Gunflint Stories

Hi Everyone,

If you have stayed with us recently you know that we have a new Gunflint Story every day at the front desk. The stories usually relate to the history or something interesting that has happened here. I thought I would share one of them with you today. I hope you enjoy the story.

Through the Ice!

One of the most terrifying winter events is to go through the ice. On a cold winter day Justine decided to take a snowmobile ride down to North Lake. She drove across the lake to see if Butchie would come along. Butchie had a cold and decided to stay home. Justine went down the lake alone. She went into Little Gunflint, over the portage and down to the rapids between Little North and North Lake. But the ice wasn’t safe along the edge of the rapids where she tried to cross. Both she and her machine went through into the frigid water. Everything was soaking wet. It was well below zero. Justine did not have any dry matches with her.

Luckily the snowmobile was an early model. The seat was connected to the motor by a large pin. Justine took the pin out separating the machine into two parts. She hauled each part out of the water and onto solid ground. Then she put the two parts back together. Now was the moment of truth. Would the machine start up again? It did and Justine took off for home as fast as possible. She almost made it out of Little Gunflint and into the main lake when the snowmobile stopped running. Justine’s figured the water had finally gotten into the carburetor. There was nothing to do but start walking. As wet and cold as she was, Justine had no chance to walk all the way home but she kept on moving.

Meanwhile, Butchie was at home and starting to worry. What if Justine had gotten into trouble? Who would help her? Finally, she couldn’t stand it any more. Butchie put on her outer clothes, started up her snowmobile and took off after Justine. When Justine first heard the faint motor sounds, she thought she was imagining things but after a couple moments Justine could see a small dot on the lake slowly moving towards her and getting bigger. The only person it could be was Butchie.

Butchie quickly saw the mess Justine was in. First priority was starting a blazing fire. Justine took off all her wet clothes to warm up by the fire. The wet clothes were also arranged around the fire to dry a bit. Butchie shared a layer of her warm, dry clothes. After Justine had dried off and warmed up some, they gathered up the still damp clothes and headed for home.

Justine later said that only after going through the ice, do you truly learn to respect it. We might add that sometimes Justine was a slow learner as this was her second experience going through the ice.

Well I hope you enjoyed the true story. Have a good weekend.

Lee

Cabin Renovations

We have rambled endlessly on and on about the cabin renovations (trust me the maintenance guys are sick of me asking when the cabins will be finished). Cabin 21 has been finished for a week or two. Cabin #20 is very close to being finished. Here are the pictures of what # 21 looks like and hopefully what #20 will look like in a couple of days.

If you have stayed in these cabins before you might remember white popcorn like ceilings. Well those have been panelled over with knotty pine wood. We added more lights and fans in the cabins. We also put in fans in both the walkin shower and in the toilet room.

Below is the new showers we installed. They have 4 or 5 shower heads at different heights to make sure all of your body gets clean. The showers are really cool.





















Below is the new rock fireplaces that we built with native stones. Dad spent about 8-10 days working on each fireplace. These are also really nice. We make sure there is lots of air going into the fireplaces so when you close the doors they will have enough oxygen to burn for a long time. Plus we have been buying more hard wood which will also burn longer and hotter.
















Below is the new King beds with new linen. The beds are very comfortable!

















We have had fewer people using all of the kitchen amenities (like the stoves and ovens) so these new kitchens have the basics (Microwave, freezer, refrigerator, and a sink). Of course you will find glasses, plates, silverware, a wine/bottle opener.





















Well I hope you have enjoyed seeing the cabins. We are currently planning on renovating #22, 23, & 24 this spring so we will have 5 cabins newly renovated for this summer.

Have a great evening.

Lee

new year, new snow, new blog, new cabins

Hi Everyone,

Mom is gone for the week so I'll try to keep you informed about what is going on at your place in the woods. First off, let me wish you a happy new year. I know we are 8 days into the month, but since this is my first time blogging this year I want to say it. When I logged in to post today the website asked me to update the version of blogger I was using...hence the new look. I hope everyone likes it. I tried to pick a look that is pretty similar to the old template. One of the nice things about the new template is that we were able to get rid of the advertising on the top of the blog.

I had received in invitation to tryout the new blogger and accidentally put the ads on the top of the blog. Then I couldn't figure out how to get rid of the ads...so they stayed there until this version of blogger was rolled out. So now we are 100% ad free (except for our shameless links to our websites and packages).

Also I want to say "Thank You" for all of the loyal readers out there. We are constantly amazed at how many people tell us that they read our blog. Once a week someone tells me they have been reading the blog.

Last night we got fresh snow. We got between 1-2 inches. So we were out grooming today and the trails look great. We have all of the ski trails open, the dog sled teams are running daily, and the snowmobile trails are open...oh and for the kids of all sizes and ages you should know that the sledding hill is in great condition! If you are looking for snow, I think we are the only part of the state with enough snow on the ground to participate in winter activities. We have a total of about 8" in the woods right now.

Today was one of those classic MN winter days. It was about 15-20 degrees outside. We had a clear sky and it was really bright outside with the sun reflecting off the snow. It was a beautiful day.

Last winter we regularly say wolves on Gunflint Lake. This year we are starting off the same. For the past week or so every morning a lone wolf is out on the ice between Gunflint Lodge and the point in front of the lodge roaming around the lake. So if you would like to see the wolves while you are up here just come early for breakfast (before 9:00 AM) and you should be able to see him on the lake between Gunflint and the point.

Speaking of winter wildlife, a couple of days ago we were driving home from Grand Marais late at night and we saw 7 moose on the drive home. It was fun to keep counting every time we saw another one. The last two were a pleasant surprise because they were outside of the primary moose zone (the primary moose zone in my mind is between the North Brule and South Brule bridges).

You have heard us talking about the cabins we have been renovating. Well with this new version of blogger I have figured out how to add pictures to the blog (at least I think I have). So I'll try to run into one of the renovated cabins and snap a couple of pictures and post them to the blog so you can see what they look like.

Have a great day.

Lee

Morning Walks

Eva and Lee are attending a Wedding Show in Minneapolis. That leaves Bruce and I to take Tucker on his morning walk. It is a little different when we go.

The first thing is that I always seem to be trying to catch up with Bruce. As a boy, he learned to walk in the woods with Charlie Cook and George Plummer. They only had one pace no matter how much they were carrying. Bruce is the same way and I am always telling him to slow down.

Also Tucker gets lots and lots of sticks thrown his way by Bruce. He and Bruce communicate in a slightly odd manner. If Bruce says, “Sit,” Tucker drops the stick. Who knows how they worked that out. Anyway Bruce is a better thrower than Eva or I. He sometimes tosses the stick in the woods. Plowing through snow for a stick is one of Tucker’s favorite things to do.

With the warm temperatures I have been enjoying one of my Christmas presents. Lee and Eva gave me some ice claws. I just pull them over my boots and have wonderful traction on the slippery road. Except for a little snow on top, the road is pretty much ice. It has been sanded by the county but it is still easy to slide around. And coming down our driveway to the house at the end of our walk is just treacherous. So I will be giving these ice claws lots of use this winter.

The deer have really been out on the back road. Yesterday Eva and I counted 11 deer between the senior Bakers’ home and the road. Tucker is getting very good at just looking at the deer and not chasing them.

We also saw a one antlered deer. He had already dropped the left antler somewhere. I told him to just bang his head on the ground and let that right antler fall off. He didn’t listen to me.

Bob Baker, Sr., has taken this one step further. He built a new feeder to hold corn for the deer. The feeder is built in such a way that any time an antlered deer eats corn, the animal knocks his antlers on the small roof over the feeder. If the antler is at all ready to fall off, it will be knocked off. I understand that this has been successful a couple times this winter.

On our trips to Tanzania, we have seen many antlered animals. We talked about our deer and moose with our guides. These guides just can't get over the fact the our animals shed their antlers every year and then grow new ones. None of the animals of Africa do this.

Down at the lodge they have been seeing a black wolf on the lake right in front of the cabins. It is my guess that this wolf is eyeing our corn-fed deer. Although I hate to see a deer kill, it is part of the natural order of things around here. Neither the wolves nor the deer have any special rights according to Mother Nature.

Snowmobiles and Slush

Happy New Year to all of you!

We got about 3-4” of wet heavy snow yesterday. This morning it was clear and cold with every branch covered with snow. The lake had swirls of snow mixed with bare ice. A blue sky and bright sunshine turned our woods into an unbelievable world. Better yet, the groomers are already out packing and tracking the ski trails.

Looking at the ice with snow on top brought the subject of slush to my mind. This is not the stuff you drink. It is what is formed when new snow lands on the frozen lake. A surprisingly small accumulation of snow adds lots of downward pressure on the ice. Eventually the ice cracks and water comes pouring up forming a layer of slush. This slush is usually insulated from the cold by a layer of dry snow. As long as that dry snow is not disturbed or blown off, the slush will not freeze. The slush does not affect the structural integrity of the ice but it does other things. For example, slush and snowmobiles do not get along well.

Many years ago we had a family with two young teenage girls staying with us during the winter. The girls really wanted to try snowmobiling. Bruce arranged for them to borrow his mother’s Polaris Playmate. For those of you unfamiliar with snowmobiles, this was one of the smallest ever made. Bruce figured the girls could drive it on the lake and not get into any trouble.

Naturally, the girls found the only pocket of slush in front of the lodge. They got stuck and panicked thinking they were going to sink into the lake. Both jumped off the machine and ran towards shore. Then they realized the machine was still running so one ran back to turn the key off! Next stop was our house where they expected to be in big trouble. Bruce just smiled as he put on his coat. They watched in horror as he walked to the machine, started it, and drove it home. Then he sat down with them and explained what had happened.

Usually getting a snowmobile out of slush is not so easy. Robert and Lee put that same Polaris in the slush in front of the lodge another winter. Bruce wasn’t home so it was my job to help get them out. It is important to realize that you cannot leave the machine in the slush. Since the insulating layer of snow is disturbed, the snowmobile and slush will freeze together. Then you have to chip it out.

I knew all this but the machine was still in a big pocket of deep slush. What we did was to turn the machine on its side and clear all the slush from the track and boogie wheels. Then we turn it on the other side and did the same thing. Next we held up the back of the track and raced the motor to spray out more slush. That slush goes all over the person holding the track up – me. Finally we tried to drive the machine out of the slush but it just bogged right back down.

Now we repeated all of the above steps. It was a very tiring and very wet process. This time, however, we brought in branches and wood to prop the machine up out of the slush. Then we made a trail through the entire slush field back to the shore. The plan was that overnight our trail would freeze into a solid ice trail. Hopefully we had cleaned the track well enough that the machine's track would not freeze up.

The next morning an apprehensive trio (the boys and I) approached the snowmobile. It started fine. With a little burst of gas, the track started turning. Whew! Now it was just a matter of driving the machine home. We were all relieved and not a little proud of ourselves for solving the problem.

Gunflint Ices Over

Gunflint Lake froze over on the 26th. It is one of the latest freeze times we have even seen. As a result the lake ice is still not safe. In fact there have not been a lot of really cold temperatures, so we are not making ice fast. Everyone is very nervous about people trying to go on the ice.

Lee had a scare just the other day. One of our guests decided to go ice fishing without saying anything to us at the lodge. Lee saw him just as he was walking out onto the ice and quickly stopped the guest.

Several years ago Eric Thompson at Borderland (now Moosehorn) saw a snowmobile go out from the bridge onto thin ice. The machine and man went through. Quickly thinking on Eric’s part saved the man. Eric laid out a long extension ladder on the ice and crawled out to help the man. I don’t know that I would have had the courage to do that.

Even when the ice is “safe,” it is still possible to go through. As the air temperature changes, the ice expands and contracts. At the coldest temperatures the ice expands until the only way left is up. We will hear a loud bang as a pressure ridge explodes. These ridges can be 5’ high.

Many years ago Charlie Cook, our Native American neighbor, came over to warn us of a pressure ridge. This one had exploded down rather than up leaving a patch of open water. Overnight the open water skimmed over with ice but it was nowhere near safe. Because the lake was “safely” covered with ice, no one was expecting thin ice. Without Charlie’s warning, someone could have easily gone through.

When we look at a lake covered with ice, it is difficult for us to remember that ice is not a static thing. It is continually changing due to the air temperatures, snow load, and unseen currents. Even in the coldest part of winter, it is important to know exactly what you are getting into when you journey across a frozen lake.

As a boy Bruce went through the ice right in front of the lodge. He was quickly pulled out and hurried up the hill to his mother’s house. By the time he had made the 150’ trip, his clothes were so frozen that they had to be cut off. Bruce said it was the coldest he had ever been in his life.

Christmas Past

Like many of you, the Kerfoot family is gathering for Christmas. Eva’s sister, Nan, has flown in. Daughter Shawn along with Husband Kevin, Tanner and Emma drove up yesterday. We have a couple neighbors who will also be joining us for dinner tomorrow. It will be an overflowing table – just what I like to see.

Today I have been thinking about Christmas years ago at Gunflint. In remote areas like this, everyone who would otherwise be alone was invited for Christmas dinner. At Gunflint we always have dinner at 1:00. This allowed our Native American neighbors to snowshoe across the lake and return before dark.

Justine told me that about 12:00 she would see a single file line make its way across the lake. In addition to turkey, Mom always cooked a venison or moose roast. Netowance Plummer did not eat “store bought” meat. Mom figured she must have gotten sick from a bad piece of meat at some time.

Conversation consisted of lots of smiles since Netowance officially did not speak any English. Bruce told me that she would occasionally speak to him in English because he was a little boy and children didn’t count. After dinner, everyone would join around the table and play poker – a game that required a minimum of talking.

By the time Bruce and I were married Awbutch Plummer (Netowance’s daughter) and Charlie Cook, her nephew, were the only Native Americans still living full time on Gunflint Lake. Also by then they did not snowshoe across the lake, they came on their snowmobiles. We still ate at 1:00.

Neither Charlie nor Butchie could read or write but that lack should not be confused with a lack of intelligence or good manners. One Christmas I personally saw Butchie elbow Charlie as she reminded him to use his salad folk. Our friends were very polite and knew as much as we did about good manners. If in doubt as to which piece of silverware to use, they just waited to see what everyone else did.

One year we had a Chicago lawyer and his family for dinner. Bruce explained to Marlin the fact that Charlie did not read or write. He also suggested some topics that Marlin and Charlie might talked about as they waited for dinner. When those were exhausted, Charlie looked for something to read. The only available paper was the Wall Street Journal in the days when it did not have any pictures. Marlin was very surprised to see Charlie calmly looking at the Journal until he realized that Charlie was holding it upside down.

Tomorrow we will have a wonderful day and dinner but I miss having Butchie and Charlie at my table. Christmas dinner was a true treat for them. Once you learned to talk about woods topics, they had lots to say. I knew so little about the woods that Butchie pleasantly treated me like a 5th grade child. Once she told me the names of the trees and she had a story about each one. I could remember them much easier than if Bruce had just rattled off the names.

I am sure that all of you have memories of Christmas years ago. This is the time to bring out those memories and cherish them. Many of the people at those dinners are now gone but we should never forget them. I wish I had paid more attention to the stories those old timers could have told me. They were an amazing group of people.

From the Kerfoot family to your family, we wish you a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

It happened, kind of

This morning I felt like a kid on Christmas morning. I was so excited to see the lake frozen. About 1/2 of the lake has frozen over with only the Canadian side still open.

Here is the link to the webcam so you can check it out yourself http://www.bwca.cc/weather/gunflint/gunflint1.jpg.

When I walked to work today the wind was blowing a little stronger then I would have liked so I'm a little nervous about the wind picking up and breaking up the ice we got last night. Hopefully the ice will stay.

We have been going on and on about the ice for a long time lately. The reason is because it really is symbolic of the beginning of winter on the Gunflint. And with this year, the timing is right on. We have all of the ski trails packed, the guests are starting to arrive for the holidays, and we have started to have some cold nights. Winter has arrived.

Yesterday I talked about the cabin renovations going on in # 20, & 21.

So far we have ripped out the old bathroom, sauna, fireplace, kitchen floor, all of the cabinets & counters, the carpet, and all of the furniture.

We have installed most of the new bathrooms which will feature a private room for the toilet, a new fancy 6-headed super shower by Jacuzzi, and surrounded the shower with tile work. The ceiling has been paneled over and now matches the walls. An awesome new fireplace has been built with local rocks. Ceiling fans have been installed in the living room and the bedroom. New carpet has been laid down in the bedroom.

We have almost finished putting up the paneling on the new bathroom walls. We still need to put in the new cabinets, counters, bathroom sink & vanity, paint the bathroom, put in the living room flooring, and install the kitchen island.

When we build a new cabin or renovate a cabin we always get nervous about finishing in time. This year is no exception! Does anyone have their renovation projects take longer then they expected, or is it just us?

Hopefully we will see you over the holidays.

Lee

Tonight could be The Night!

Hi-

Last night was a close call. When I got to work this morning I saw thin sheets of it being blown down the lake. Right now it is pretty cold out and the temperature will probably be down to the single digits tonight. Best of all we do not have any wind. Tonight it might actually happen.

For those of you who are new to our blog you might not know what we are talking about, but if you have been reading it for a while you know we are talking about the ice on the lake.

The wind has died down, and it is cold out. So I feel pretty confident that the lake will freeze tonight. Check back tomorrow to see if it really happens...or look on our webcam to see for yourself. http://www.bwca.cc/weather/gunflint/gunflint1.jpg

The cabin renovations are moving along. They just finished the tile work in the bathroom and it looks really good. I'll try to post more of the pictures on our website so you can see how the cabin is coming along. We are working on Cabin # 20 & 21.

Here is the link to the cabin descriptions page. http://www.gunflint.com/cabins/cabins.htm

Have a good evening.

Lee

A Sunny Window

The temperature dropped a few degrees last night but the wind also came up. The lake was a charcoal gray mass of waves and whitecaps. I wonder if it will ever freeze. Meanwhile I was freezing on my walk with the wind in my face coming home.

It makes me realize that our Native American neighbors were pretty savvy people when it came to picking spots for their homes. On Gunflint their homes were all on the north side of the lake. It meant the cold, north winds were blocked by the trees behind them. During the short winter days, they also had sunshine the longest.

Now there was a little payback during the summer. They didn’t get the cooling northwest wind. They also were awakened earliest in the morning during our long summer days. Today, however, it seems to me that the north shore is the place to live.

It is interesting how being aware of weather patterns is helpful everywhere. For about 20 years Bruce and I had a home in the Florida Keys. In our first house we lucked into one that faced south and had a usable porch overlooking the canal. We lived on that porch eating meals there even during the winter. It was hot during the summer but the roof protected us from the worst of the sun.

Eventually we decided to buy another house. By that time we were really into this porch living stuff. The difficult was finding a real estate agent who truly understood us. We would tell everyone we wanted a large porch that overlooked the canal and faced south. Many agents couldn’t understand why we dismissed perfectly good homes that did not have these attributes.

We kept looking and finally found a house that fit us. Our second house had a 12 by 40 screened in porch looking south and overlooking the canal. On one side we had an eating table. On the other side of it were two very comfortable chairs for us to read in. Access to the porch was from a four-wide pocket sliding door in the living room and two regular sliding doors from two bedrooms. Because the rising sun was visible from the porch, we spent many early mornings just watching the sun come up. We sold the house but I still miss the porch.

So many people live totally inside their climate controlled homes. We enjoy the outside possibilities during every season of the year. A summer iced tea break on our north porch here is wonderful. When we can’t be out, our windows bring the outside in. The rising sun pouring into our kitchen is wonderful all winter long. The west exposure in my office keeps my orchid plant happy and blooming.

During these winter months, I hope you have a sunny window to bring the outside world into your life.

Christmas Trees

I just returned from a couple nights in the Cities. It is amazing how such a short trip takes so long with getting ready before and putting away after. The net result is that the spare bedroom is truly Santa’s workshop now. I am feeling pretty proud of myself because all the packages are mailed. Just like most of you, I am down to wrapping for people who will be here and baking cookies. Also today I get to decorate the tree.

Lee, Eva, Bruce and I cut trees on Sunday. It was Eva’s first experience actually cutting her own tree. Lee and she had spent part of a trip to Target getting all the necessary equipment for a Christmas tree. Now it was time to cut “THE TREE.” Bruce had already picked out an area of thick balsam that he wanted to thin out anyway. Christmas trees are one of the few reasons I can think of to cut down any tree. This is not a generally held opinion in our marriage.

At any rate the four of us walked around looking at the tops of trees. We always look for a good top and then cut as much off the bottom as needed to get the correct size. The tree must be examined from every angle. The trunk must be checked to make sure it is straight. Because the growth of branches is affected by nearby trees, one not so good side is allowed. That side goes against the wall.

Once the choices are made, it’s an easy job. Just zip with the chain saw and the tree is down. A little trimming and into the garage it does to thaw out. Lee and Eva put newspaper under theirs to soak up the thawing snow. That night they put on all the lights, ornaments and ribbons. On the bottom was a beautiful handmade skirt that Grandma June gave them for a wedding present. The tree looks lovely and I can see the glow in their eyes whenever we talk about it.

After all these years, Bruce and I are a little slower getting the tree up. We also have a few stories about getting trees. My favorite happened one of the first years we were married. On Sunday Bruce went out to cut the tree. I stayed in and was baking cookies. Suddenly the power went out. It was a beautiful, calm day. I thought, “No, he couldn’t have.” But, yes, he could have. The tree fell on the power line. Everyone from us up the Gunflint Trail lost their power. It was the most expensive tree we ever had.

I hope your tree is a pretty as ours. This will not be a stylishly decorated tree. For all I know, it may not even be political correct. Most of the ornaments have been with us for a long time. Many of them have stories attached to their coming into our lives. The tree skirt was a gift from Sheryl, one of our managers. I will have to get geared into watering the tree. It’s not something I remember easily.

But each night I will remember to plug in the lights. They cast such a warm glow in the living room and in our hearts.

Unlimited Stars

The lake is not frozen yet. Bruce and I made a quick trip to Chicago. We expected to see solid ice when we got home but no luck. In the morning before the wind comes up, parts of the lake are skimmed over. As soon as the wind comes up, the skims break up.

We watch carefully for freeze up and ice out. Many years ago Dr. Kenton Stewart of the University of Buffalo started keeping track of this information for lakes across the country. First Bruce’s mother, Justine, and now I received letters with post cards each fall and spring to record our dates.

I asked him once if he could send me a printout of Gunflint Lake over the years. He replied that it’s just on bits and pieces of paper. Dr. Stewart needs an assistant to put all this into an Excel program. Someday he will be able to send the information out to me.

Meanwhile, we look each morning to see what happened overnight. Once it freezes, we watch the dogs carefully for a bit so they don’t go out on the ice before it is safe. Even for us it is tempting to go out but I just think about how cold going through would be.

Once the ice is safe, one of my favorite activities is to go out on it at night. On a clear night to stand and just look up is wonderful. We have so little artificial light here, that the number of visible stars is overwhelming. I feel sorry for city folks who don’t get the star show that we get each night. Somehow unlimited people and shopping doesn’t come close to unlimited stars in the sky.

Decorating for the Holidays

Hello-

Today was the second "work" day of our Holiday Decorating Package. If you don't know about this package here is how it works: guests arrive on Friday, and on Saturday they "work" for a couple of hours (usually 4 hours) by helping us decorate the lodge for the holidays. Then the guests get Saturday afternoon off to enjoy the snow and northwoods. Sunday most of the guests checkout of their cabins but stay on the property to enjoy the facilities until the early afternoon.

Right now the lodge is in it's holiday glory with lots of garland and wreaths up all over the place. This year we bought 1,000 feet of new 16" garland. Somehow the guests have managed to put it everywhere without being overwhelming or overkill. It looks great. The lodge decorating really helps get us ready (and excited) for the holidays because the lodge looks fantastic, the christmas music makes us smile a little more, and the snow on the ground is fresh!

If you are coming up to Gunflint for the holidays I hope you enjoy the decorations as much as we do. If you don't like how it looks, then I encourage you to stay with us next year when we decorate the lodge. I'm only half serious, because everyone loves the decorations.

Seriously though if you are intersted in helping us decorate the lodge here is the link to the package. http://www.gunflint.com/packages/pkg_holiday_decorate.htm This has been a very popular package with families. Many families come back every year so you might not be able to book a cabin unless you plan far ahead. Today I even overheard one family asking a different family about something that happened two years ago. The guests really get to know each other (and so do the kids).

Much to my dismay the lake isn't frozen over yet. It has been cold the past couple of days but the wind was blowing hard enough at night to prevent it from freezing over. Now that the wind has calmed down the temperature has gone up. So maybe it will be cold enough to put a thin layer of ice out there tonight. If I don't post a blog tomorrow you can check out the ice on our webcam http://www.bwca.cc/weather/gunflint/gunflint1.jpg

I haven't made much progress on the Laurna Landvik book, Oh my Stars beecause we had a tourism conference here at Gunflint on my days off. Hopefully on my next days off I will be able to read more of the book.

If you have been here in the past during the winter months you will remember how many deer we have on the property. Well this year is no different. But what is different is that this year we have a 10 point buck roaming around. Hopefully you will be able to see him when you are here.

We are working very hard to finish the cabin renovations we are currently working on. We have been renovating cabins #20 & 21. Here is a link to see the progress http://www.gunflint.com/cabins/cabin20.htm. Believe it or not these cabins will be totally ready to rent for the holiday season. We will post more pictures as soon as there is significant progress to update you on.

I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Lee

Webcam, snow, ice & Books in the Woods

Hi Everyone,
It is snowing at Gunflint Lodge again. We woke up to another couple of inches of snow on the ground. So far we have about 8-9 inches of snow in the woods. Nearly enough to start packing the ski trails. If you would like to take a look at what we are seeing, here is the link to our webcam http://www.bwca.cc/weather/gunflint/gunflint1.jpg.

Right now we can barely see across the lake because that is how much snow is coming down. For most of the day on Saturday we could not see across the lake because it was really snowing hard. Hopefully we won't be able to see the other side of the lake for much longer.

Everyone who lives on a lake has been talking about the same thing for the past couple of days/weeks, "when is the ice going to arrive?". We are getting closer to having a frozen lake. My prediction is that guests who arrive for the second Holiday Decorating Weekend will see a frozen lake. It is a calm cold day today. The sides of the lakes have been freezing up for a couple of days, and we are starting to see chunks of ice floating around in the middle of the lake.

Last year the lake didn't freeze until pretty close to Christmas so we are much further along this year than last year. When the lake finally does freeze is when it feels like winter really has arrived, so we are all still looking forward to the ice and snow.

These are the days we have been talking about for the past 6 months. During the busy summer and fall months, when we are really stressed out, we keep telling ourselves that it is "one day closer to snow". We look forward to this because it gets quiet around here and we can enjoy life in the woods a little more.

Finally I want to tell you about some fantastic authors we got for our annual Books in the Woods package at the end of March. We have Laurna Landvik and Will Weaver. A couple of people really help find the authors. Those people are Lisa Wagner and our friends, Joci Tilsen and Jim Bour, at the Valley Bookseller in Stillwater MN. The three of them work for months to get great authors to come to Gunflint for this fantastic event.

Anyway, back to the authors and their books. I like to read business strategy books, or hi-adventure books by authors like Clive Custler, so when Lisa or Joci tell me the authors I usually have never heard of them. This year was no exception. So I went out to the book store and bought two of Laurna Landviks' books. I just finished Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons. I must admit that the title didn't get me excited (remember I read business strategy and hi-adventure books), but the book was really good. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend it, but don't worry I won't give you a book review because I don't think I'm totally qualified other than to tell you that I really enjoyed the book. Now I am really into "Oh my Stars", also by Laura Landvik. After reading two of Laurna's books I will have to read a couple of books by Will Weaver so I will feel prepared for the event in March.

If you want to know more about the package here is the link http://www.gunflint.com/packages/pkg_books_woods.htm.

Now that I have finished writing the blog I can clearly see across the lake (so it isn't snowing very hard), but the lake it smooth as glass. Maybe it will freeze up today. Maybe we will get snow all day long.

Have a good day.

Lee

It Really is Here

I have been accused of falsely predicting that winter is here. Today I am telling you that it really is here. Yesterday we got 6-8 inches of beautiful white snow. Everything is gleaming this morning with a new coat of snow.

Even during the middle of the night, the moonlight showed us a winter wonderland. As people my age tend to do, I was up wandering around in the early morning hours. Without any lights on, the moon lit up the snow in the yard. It almost took your breathe away.

This morning the clouds have passed. The lake is steaming as it cools down before freezing. The wind had not come up when Eva and I were walking. It looked like there were several places in the middle of the lake where the water might have been skimmed over with ice. Of course, once the wind comes up, these skims will break apart.

In order for the lake freeze, we need a clear skies, calm winds, and cold temperatures. Large sections of the lake must freeze at a time. So now we have Magnetic Lake frozen. Some of the bays like Charlie’s Bay and the Summer Home Bay are also frozen. Next will be the bay in front of Moosehorn. Then the ice may start to work its way across from our side of the lake. My neighbor predicts that the lake will be frozen within a week. I think he is correct.

Last year the final freezing of the main lake happened during daylight hours. It took a bit before we realized what was happening because usually the freezing occurs at night. Throughout the day the ice slowly covered the entire surface of the lake. It was just fun to watch the process as the day passed.

Once the lake freezes, we have a period of time when it is not safe to go on it. Theoretically you can walk on new winter ice when it is only 3 inches thick. None of us would go before it is 4-5 inches thick. At that point we might send someone out to test the ice. We might also decide to just wait another week because there is no rush. The Native Americans who used to live across the lake were traditionally the ones who declared the ice safe. Now we just wait and wait until there is no doubt. The results of walking on unsafe ice (a cold bath at a minimum) make us all willing to wait.

Once the lake is frozen, it is not a static thing. Snow loads and varying temperatures constantly change the ice on our lake. But that is a story for another day. Today we will just enjoy the new snow and steaming lake.