It's Almost Spring!

Before I write anything else, I need to assure everyone from Harlingen, Texas, to Cloquet, Minnesota, and parts in between that Bruce and Sue are fine. It has just been really busy around here. Thankfully, the lodge has been overflowing with guests and meals. Then it is tax time – one of my favorite projects of each year. But the real change has been the Chik-Wauk Museum. As many of you know, Bruce and I have been working with a huge group of people to get this museum open. Everything is coming together but there are lots of last minute details. One big one is making sure that all the names of people are spelled correctly. Another project is the little pieces of text that have to be added here and there. That means I have to write many of them. So be patient with me and eventually I will get blogs out.

The news around here has been the weather. It is unseasonably warm. In fact our snow and ice conditions are where they normally are in the middle of April. None of the ski or snowmobile trails have good snow on them. We have had rain in addition to the warm temperatures and those two have reduced the snow to almost nothing. Here is a picture of my garden. There is just no snow.

On the lake the ice depth has been reduced from about three feet to two feet. Last weekend fishermen were still driving vehicle on the ice but I don’t expect that to happen this coming weekend. Spring ice is very unstable and unreliable. You can be standing on solid ice but a foot to one side is rotten ice and you will go right through. This is because the ice melts by honeycombing with vertical shafts of air. How much honeycombing is in a particular area depends on the currents in the water. All in all, this is a good time to stop going on the lakes.

In spite of the lack of snow, we still have lots of guests coming in. In fact we are practically full this week. On Monday and Thursday we don’t have a cabin open. The dining room has been particularly busy with guests and people just visiting the area.

Last weekend the Mush For The Cure, a fund raiser for breast cancer research, was schedule. The snow and ice were such that no race could be help. Instead the organizers set up an obstacle course. Everyone had a great time. The group raised $28,000 for research which is a huge accomplishment. We were very proud of the fact that Adam Treeful, our fishing guide/cook, was number four on the list of top money raisers. Our dog musher, Don Decker, had his own method of providing dog sled rides. See the picture up above.

Finally I have a picture Sheryl took the other morning. The fog makes it look like we are on the edge of the world. You can just barely see the ice house further out.

Another Week

Bruce and I ran off to Missouri this last weekend. It was Grandson Zach’s 10th birthday. He is growing too fast. The top of his head is over my shoulder now. Don’t anyone write and ask me where Zach’s picture is. You know how terrible I am about taking pictures. Right now he looks pretty funny because there is a green cast on his right hand from his arm pit to his knuckles. He fell into someone while running backwards. Zach is now learning how to eat with his left hand. Because of the bend in his cast, any food he tries to get into his mouth with the right hand ends up on his left shoulder. The best news is that it was a clean break and he is healing well.

We missed a very busy weekend at the lodge. Don Decker had three dog teams up giving guests rides. Here is a picture of one of the runs on the lake. They also had runs in the woods. By the end of the weekend the dogs were pooped. It is truly amazing how those dogs love to run. When you start to hook them up to the sled, every one of them is barking, “Don’t forget me! I’m over here.”

In addition to all the dog team activities the local snowmobile club had a fun run up the Trail with stops at several places. I understand we had some riders also stay for lunch. The dining room and kitchen staff were kept fairly busy for part of the afternoon.
This weekend looks like it is going to be really busy. The cabins are full. I can already hear fishermen going out on the lake. In addition to our guests there will be lots of visitors in for lunch. The entire staff gets into it when we are this busy. The lodge just hums. We are very lucky to have a group of people working for us who get as excited as Bruce and I do when there are guests all over the place. It is just more fun when it’s busy.

While the lodge is serving meals, our construction crew is busy on Cabins #26 and #27. I took a picture today of Jordy Kirk in #27. Jordy is heading up the construction crew and doing a wonderful job. Those of you who stayed in old #27 need to take a look at the windows in new #27. The view of the lake is stupendous. Also the living room and kitchen are so bright and cheery.

On Wednesday Bonnie and Sheryl are going to Duluth to order furniture. They have their list and they will be checking it twice. Some salesperson is going to be very happy to see them. There will be a lot of furniture in those two units. We have also been talking with Jeff Boutin who does our carpet for us. This time the cabins will be getting 18” squares of carpet. It will be a different look but you will really like it.

So life moves along here at Gunflint.

What Shall I Write Today?

A new piece of furniture arrived on Sunday for the main lodge. It is a new buffet for our coffee service. This picture does not do it justice. The wood is white pine, red pine, birch bark and black spruce. It was hand made by a small company in Two Harbors. They delivered it and put it together for us. Heaven help anyone who spills anything on it!

If you are not up here now, you are missing some of the most beautiful days and nights this winter. The last storm has left lots of snow hanging on the branches of our trees. The full moon is just reflecting off of all this snow. People are just out walking and soaking in all the beauty. Even looking out my office window, I can’t get over how wonderful everything looks.

Wolves are still coming around regularly. Yesterday Bruce and I looked out our kitchen window only see some scat left by a wolf during the night. I can’t say that I am out to get wolves because they kill deer. It is all part of the pecking order in nature. This year (both summer and winter) we have suddenly had a great increase in wolf sightings. You know they will not hurt you. There is, however, something deep within us that shudders when we see a wolf.

As you might guess, sometimes I run out of things to say. Today is one of those days. I’m wondering what Justine might have done today. It just so happens that I have a diary that Justine kept during the winter of 1936-37. I don’t know why she kept it as we have no other diary of hers. The guess is that she kept it because people were always asking what she did all winter. So here is what she wrote:

Wed, 2/3/37 Parade in evening & went with Bub & Ed & Wanda to hear Rudy Valee & see the queen picked & crowned. Met Steven & went to their house to see their movies of the north
Thurs, 2/4/37 The day of the Hook En Cow shindig – we did not go down, aired the dogs & did some errands. Out to Ed’s folks for supper.
Fri, 2/5/37 Parade in evening
Sat, 2/6/37 Contacted Bradley & aired the dogs – Final parade in evening. Went to St. Paul Hotel to meet Paul
Sun, 2/7/37 Drove back from St. Paul with all the puppies & sled in a small blizzard – Only had to air the dogs once – Had lunch in Duluth

The background is the Bill and Justine were invited down to bring their dog team to march in the parades for the St. Paul Winter Carnival. They were paid a modest amount but really needed the money. The only way they could transport the dogs was in their small car. I seem to remember that the dogs wanted to fight quite a bit in the car. It must have been like bringing three teenagers..

Of course, the dogs were not used to being in the city. They wanted to go lots faster than the parade was going. Luckily Mom had thought this might happen. She had run the team the previous day to try to tire them out. The only place she could find to run them was in one of the St. Paul cemeteries – no traffic in there and lots of roads. They left on Sunday to go home. I think all were glad to get back in the woods.

An Unusual Phone Call

Last week we received about nine inches of snow. It was truly welcome as our trails were starting to get a little bare. This was a wet heavy snow that is packing into some beautiful ski trails. Unlike most snows, however, we have not been able to just go out and pack the trails. The snow was so heavy that trees and shrubs were over laden and came down on all the trails. Since then we have had crews out with nippers and chainsaws clearing. At times it has been 4 guys for a day. Once a trail is cleared, it is groomed and tracked into a beautiful ski route. But we are not finished yet. The last two trails are Ham Lake and Lonely Lake. The guys hope to get them finished during the early part of the week. The ones that are now open are worth all the work that went into clearing.

You can imagine how many times we answer the telephone here at the lodge. So last Sunday night I picked up the phone and gave my line, “Gunflint Lodge, this is Sue.” Someone on the other end gave his name and then said, “Do you know Ben Gallagher?” Well of course I do. He is the man who bought an island in Magnetic Bay in the early 1920’s (before the road to Gunflint) and turned it into a lovely summer home. Bruce and I have lots of stories about Ben and his wife during the almost 50 years they summered here.

Imagine my surprise as I listened to this man tell me that he was working on a book about Ernest Hemingway (The Ernest Hemingway) and guns that he had owned. Investigating letters in the Hemingway collection at the JFK Library at Harvard, he came across some letters from Ben Gallagher to Hemingway. Apparently the two of them had known each other in Paris during the late 1930’s. Ben was working for a U. S. Bank in Paris and would hunt with his friend “Hem.”

One letter written in July of 1938 reads like Hemingway was planning to visit the island. Unfortunately a lightening fire destroyed the main cabin. Ben, his wife, Mama (with the accent on the last syllable), and the servants were leaving to go see what had happened and to start rebuilding. They hoped to have things in shape for Hemingway’s visit in September.

What brought the researchers to us was the ending of the letter. There Ben gives the address of where to write to him – Gunflint Lodge, Grand Marais, Minn. Roger Sanger, the caller, found us on the internet and decided to make a call. Probably only Bruce or I would have been able to help him.

We have all heard about everyone being three degrees of separation for anyone else. Well, I am TWO degrees of separation from Ernest Hemingway. So there!

January Flies By

Another week has flown by us. I am getting used to writing 2010 on letters and checks.
The lodge is quite busy with guests. Last night we got a new snowfall which was welcomed by everyone. We have sunshine today and the lake is just glistening with the new snow. As I sit writing, I can hear an occasional snowmobile going by on the lake. Ski trails are in good condition. With the warmer temperatures, people are out and about each day.

This weekend the lake trout fishing season opens on the U. S. side of Gunflint. It all sounds pretty good to me. Bruce and I are ready for some fresh fish for dinner. Living here we are really snobs about fresh fish. If we can’t eat it immediately, the fish is wrapped in saran wrap and frozen in one of those sealer bags that takes out all the air. As nicely as this treats the fish, there is still nothing to compare to eating fish that was swimming in the water just hours ago.
Adam Treeful works for us as a fishing guide in the summer and a cook in the winter. Especially during the winter, he just has to get outside. This fall he built a dog sled. The idea was that his dog, Mick, could be trained to pull the lead. Now he has corralled the house pets of other employees to help pull the sled. So Monster (Jason’s dog), Rudy (John’s dog) and Moose (Mandy’s dog) are now sled dogs. The picture is of Adam with the new team. The next step in this process is to add four dogs owned by Mark Darling on Saganaga Lake. With a team of eight dogs, Adam plans to enter into the Race for The Cure later this winter.

The deer are coming in steadily for corn at the lodge. Today there were even two of them lying on top of the berm next to Cabin #7. All these deer have brought in the wolves. There was a kill about 300 feet on the lake just in front of the lodge. All day long there was a parade of wolves and a flight of crows about the remains. In just one day the deer was totally gone.

Of course, wolves have also been seen as we go about our daily chores. I was driving down to the lodge the other day and one came out of the drive to the stable. It ran along the road to just before Cabin #27 and disappeared into the woods leading to the lake. It was a beautiful animal and I wish I could have taken a picture of it.

There is also a scrawny wolf that is hanging around for the second year. One day last year it was chasing Shadow, one of the dogs at Gunflint Pines. Shadow just made it into the porch a step ahead of the wolf. The wolf is back and everyone is watching their dogs to keep them out of this wolf’s way.

Hope I will be able to tell you about a fresh fish dinner next week.

After the Holidays

With the holidays and one thing and another, I have neglected my blog writing responsibilities. It is time to get back on schedule.

We are in full swing with winter right now. The last week or so there has been a full moon that is just wonderful. You could walk in the woods at night without a flashlight. Living in a rural area we get to appreciate the full moon more than in a city because there are not so many man-made lights all over. Of course with the full moon comes cold weather. Over the weekend it was very still at night with no cloud cover. Our lowest morning was 31 below. That is absolute temperature not wind chill.

With all the cold nights, Don, Jason and Lance went out checking the ice Monday. Don had on his fire department cold water immersion suit. Lance and Jason had the end of a 150’ rope tied to Don’s waist. About 100 feet out they drilled their first hole. The gurgling water startled them all but the ice was 14 feet thick. After about 150 feet they had 9” of ice. In the middle it was 3-5” which is technically safe. I should emphasis that they only checked directly in front of the lodge. We are not sure about the thickness of the ice on any other part of Gunflint Lake. With the cold temperatures we have been having at night, the ice should be safe soon. Our philosophy is to decide the ice is safe to check and then wait a week. After we have tested the ice and determined that it is thick enough, then we wait another week. I can’t blame the guys because they are the ones who have to do the rescues.

With ice on the lake, the deer are coming in fairly steadily. Deer are much more willing to come in when they have a frozen lake as an escape route. Down at our house several come in each morning. We have one four-pointer who has discovered a great eating spot by my kitchen window. I am about to try feeding him corn from my hand. Don’t worry about scurvy because my deer eat all the grapefruit skins – one less thing in the garbage. They also have good potassium levels from banana peels.

The new cabins are coming along fine. They both have roofs and shingles on them. There is insulation in #26 and some on the outside. The heat systems (in floor heat) are being installed. All in all, things are coming along really well on that front. By early June they will both be ready to rent.

Speaking of summer, our August reservations are particularly strong for this time of year. We have between two and three times as many reservations as we did at this time last year. It may be that the economy is picking up a bit but I prefer to think that people are remembering how wonderful a summer week in the woods is. Virtually every other summer month has more reservations than last year at this time. It is going to be a good busy summer.

Just before Christmas Rich Johnson from Upper Lakes Foods, our primary food supplier, came up to give Don and I lessons in pizza making for a wood-fired oven. For some time Rich worked the wood-fired oven at Palamino, a restaurant in the Twin Cities. Of course, it was quite cold out so we started warming the oven the night before and kept a fire in it overnight. Rich really gave us a good review of how to manage the fire, how to not get ashes on the food, how to make the pizza, how to cook it, and how to not make a mess. Once it starts to warm up (read March or April) we will have more practice sessions. By the time we are finished the staff will be sick of pizza.

In a couple of weeks the Chocolate Lovers Weekend will be here again. It occurs January 22-24. The kitchen staff has not let me in on the menus yet but I am starting to diet in advance now. After that weekend, we all can’t face too much chocolate for a bit.

Back At Gunflint

Bruce and I are home again. I got home on Monday the 14th and he got home on the 16th. It was a very long driving trip – Gunflint to New York to Ohio to Texas (the southernmost tip) to Oklahoma City to Missouri to Nebraska and back to Minneapolis. In all we drove just over 5800 miles and 4 of our 16 days were not driving days. Luckily we managed to avoid all the storms coming through.

As usual when we got home, the managers had everything humming along. I’m not sure that they need us for anything. Cabins #26 and #27 are coming along fine. The exterior water and septic are finished. Cabin #26 has shingles and interior walls. The electrical inspector comes tomorrow to OK the rough-in. By Monday the roof on Cabin #27 will be finished. Getting the roofs shingled really takes a lot of pressure off the builders. Of course, Bruce is ready to start renting them.

Gunflint Lake froze on the 16th. Usually it skims over at night but this year it finished icing over during the day. By full daylight we still had open pockets of water steaming on the north side of the lake. At noon it was all covered over. It will be a while before we walk on it. As is usual we will wait until we think the ice is safe and then wait another week. This is definitely one of those moments when it is better to be safe than sorry.

The deer are also coming into the lodge grounds regularly. The guests are amazed at how willing the deer are to eat out of your hands. We don’t seem to have as many deer as usual but we definitely have more wolves than last year. We are regularly seeing wolves on the lodge grounds. It will be interesting to watch the interaction between the wolves and deer.

We have about 4 inches of snow. This afternoon Bruce is going to take the groomer out on the Little Pine Trail to see if guests can ski on it. We are getting very light snow now as I write this. About four inches would be nice but we would not turn down a foot or so.

The pictures above are my latest attempts. The roof is the north side of Cabin #27 getting shingles. I actually took it to send my youngest grandson a picture of our bobcat. The second picture was taken by my neighbor, Melissa. It is of a wolf that was eating corn they had put out for the deer. She took it out her window. You can’t imagine how many deer we have around here.

The lodge is decorated for Christmas. I always think it is warm and cozy with all the garlands hanging. All of us in the Gunflint family wish you and your families a very merry Christmas.

Sugar's Adventure

We had a great Thanksgiving at Gunflint. Don Kufahl and his staff prepared a meal that left us all staggering. There were just over 100 guests plus the staff which brought us up to about 130. Sheryl took a few pictures of the various sections of the buffet table. The one that stopped everyone first was the dessert table. We had Chocolate Bread Pudding, Apple, Cranbery, Walnut Pie, Pumpkin Cheesecake, Pecan Pie and Pumpkin Pie. I noticed that many guest had two desserts. Bruce and I ate one dessert with our meal and then took one home for later.

Later ended up being later than expected. This weekend Bruce and I are dog sitting for one of our neighbors. Sugar is a Great Pyrenees or something like that. She is big (80-90 pounds), white, deaf and old. We are sitters of choice because our house has a heated garage attached to it. When I came down to change my clothes before the dinner started, I let Sugar out. She just wanders around the house for a bit and then comes in. After letting her in, I left to be the hostess with the mostess.

When I got home, it was already dark out. I let Sugar out immediately and went back in the house to prepare her dinner (dried dog food with a little watered down Gerber chicken and gravy) and refill her water. Then I went out to bring Sugar in. She was no where in sight. We decided to wait a bit because she might have decided to walk around a bit more. Remember she is deaf so you can’t call her.

After 1 ½ hours, I have been all over the yard several times. I have gotten the flash light out to check the greenhouse, all the gardens and down by the lake. There is still no Sugar. Panic has not quite settled in but it is close. Finally Bruce goes out and looks all over. He gets in the car and drives around. He goes up to the stables and walks around there. By 10:30 Sugar is missing. Bruce is sure she will be fine. I have imagined every horrible thing that could happen – broken leg, heart attack, wolves, etc. but there is nothing to do. We go to bed.

At 3:30 in the morning, I am up prowling around the house. I have turned on every outside light looking for Sugar. No luck. Now I can’t go back to sleep. So I take my book and go into the spare bedroom to read a bit. Bruce wakes me up at 6:00 and Sugar is still missing. As soon as it gets light, he is out walking all over looking for her. By 7:45 he had to leave for an appointment in town. I take a shower and get ready to start looking.

Meanwhile over at Gunflint Pines, Shari Baker lets her dogs out. They immediately start barking up a storm. She looks out onto the open entryway and sees a big white dog sound asleep. It’s a cold Sugar. Shari calls the lodge and they call me. I walk over because I was going to have to walk Sugar home. I can’t get her into the truck. Shari gets her into Shari’s compact and home we come.

Sugar doesn’t want to go into the garage yet. So I follow her as she takes a little stroll around the yard. Finally we get in and I open the door to the house. After some water and food, Sugar decides to nap in the living room. I couldn’t just put her in the garage so I left the door between house and garage open. A few mice might find there way in but at least Sugar will be warm. We can always trap the mice. Sugar seems fine after her grand adventure.

Bruce and I are taking a little driving trip starting Sunday for two weeks or so. We are going out to New York and Ohio. Then it is down to Harlingen, Texas, with stops in Oklahoma City, Kansas City, Omaha, and Minneapolis on the way home. Who knows how many miles this is but we have six audio books and satellite radio. I should be home on the 14th and will write again then.

Welcome to the Construction Zone

The construction picture was taken just a couple of days ago but is already out of date. The picture is of #26 with the roof rafters on. It now has the roof boards on too. I believe on Monday they will start with tar paper and shingles. Meanwhile #27 had the main cement pad poured on Friday. It was 40 degrees this morning so that is “curing” nicely. Bruce is thrilled to have all the cement poured for both cabins. Although there is nothing to show, the septic system is fully installed so we won’t have to do anything with that in the spring. Next is to put the manhole in for the water service. Looking at all that is done on the new cabins, it’s hard to believe that the fire was on October 23rd just one month ago.

This weekend we had our first package devoted to showing people how to smoke meat. Only two people participated but they had a ball. As shown in the picture, Don and Bruce worked with them smoking ham, turkey, prime rib, salmon and pork ribs. They are each taking a smoked turkey home for Thanksgiving dinner. Last night they all sampled the smoking results. Nothing came back on their plates so it must have been good.

This is the last day of deer hunting up here. Slowly everyone seems to be filling their tags. Some of the stories associated with hunting are most fun. The best one is from our neighbor, Bob Baker, Sr. Bob was sitting on his elevated stand the other day near where he had cleaned a small buck several days earlier. Suddenly A female wolf and five pups appeared beneath him. Even though there was only a smell left from the blood, they all smelled it and then quickly checked out the entire area for any sign of deer. Bob figure this mother was teaching her pups to hunt. They were all larger than she was but if I was responsible for feeding five pups, maybe I would take a couple pounds off too.

Our Thanksgiving dinner is filling up nicely. Right now we have almost 100 people coming. On Monday we will make a quick trip to town for those last ingredients. There are always some unusual items that we don’t normally carry. They are often times the things that make a recipe special.

Speaking of special items, has anyone ever heard of pomegranate molasses? I found this recipe for ground lamb that is cooked with onions, eggplant, tomatoes, spices and pomegranate molasses. Once the meat mixture is cooked, you put it onto rounds of unbaked bread. The edges are folded up leaving a hole in the center. Then the entire thing is baked. It sounds good to me but I can’t find the molasses. Since I don’t even know what it tastes like, it’s hard to substitute. Bruce says just put some molasses with some pomegranate juice in but I am a little more anal than he is. Let me know if you have any information on this.

Those of us in the Gunflint family wish you and your families a very happy Thanksgiving.

One serial story is ending and another continues. Except for the door, the wood fired oven is finished. It looks good. Bruce is happy to have it off his plate. Our main food supplier, Upper Lakes Foods, has a man on their staff who has experience using these ovens. He is going to come up and give us some instructions. It will probably save a great deal of frustration.

The second picture is the new building. You are looking at Cabin #26 and Cabin #25 is at your back. Even now this is an outdated picture. Cavallin Plumbing has been in and put down all the septic and water lines that will go under the main slab. Those have been inspected and approved by an inspector. Today the sheets of foam insulation that go under the slab are being put in. Then Cavallin is here to put the heating pipes in that will be part of the main slab. Tomorrow (no rain, please) the main slab for Cabin #26 will be poured.

Just past the forms for Cabin #26, the two septic tanks have been buried since this picture was taken. Today the lines are being dug to the mound system that will be the end of the septic system. On Monday, the guys will start putting up forms for Cabin #27’s footings. Then the process for #26 will be repeated for #27. Bruce and I are hoping for warm temperatures and no rain for about 10 days. Then the cement work will be finished.

There are, of course, other things going on around here. Last weekend was our first work weekend of the fall. About 40 people helped with all sorts of outdoor chores. The weather really cooperated to make it a fun day. There are three pictures of these workers all though I could have had many more. The projects accomplished included, splitting firewood, splitting kindling, stacking firewood at the lodge and cabins, putting away outdoor furniture, wrapping shrubs in burlap, and washing windows. Another group comes in this week and we still have a list of projects.

Deer hunting has been slow around here. Part of it is due to all those wolves people keep seeing. The wolves appear very healthy and a smaller deer population is the result. The warm weather has also slowed the hunt down. There is no snow on the ground to help with tracking. Bruce went out one day and saw two deer (does which he can’t shoot), an eagle, a fox and some ravens. Our neighbor, Bob Baker Sr., saw a mouse and a squirrel the other day. However, his grandson, Jaret Baker, got a nice 8-point buck.

Thanksgiving seems to be racing towards us. The menu for the lodge’s dinner is planned. We have about 80 reservations between cabin guests and people staying in the area. It is going to be a fun day.

Construction Mode

I feel like I am writing a serial for the movies. As you can tell from the picture, the fire site is pretty well cleaned up. Even today it looks better than this picture. We have also got Planning and Zoning approval for two new cabins. New #26 will be a one-bedroom romantic cabin similar to 4, 5, and 6. The difference is that it will have two queen beds in it. We have had requests from couples who prefer two beds but like the romantic cabins. New #27 will be a three-bedroom cabin similar to #9. It is going to have an entertainment room with comfortable seating and a big TV for viewing movies. It will also have an outside hot tub like we put next to #9 this summer. Both cabins will have gas fireplaces (surprise!). We are also trying in-floor off-peak heating for both units. Our goal is to have both these units finished by June 1st , but we probably wouldn’t start taking reservations for occupancy before June 15th. That may change some as the construction moves along. They will start pouring cement next week so keep your fingers crossed.

The top picture is our wood-fired oven. It is almost done. Bruce has about two hours work to finish the outside rocks. Jason Merrill is almost finished with the roof, chimney coverings and door. The antler sticking out of the right side is from an elk antler that Bruce had in our garage. I think his mother had it and who knows where she got it from. It will be used to hang the tools on.
We made some pita bread the other day in the oven. Of course, the main issue now is learning how to manage the fire and get the oven hot enough at the proper time. We needed 500 degrees for the pita bread and the fire was slow. So when it came time to bake, we had too big a fire. The result was some ash on the bread but it tasted good, rose properly and got brown. Raspberry bushes produce huge berries when they are fertilized with ash but I suppose that has nothing to do with bread. As you might guess the fire was just about perfect when the cooking was done.

The deer hunting season opens around here on Saturday. We don’t get many outside hunters but some of the locals enjoy going out. Bruce plans on going out on Sunday. Between the two of us, we can eat close to one deer over two years.

The weather today is just about perfect for early October. This weekend is the first of two fall work weekends. We are just about full for both of them. It’s a good thing because there are lots of chores to be completed.

The Phone Rang Early One Morning

Life has been a little more hectic than usual around here. On Thursday night I was awakened at 1:00 a.m. or so by Sheryl. Cabin #26/27 was on fire. I looked out my bedroom window and could see the glow from the flames. Even though the fire department responded immediately and did a great job, the building is totally gone as the picture above shows. The most important thing is that no one was hurt.

As I watched the fire burn, my thoughts turned to where the cabin fit in our lives. We built it in 1978-79. Robert tells me he was in kindergarten. It was our first earth-sheltered unit. Bruce says he learned what not to do in the next unit. J. T. McMillion was working for us. He hauled by hand all the cement blocks down from the road to the building site for Bruce to build the foundation with. J. T. is now a senior pilot with Southwest Airlines. I think he got his pilot’s license after hauling all those blocks.

That winter we were really behind in building. Our neighbors, Fred and Lois Mauck, came down to help us. They used to own a recording studio in Davenport, Iowa. At any rate, Fred did paneling and Lois did sealing of the paneling. Bruce and I also worked down there every day. I did some paneling upstairs and help Lois seal the high ceilings in the stair wells. After work, I would make dinner for all of us. I got to the “J’s” addressing Christmas cards that year but never got any further. There was no time. Fred and Lois are both gone now but they were a godsend that year.

Many wonderful guests have used the cabin since then. When Walter Mondale stayed with us after he received the Democratic Nomination for President, he and his family were in #27. We had to run a telephone line to the cabin, after all, he was the Vice President of the United States! His staff also needed the phone line for this fancy new machine they had rented for the campaign. It came in an aluminum case with foam all around it. The machine was a facsimile machine – the first one we had ever seen!

The cabin will live on in our memory even as it is replaced this winter. That’s right – we are into full building mode. As I type Bruce is talking with our contractor. The insurance adjuster has come and gone. On Monday the contractor will come to start cleaning the mess up and putting in the septic system. I am sure that Bruce will have building plans by then. All the managers have their assignments for the new project. The replacement will be two cabins. At the moment after studying Dave Schudy’s statistics on our occupancy, it looks like one one-bedroom and one three-bedroom unit. The applications for building permits are sitting on Bruce’s desk. I will keep you current with what is happening.

Of course, life still going on at the resort. On Saturday we had our wine dinner. It was a sellout with 50 people and went very well. There is a picture of getting the wines set up. This weekend is wild game. Then we have two weekends of work weekend. Those are always fun. During one of them a group of eight women come up to split wood. After working, they retire to their cabin for some adult refreshments. But what a huge stack of wood they leave behind.

I’ll try to write more frequently but time is very short right now.

Back to the Present

The sun is actually shining today. I had given up on it. This past week we have had overcast, rain and snow. All of it comes with green leaves still on the poplar trees. In fact with all the wind, there are still very few leaves flying around. Maybe the sun will get the leaves to change color. The ash trees have changed and fallen. The tamarack are just getting to their lovely yellow/gold color. I quickly stepped out my office door to snap a picture of those green leaves on the poplar trees. That’s the top picture.

Next is your weekly update on the oven. In addition to the physical work on the oven, I have been busy too. Bruce says to just take my regular recipes and modify them but I don’t feel good about it. So I bought two cookbooks and have two more coming. Then there are all the “tools” that you need – ash rake, peel and mop. Got the first one and the other two are coming. Pretty soon I am going to have to produce bread.

Last picture is of the dining room set for a wedding we had this month. It is just to show you that we can dress ourselves up when needed. It really was a lovely wedding. One server spent several hours setting up the dining room tables. Among other things, she polished every glass with a special rag we have.

This weekend is MEA in Minnesota which means there is no school Thursday or Friday. We are full. Next weekend is our fall wine weekend. The menu for Saturday night has a Spanish theme and we are featuring all Spanish wines. On Friday night the appetizers will all be tapas. We still have four spaces open if you can sneak away for the weekend.

As we approach November many of the staff are taking off for other parts of the country and new jobs. Hopefully we will get some of them back next year. I already know Rick and Jean are coming back. Between the beautiful flowers Rick waters and Jean’s smiling face at the front desk, they are always welcome.

Sheryl keeps promising me stories from their canoe trip.

One Day 1850 Million Years Ago

Without much enthusiasm I stepped outside to take the above picture showing you what greeted us this morning. Even knowing it will all be gone soon, I am still not ready for snow. Bruce and I had figured that this weekend would be the peak of fall color. Now it is the promise of what is to come. Sitting here listening to the wind howl, it sounds like a night for a fire in the fireplace.

This picture is an update on the wood-fired oven.

Bruce has actually added more and Lance and Jason have added more insulation to the top. We are going to the Cities this weekend and I am looking for cookbooks.

My final picture is for those who wonder where Bruce spends his days. Well, here he is at his upstairs office. He spends most of the day here hatching up ideas and deals. Right now he is finalizing the summer brochure for next year. A new winter and honeymoon brochures are already out.

Otherwise it is a pretty normal fall around here. Bruce and I have been out partridge hunting three times and have seven birds in the freezer. It will be some great dinners. Our staff has dwindled down so there is lots of work for everyone to do. This is especially true because we are running pretty close to full. You know we are short staffed if I am answering the phone and trying to take reservations. That computer still confuses me sometimes.

Just recently I went on a hike with about 60 residents led by a geologist from the Minnesota Geological Survey. Mark Jirsa is studying what happened in here when a meteorite landed in Sudbury, Ontario, (500 miles away). This all happened 1850 million years ago. As soon as it landed the meteorite vaporized. The fireball arrived in 13 seconds. Then came a shock wave that reached here in a couple of minutes. The shock wave was so forceful that it broke apart pieces of the seafloor. These were later cemented together. Mark showed examples of where this rock (called breccia) is now exposed.

Another result of the impact was the spraying of ejecta from Sudbury to here. One of the best examples of this ejecta is what we now call “Gunflint” rock. Our fireplace in the main lodge is made of it. It took 5-10 minutes for this ejecta to reach Gunflint. In about 40 minutes there was an air blast with wind speeds up to 1400 mph. The final event was a huge tsunami which mixed everything together.

Anyone who knows me knows that I am not a geologist but the above gives you a general picture of what happened on earth one day millions of years ago. We are now working with the Forest Service to build a trail to areas where this fractured rock is visible. There will also be pictures and interpretive information. You will all have to make the hike on your next visit up.

Sheryl and Bonnie have returned from a very successful and fun canoe trip. I understand that an account of the trip will be ready soon.

It Really Is Fall, I Think

It is hard to believe that September is almost over. Part of the problem is that we still have not had any cold weather. Last night Bruce and I even ate dinner with the kitchen door open. We have been leaving the windows open in our bedroom every night. I am getting ready for a really nasty day so that I can have a fire in the fireplace.

Speaking of fires, our wood-fired oven is progressing along. Here is a picture of how it looks now with a batch of insulation around the oven.

Today Bruce started putting the face rocks on the base. He will work his way up and put a couple ton of rocks on it.

Yesterday morning Bruce got impatient like his mother often did. He decided that the oven was far enough along that we could try to bake some bread. In the afternoon I made up my favorite recipe for flat bread. The guys kept a fire going in the oven all morning and afternoon. About 3:00 p.m. I went down with my bread rounds. We put some more wood in to heat the oven up. Eventually the bread went in. It cooked just fine but I think the oven was not hot enough. At any rate our first attempt was not a dismal failure. I will keep you up to date on our progress.

I think fall color may finally be coming. The poplar are starting to turn. The ash have turned yellow. One day I may get out for a hike in the woods myself.

There are, of course, lots of other signs that winter is coming. I saw my first Junco migrating through. The hummingbirds are gone. Haven’t seen any snow buntings yet but they will come. My wood pile is growing bigger. Jason and Lance are cleaning and checking all the heaters in our cabins. Summer staff is leaving and we are spending more time in the kitchen helping out with a little baking and dishes.

Sheryl Hinderman and Bonnie Schudy are out on their annual canoe trip. They left last Monday morning and will return sometime after 10-13 days. This year they went south to Frost Lake and then west on the Frost River. Somewhere in there they got on the Lousy River and then it was north to almost the middle of the BWCA where there are some old growth trees. At the time they left, the girls were not sure how they were coming east again. I will get a full report once they get home.