 2010. Also Don is making the bistro and Justine’s more popular for everyone. Some nights I wonder where all the people have come from.

All my Christmas cookies are gone. I made ten different kinds so each person on the staff could have a plate of cookies. Then the extras were sitting around our house. They all went down to the lodge and out for the guests. Bruce and I would have eaten every single one of them otherwise. My waistline breathed a sigh of relief when the last cookie was gone.

I think I am ready for Christmas. The food I am bringing for Christmas Eve dinner is ready. The menu is planned and purchased for Christmas Day. The guests are invited. The house is decorated. As usual there will be some last minute pickup and cleaning. It will be a very lazy day. Our main project will be to answer the phone and eat too much.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you.

Ice Skating

Bruce and I are home from the latest round of conferences and we are both very glad to be home. The best part of the latest trip was catching up with Brian’s family in Sacramento. Grandson Sam had his school’s Christmas concert the night we were there. He and another alto sax player had a duet of Frosty the Snowman. Naturally, it was perfect! Amy and Max are both growing like weeds.

The lodge and grounds are now decorated up for Christmas. Here is a picture of the dining room Christmas tree. The festive atmosphere made a great backdrop for our staff Christmas party last night. Only problem was that I ate too much. I think everyone else did too.

Over the weekend one of those rare events occurred that locals are thrilled with. I called my friend, Kathy, on Seagull Lake to confirm the event. On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday the ice on Seagull was perfect for skating among the islands. Kathy told me that she went out each day for several runs. No one up here can skate too long because we rarely do it. The ice was solid but you could see through it to the rocks on the bottom of the lake. Her husband, Mike, was busy looking at where water lines went in. Mike is a builder so it was fun for him to see the lines. They also saw anchors and lures on the bottom. Surprisingly, they did not see a single fish. Seagull is a great fishing lake so where did they all go?

Kathy also told me that they were able to do a little ice skating right after Thanksgiving. Not as big an area was frozen but it was perfectly safe. She said that you could skate on safe ice but see the waves breaking on some open water not that far away. It was a little weird to skate and see the waves at the same time.

I should add a disclaimer: Don't do this unless you have good advice from local people who know the ice conditions. It was be really treacherous.

On this Sunday Mike decided to fly over the area to see where the ice was or was not. The west ends of Seagull and Saganaga were still open. Those have the largest area of open water that is not broken up by islands. The east end of Clearwater was also open. Mountain, Arrow and Pine Lakes were also open as is Gunflint.

With snow yesterday and today, this fleeting opportunity for lake skating is over. If everything holds, there will be a chance to easily ski on the lake. If we get too much snow, it will push the ice down and slush will form. I am always fascinated by the effects of ice and snow on lakes.

Meanwhile we are anxiously waiting for Gunflint to freeze. As I type this, I can hear the wind blowing outside. We need some time with no wind. Kathy and I have both seen the ice just freeze a lake over once the wind dies down. Hopefully, that will happen soon on Gunflint.

Preparing for the Holidays

Animals are continuing to appear around the lodge and our homes. Dave Schudy had a wolf hanging out by his truck a couple days ago. Yesterday I saw my first deer at our house. Then last night there were deer down by the lodge. We don’t start feeding deer until after the hunting season is closed. Even then we don’t get a lot in until the lake is frozen. That big lake gives the deer a great escape hatch if there is too much activity at the lodge. We will see if more deer come in tonight.

As part of my last blog, here is a one of a kind picture – me sewing. Don’t get excited about the sewing machine in the background. It’s Melissa’s. The only sewing machine around here is the one we use for repairing tents! I have been told that the machine is not acceptable for dolls. At any rate the doll is now wrapped up for a little girl’s birthday.

Since Bruce and I leave tomorrow for a week, I have been rushing to get everything ready for Christmas. My halo is showing and it’s very shiny. Christmas cards are in the mail. All the grandkids (8) are taken care of. Plans are in the works for each child’s (well, adults with spouses) gifts. The staff’s presents are wrapped and ready for our party on the 14th.

Meanwhile our weekends are busy at the lodge. We are the only restaurant open on the Trail at this time. If you drive up for lunch, the Red Paddle is the only game in town. I think that other restaurants open on the 26th. Christmas Day is the only day of the year that we do not serve any meals.

Everyone on the staff is busy stringing lights for Christmas. Jacob has put lights on probably twenty trees down the driveway and on the patio. The girls are going crazy around the front desk. We are saving the trees for the main room and Justine’s to be decorated by our guests. The guests will also be making wreaths for each cabin. It is a very festive time at Gunflint.

I am not going to write any more. The clothes for our trip are sitting on the bed. Some of them need a touch of the iron. The plan is to get everything packed before we go down to the lodge after dinner. We leave at 6:30 tomorrow morning.

Good luck to everyone with their holiday planning and shopping.

In Between the Holidays

Thanksgiving has come and gone. We had about 150 people for dinner including our staff. Don and his crew did a great job with the menu and with exceptional service to all our guests. At the end of the night we were all stuffed.

Two of our neighbors on the side road, Roma and Peter, came down for Thanksgiving dinner. As they were driving down, Peter looked in the rearview mirror. Behind him on the road was a huge wolf. He particularly noticed the big bushy tail the wolf had. Compared to when I first moved up here, we see a huge number of wolves. I was living here for several years before I saw my first wolf.

All our snow melted early last week. Then on Saturday we got four inches of new snow. It is beautiful. Adam has been out grooming the dog sled trails. Jason has been out grooming the ski trails. It was a wet heavy snow that packed down really well.

Gunflint Lake is still totally clear of ice. Even the bays have not started to freeze over. With temperatures in the 20’s, we need colder weather to get the water closed to 32 degrees. As it is, the lake has not even been steaming much lately.

This week I participated in an event I rarely do. My friend Melissa helped me sew a doll for Granddaughter Mae. Mae loves her dolls and I got this insane idea that a good grandmother would make her one. One of my friends advised me to make two sets of clothing so Mae could change the doll. I just groaned.

Looking on the internet I found a pattern for a doll that was sized to wear preemie clothing. It was my salvation. My friend Bev took me shopping at JoAnn’s Fabrics. Bruce came too and followed us around for an hour or longer. Bev made sure that I got everything.

On Monday I was over at Melissa’s and ready to get this project going. The pattern called for stretchy fabric. Melissa quickly named the fabric “stretchy shit” as I struggled with it. Finally we replaced the stretchy stuff with muslin. Life proceed much more quickly and pleasantly after that.

It took all day but the doll is almost finished. I still need to draw on the face. That is almost as difficult as making the doll. I am fairly good with words but not drawing. It is going to take some practicing. Luckily Mae will only be two on her birthday. I hope she likes the doll. I think that this will be my last sewing project for a bit.

Bruce and I leave next Sunday for a national outfitting convention in Reno. The convention is only three days long but it takes us two days on each end to get there and back. Sometimes living up in the woods can be a pain.

Thanksgiving

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

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

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

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

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

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

The End of Fall

Bruce and I are home from a long driving trip. We visited family, attended conferences, and checked out other resorts. It was 4500 miles of new things to see. My own bed felt good that first night. Now I am in the midst of putting everything away and washing clothes. Another pleasure is to eat some home cooked meals. Restaurants are fine but we get tired of them. With so much restaurant food, the bathroom scale was not my friend.

There has been some snow while we have been gone but most of it has melted. Last Thursday we had three parties check out after fresh snow. Two of them ended up in the ditch going home. This is a common occurrence after the first slippery snows of the season.

Here at Gunflint we are into that gray time between fall color and snow. Some of the smaller lakes on the Trail have already frozen over – Swamper and Iron Lakes are two of them. Gunflint Lake is nowhere near freezing. In fact this weekend one of our guests took a sauna and then plunged into the lake. He said the lake was warm but I don’t believe him.

It is deer hunting season. Bruce hopes to get out this coming week. Our traditional meal the first night after Bruce gets a deer is pan fried heart for him and liver for me. Meanwhile more interesting stories are coming in about other hunting experiences.

Perhaps the most unusual came from our neighbors. Father and son were out hunting one morning. Suddenly a doe came running at full speed in front of them. Before they could catch their breaths, eight wolves came chasing the deer. It was quite a thing to see. We rarely see wolves actually chasing deer. Many hunters tell me that these unexpected happenings are some of their favorite parts of hunting.

My rabbits around the house are still changing color. They now have white feet, white ears, and a white belly. The back is still brown but that should change fairly soon. Bruce thinks they would be good for stew but I keep saying that I am not cooking them.

Yesterday we had our winter hay delivered. Mandy always buys enough hay in the fall to get us through until next year’s crop comes in. Because our hay barn has only three sides, the deer often find it a great place to feed all winter long. As the picture above shows, Mandy is set on outwitting the deer this year. There is a wall of hay stacked to the roof. In front are obstacles to any feeding from that side. By spring we will see who won – Mandy or the deer.

As I sit here typing, the sun has disappeared behind some clouds. In the west it looks pretty gray. Perhaps tonight will be the night we get out first snow that stays with us all winter long.

The

Last Projects and a Long Trip

This is going to be one of my quick blogs. The Vikings and Packers are playing soon. The odds are really against the Vikings but I still like to watch the game. While it is on, I am making applesauce. I have some Haraldson apples which will be good. Then I have two pair of pants to hem. Not my favorite job but that’s life.

The lodge is still running pretty full. Our meal business has slacked off because there are not a lot of people on the Trail. As much as I would like to be busier, we are all tired and ready to slow down a bit. Most of the guests are spending their time hiking and relaxing. It is cold and rainy today so the lake doesn’t look very appealing. The last week has been warm and lovely but we still don’t have a lot of people out on the lake. The horses leave tomorrow.

My rabbits are still turning color. They now have white feet, white ears and a white back. The stomach must turn white last. Bruce keeps telling me that we are going to have rabbit stew but I won’t cook it so that ends the talk.

Yesterday Bruce was out on the final harvest in the garden. He cut the last of the chives and parsley and took it down to the kitchen. The next job was to dig up the last of the carrots. I never expect as many as we get. It took me 45 minutes to just wash them all. Tonight I will oven roast them for dinner with a baked potato and grilled lamb chops.

On a cool damp day like today, our fireplace will be cranked up. It seems to add much more to the room than just heat. My job is to keep the wood box full. Bruce splits most of the wood by hand throughout the winter. He enjoys doing it. Then daughter Shawn brings up a nice load of hardwood for Father’s Day. We do pretty well with all of it.

One of my fall projects is placing the spring flower orders for us and many of the neighbors. Ronnie Smith, our gardener, does our order and I gather from the others. As I am typing this, it dawned on me that I forgot to order some new strawberry plants for our garden. Not getting those would be a tragedy. Not to mention that I would be in big trouble with Bruce.

You are not going to hear from me for several weeks. We leave tomorrow for the Minnesota Resort Association fall conference. Bruce is giving a talk on packaging. Then it is down to visit Lee and his family in the Twin Cities. Robert, Miranda, and Zach come next in Missouri. Then it is off to see some friends’ resort near Ponca, Arkansas. Then we visit another friend in Missouri. The next hop takes us out to Hendersonville, North Carolina, where my sister and brother-in-law live. Finally our last stop is the outfitters convention in Sandusky, Ohio. We will be home about November 11.

Needless to say, we will be glad to be home. My butt is going to be sore from sitting in the car.

RAIN!

It’s raining! About midnight last night we started to get some rain. It kind of drizzled and dribbled throughout the night. Then this morning we have received some heavy showers. Hopefully more will come during the day. One day like this will not be enough but it is a start. All the lake levels are low and we really need this rain.

The work on the Pagami Lake fire continues on. As of this morning the Forest Service says the fire is 87% contained. In some areas they are even beginning mop-up operations. Part of this is to haul back out all the unneeded equipment. At the end of big fires there is usually a huge pile of wet hose to be dried. It is all part of the process.

I worked at Chik-Wauk Museum yesterday. Around noon we had a very excited couple come in. They had just seen a huge bull moose by the Seagull Creek area. You can’t imagine how excited they were. The woman said she was still shaking. When I got home, Bruce told me he had heard that there was a bull moose courting a cow moose in that area. Of course, I saw nothing when I drove home. It all goes back to being in the right place at the right time.

Bruce and I drove home from the lodge the other night and saw a rabbit in the driveway. We often see rabbits around the house. This one, however, had white feet and white ears. It is just another sign that winter is coming. I think that the next part to change color on a rabbit is its belly. We will see.

The other night we went to dinner at Hungry Jack Lodge. It was for the 75th anniversary of the Gunflint Trail Association. About 70 people attended including owners, employees and past owners. During the evening we exchanged stories and memories of Trail years. Everyone also brought a poster with some information about their business. Lisa Wagner was there to video many of the stories to save for the 100th anniversary.

The GTA is the second oldest tourism organization in the State of Minnesota. We have had our differences but have also found that we can accomplish much more by working together than by fighting. In recent years we have worked to get ambulance service, a fire department, Fire Wise protection around homes, trees replanted, advertising to bring guests in. The list is endless. Most of it could never have been done by working alone. I wish Congress would learn that lesson.

I can still hear the rain outside. It is a really gray day but just what we need. This rain will take down the last of the leaves. The only fall color left is the needles on the tamarack trees. They will be gone soon. Then we will wait for the first snowfall.

Fall Days

My thanks go to Mark and Jeanne Scharf for today’s wolf picture. They checked into #27 early last week about 3:00 p.m. As they were about to walk down to dinner, Jeanne saw the wolf thru the window in the front door. Out came the cameras and the rest is history. I have since heard that a wolf has been hanging around the public landing on Gunflint. It could be the same one.

Two days after the Scharf’s arrived, more incoming guests saw a wolf as they were driving up the Trail. Up until the last few years, we never saw wolves. I am assuming that these and other sightings are the result of a larger wolf population.

The Pagami Lake fire is winding down. The Type I Incident Management Team has just been replaced by a Type II Team. This is a very typical event as containment of a fire increases. As of today the fire is 71% contained. We have not smelled any smoke for a couple of weeks now.

The Forest Service has completely lifted the ban on camp fires, but we still need rain. Those of you familiar with the beaver pond on the Round Lake Road will be surprised to learn that it is totally dry. Several days of a nice gentle rain would be wonderful.

This past week the ladies from Always An Adventure were with us for four nights. This group has been with us for about 14 years. They are here to get out and explore the area no matter what the weather. It was raining the day their boat trip to Bridal Falls was scheduled. Even so 20 people went on the trip. One day they canoed into Ham Lake. Another day a group of them went into Stairway Portage. There were also individual hikes they organized on their own. It is fun for us to host a group that wants to get out and enjoy the woods.

Speaking of enjoying the woods, Bruce and I did a little of that yesterday. It was a beautiful fall day so we decided to go partridge hunting in the afternoon. We spent 4 hours driving back roads until my insides were like jelly. We stopped at one of the neighbors to see the construction of their new house. During the drive we got three partridge. While it is nice to get the birds and we would have liked more, just being out and about is what we enjoy doing. It was certainly better than watching the Vikings lose their fourth game of the year.

Lunch was very busy today. Adrian, Don and I kept running for about 3 hours. Since the weather was cooperating, most people wanted to sit on the porch. We would have all enjoyed sitting on the porch too. It is the perfect place to be on these fall days. Winter is coming and the porch will soon be covered with snow.

September Events

We had three weddings at Gunflint in September. They were all quite different which made it fun for us. Here is a picture of one of them. Weddings are good business for Gunflint but we are all glad when the last one is over. Perhaps the biggest effort goes into moving furniture in and out of the main lodge. Yesterday as everything came back to normal, we all heaved a sigh of relief.

With no weddings Bruce is now freed to go back to his first love – tearing out old buildings to make room for new buildings. This year we are removing our oldest canoer cabins at the outfitters. They will be replaced by nine very small individual canoer cabins. Although the guests will still use the outfitters shower house, the cabins will have four beds, insulation, heat (for May and October), ceiling fans, refrigerators, gas grills and screened porch. It will be a nice upgrade for our canoeing guests.

So here is a picture of Bruce on his backhoe tearing out buildings. Today he is down working on the foundation pads for the cabins. We need nine and don’t want them to be in just a straight line. Ronnie Smith (our gardener) and I have been working on shrubs, trees and flowers to help with the landscaping next spring. It is always fun to have new projects.

The Pagami Lake fire in Ely continues to smolder. As of today the Forest Service has it 53% contained. Yesterday the planes worked hard to put out flaming hot spots. The tally is 267,000 gallons of water were dumped on hot spots just yesterday. Realistically, the fire will not be totally put out until the snow flies. There is nothing like a layer of snow to melt into those hot spots and finally put them out.

This last week fall color has hit the Gunflint Trail. We had rain (whoopee!) for several days and then the sun came out Saturday afternoon. I celebrated yesterday by working on my iris bed. Got everything dug up, the soil roto tilled, everything respaced and planted. Today I will work on planting some new irises I just got. Of course, last night I paid the price for crawling in the dirt. Out came the Advil bottle.

The fall color is only one of the changes around us. Although I still hear loons at night, there does not seem to be as much calling. Saturday I saw a flock of snow buntings on the road. They just migrate through our forest on their way south (or north). The partridge season is open but we have not gotten out nor have we seen any birds. There are lots of bunnies around the house but they have not yet started to turn white. They start with their feet so I will be looking carefully.

My garden is pretty much finished. I still have to dig up carrots. I will also cut all the parsley and dry it for winter use. Hopefully I will have time to pull out all the dead plants to clean things up for next summer. Pulling them makes me think of all the great fruits and vegetables we got from the garden.

October comes Saturday. Where did the summer go?

Fires and a Trip

The BWCAW has been making lots of news with the Pagami Fire. Having been through fires, I don’t envy anyone going through it now. Except for a little smoke several weeks ago, we have had no effects from the fire. According to today’s press release, the fire is now 19% contained. Yesterday we had overcast, drizzle, and rain all day. I am sure that this really helped with the containment. Today is clear so the planes can fly again. This will add more space to containment.

There was a small (7 ½ acre) fire up by Seagull Lake. The Gunflint Trail Volunteer Fire Department and the Forest Service jumped right on it. Without their great work, it could have become a big problem. The equipment that the GTVFD brings is these fires is partially paid for by receipts from the canoe races in case you are wondering why we do those races year after year. It took 2 ½ days to get the fire dead out. Remember this fire the next time canoe races come along.

I have missed most of the fire news because Bruce and I were out of town. We went with our friends Tom and Melissa to explore the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Five nights were spent in a rented house in Brevort which is just out of St. Ignace. Then we took two days driving back along the south shore of Lake Superior

The first day there we took the ferry out to Mackinac Island. After lunch we rented bikes for the 8 mile ride around the island. Don’t let the happy faces of Bruce and I on our tandem bike fool you. Our marriage would not survive another tandem bike ride. I can only see Bruce’s back, I can’t steer, and I can’t brake. Letting go of control is not something I do easily or graciously – Bruce calls it whining! After the bike ride, we visited all the fudge shops on the island.

Other days were spent exploring the area and hiking. We hiked 2-4 miles each day. The trails were easily but I still huffed and puffed my way along. Surprisingly we never met anyone else hiking on any of the trails. Even though most of the tourists were gray hairs or honeymooners, I would have expected there to be some hikers.

Driving home we stopped at several spots at the Picture Rocks National Shoreline of Lake Superior. My favorite spot was the Log Slide. The entire lake shore was made up of sand dunes that rose 300 feet above the lake. During the logging of white and red pines in this area, the huge logs were sent down sand chutes to the lake. It took a log 10 seconds to make the 500 foot trip! Needless to say, we did not climb down to the lake there.

I also learned a new bit of trivia – Mackinac Island is located in which of the Great Lakes? It’s Huron which I never would have guessed.

Weddings

Luckily our guests keep sending me the most amazing pictures. This one comes from Jane and Tom Fischer. They took this from their canoe as they paddled across Gunflint. As they said, there is almost a surreal quality about this picture.

I don’t have a lot of time to fix dinner tonight. Bruce is going to suffer with the last of the fresh broccoli and sliced tomatoes to accompany the lobster from Florida. I do feel pretty rich when we get to eat a meal like this. Of course, the garden produce won’t be with us much longer.

Last Sunday was a pie and ice cream social at the Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center. They had 300 people go into the museum and went through 30 homemade pies. Five gallons of ice cream went on top of the pies. Even so about 30 people came after every piece of pie was gone. Who knows how many pies we will need next year. My staff was disappointed when I brought home empty pie tins. I will have to make them a blueberry pie one day soon.

Once again I am writing before the weekend because it is going to be really busy. Tomorrow we have a wedding for 150 people. Tonight is the groom’s dinner for 58 plus regular dinner being served in Justine’s and the bistro. Don organized everyone to move furniture out and banquet tables in. As the owner my job is to sweep the floor. Tomorrow I get upgraded to setting tables. Bartender Kacy has been folding “bishop’s hat” napkins for much of the afternoon. After breakfast on Sunday everything will be moved back to normal.

Our final wedding is on the 24th. It is only for 50 people so it should be much easier. That will end the weddings this year at Gunflint. We love to have them but they are a lot of work.

Once again Bruce and I are sneaking away for a few days. This time it is with our friends Tom and Melissa to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. We are renting a house on the north shore of Lake Michigan. There are lots of hiking trails and we also have a trip to Mackinac Island on our agenda. Sleep is another thing on my agenda.

I am going to stop now so dinner will be ready when Bruce gets here. We will be home on the 19th and I’ll write again then.

Animal Sightings

This coming weekend looks to be very busy for us so I thought I best write the blog early. Holiday weekends are always extra busy but this time we have a wedding for 125 people to keeps us going.

Jean Johnson from Carlton, Minnesota, sent me the above photo of a lynx. Jean and her family were visiting us during July. This is really an exceptional picture taken at the Narrows between Gunflint and Magnetic. You can see the international boundary marker on top of the large rock at the right. In all the years I have lived here, I have never seen a lynx. We hear more and more stories of people sighting them but this is far and away the best picture I have seen. It looks like a magnificent animal.

Bruce and I were driving to the lodge one night last week. Right by cabin #27 a wolf walked across the road in front of us. The animal was very tall and thin. His fur was short. We could not decide if he was shedding in preparation for a winter coat or not. There was not an ounce of fat on the animal. Naturally, I did not have a camera with me.

As fall approaches, we are starting to get the garden ready for its winter rest. Tomatoes are ripening and going down to the lodge. I also plan on just dicing and freezing some for winter use. Carrots are big enough to be used and are sweet and tasty. Parsley will soon be picked and dried for winter. Basil is not as pretty now so I will start to use it up too. There might be enough broccoli for one more meal but don’t hold your breath.

There will be plenty of room in the freezer since I am finally getting all the frozen raspberries out to be made into jam. Also 10 cups of blueberries are going into pies for the Chik-Wauk Museum’s Taste of the Gunflint Trail this Sunday. Don’t worry; we still have plenty of berries for winter pancakes, etc. I always have enough blueberries for the winter.

As of this weekend, our guest mix changes. Gone are all the children with school starting. We have lots of adults between honeymooners and senior citizens. The next two months are extremely full with reservations. In fact don’t plan on a weekend trip until well into November. Everyone seems to be coming up here which is great for us.

We are doing a little outside work on our house. On the lake side we are putting in a grassy, open area with a fire ring. I think that this will primarily be used for s’mores when grandkids are here. Somehow I can’t see either of us sun bathing in the afternoon.

Have a great holiday weekend.