The Last Day of August

It is the final day of August. The days have been nice and warm but the nights cool. I have to remember to close all the lodge doors about 9:00 PM everynight or the heat may turn on. In the mornings it is cool enough to build a fire before breakfast but warm enough to start opening the windows about 11:00 AM. There is just a hint of color change now on the Gunflint Trail.

Resort Life

Living at a resort is maintenance challenge and a lesson in prioritization and negotiation. In our case, the lodge is on the historic register and the lodge, along with several of the cabins are original log structures and require special maintenance. We try to maintain the integrity of the original structures as much as possible and keep the resort in good working order.

None of us had worked or lived at a resort before so it was an interesting education. If I were to look as the maintenance list as whole, I think I would have a panic attack. So what you do is tackle what you can every day based upon what experience you can hire or have. We have learned a lot! I actually know how the primary pump house supplies water to the cabins! I was a city girl and never even had a septic system before so this was a new thing.

To give you an idea - we have two water systems, 8 (maybe 9) septic systems, water pumps and lift pumps (all different so nothing is interchangable), 20 roofs (not counting the 4 outhouses), water lines, gas lines and septic lines - some buried and some above ground. We have boats, motors, several types of canoes, outfitting gear, laundry room and original log buildings. We have 3 transport vehicles and several work vehicles in addition to our own personal cars.

Our summer staff are real troupers when it comes to helping out with repairs. Two years ago, Nick actually hung upside down in the septic well to change a pump. Travis has encountered all sorts of items to fix and is getting pretty good at the water system. Ed and Erik this summer patched the roof to the staff kitchen.

The photo to the right is of Travis and Ed changing the foot value on the water line into the lake. They had to motor out and Ed took the dive to retrieve the line. Not maintenace is photo worthy but Stephanie snapped a few shots of this one.

Wolf Cubs

It is not often we see wolves in this part of the Gunflint Trail, let alone some wolf cubs sunning along side the road. Ed and Erik took this picture when they were on the way to canoe trip from the Brule Lake entry point several weeks ago.

Ed's last day with us is today. Tomorrow morning bright and early he leaves to return to college. Erik left about a week ago, but is returning today to work at Golden Eagle Lodge for the winter.

New growth after the fire

We are waiting until it slows down a little bit this fall to take a day trip to Seagull Lake to see the area burned by the Cavity Lake fire. Two of our staff this summer, Ed and Erik, did take a day paddle through the area and got some great photos. Already there is new growth in the fire area.

Grand Marais Beach on Lake Superior

"Good Morning America" is kicking off its summer series, Vacationland, by highlighting some of the most beautiful spots in the U.S., and Grand Marais is making one of their lists. Thursday morning, Aug. 24, the show will air the Top 5 Beaches in America, highlighting the North House Folk School waterfront as an inspirational source of beachside activity.

Cool Father and Son Trip

Paul Cool and his son Cole took a canoe trip several weeks ago. They left from our waterfront and made their way into Caribou and lakes south. This is a great photo Paul sent us taken the morning they left on their trip.

Canoe Trips Before School Starts

I have missed a few days in writing here. This time of the summer with several of our summer staff returning to school, it gets a little harder for us to keep up everything. We have had lots of families visiting both cabins and for canoe trips the past week. It is the last summer fling before every has to concentrate on school.

Andi

Andi, our cook for the summer, leaves tomorrow to return to school. We enjoyed having her here and will miss her. Andi's family used to vacation in the cabins and her older sister worked here one summer for Bob and Marti Marchino. Andi's father worked at Chik-Wauk Lodge (no longer a lodge) back when he was in high school. Working on the Gunflint Trail is a family tradition!

Andi went through the guest books in the cabins and found entries she made as a child and entries her sisters made. It was fun to read.

Johnson Falls

Johnson Falls is very nice day trip to take from the lodge. You paddle Clearwater Lake for about 1 mile to the portage to Caribou Lake. Paddle Caribou Lake into Little Caribou to Pine Lake. Beach your canoe at Pine Lake and take about a 20 minute hike through old growth forest to a 3 tiered waterfall. You can swim in the pool at the bottom of the falls, have a picnic lunch and just enjoy the beauty of the area. This is a full day trip from the lodge so you would to start in the morning and pack a lunch.

Photo to the left is Alicia Trace at Johnson Falls last week before she returned to Ohio and college.

Fire Restrictions Lifted

Beginning Thursday August 17th, you can have campfires again in the BWCA. Campers are welcome to have campfires within the BWCA at any time of the day or night. So bring your pop corn and your s'mores to have around the evening campfire!

Back to School

This picture, with Peggy in the front, was taken today as the first of our summer 'kids' left. Peg and Mike's daughter Alicia and her friend JJ left today to return to school at Kent State in OH. Returning to school and other adventures over the next two weeks is Andi, Erik and Ed. Steph and Travis will be spending their first winter up here at the lodge. It seems like such as short time ago one of my first blog entries was a picture of the summer staff shortly after they arrived here. It is bittersweet to see them start to leave.

After about 24 hours straight of rain, it is a pretty and mild day today.

A Taste of Fall

We had just a taste of Fall the past few days. It has been getting into the 50's at night and only mid-60's during the day. Today before breakfast we built a fire in the lodge to take the chill off. It won't last but a few more days and Summer will return with its warmer temperatures but it is nice hint of the weather to come next month.

Fall colors begin about the 3rd week of September. September is just a wonderful and quiet time in the BWCA. The bugs are gone, the moose come back out of hiding, the days are still warm but the nights are cool.

Come see us!!

Honeymoon Bluff Hiking Trail

This photo was taken from the top of Honeymoon Bluff by Tom Ames when he and his two sons were here for a canoe trip. Honeymoon Bluff is accessed from Clearwater Road and is a short trail with a long set of wooden stairs that leads to a spectacular rocky overlook. From the top you can see Hungry Jack Lake, East Bearskin Lake, West Bearskin Lake and the BWCA. The view faces west so it is a great spot to catch a sunset.

Climbing the Clearwater Palisades

In our family, it is both an annual event and a rite of passage to climp up to the top of the palisades about a mile down the lake from the lodge. If any of the kids come up for a visit and bring friends, the palisade climbing is the first challenge that everyone must experience. There is a path that one can use which is a nice hike, but the Trace family (Peg and Mike's kids and my neices and nephews) likes to go right up the rock face. This photo is from the spring climb.

Alicia Trace is planning her last palisades hike of the summer. She is in college in OH but came up for the summer and lived on the resort and worked at the Trail Center Restaurant.

The Jack Pine Tree

One of the trees to spring up after the fire in the Cavity Lake area is the Jack Pine. The Jack Pine needs fire to open its cones and release the seeds. The Jack Pine has a straight trunk and grows from 25 to 60 feet tall. The bark is dull red-brown irregulary divided into small scales. Pine cones are 1 1/2 inch long and contain good seeds for many years as long as the tree is vital. The seeds are designed by mother nature to be carried for in strong winds. The photo is from the MN DNR of the Jack pine needle. The Jack Pine can grow on poor soil and is shade tolerent.

Stephanie in the Food Room

This is the second summer that Stephanie has been with us at Clearwater Lodge. Steph does all the food packing and preparation for canoe trippers. Here she sits in her food room before a group goes out surrounded by her food in the processing of packing.

Outfitted canoe guests select their food from a menu form we provide. Stephanie goes through the menus, determines what fresh treats need baked, organizes the food by meal and day and then packs it up for the canoe trip.

Fisherman's Picnic

This weekend is Fisherman's Picnic in Grand Marais. We are all hoping to get a few minutes to visit town for the festivities. When Mike was there today, there was music on the beach for entertainment, bingo games, food tasting and (of course) fishing contests! This photo of the fireworks over Lake Superior is from the closing of the picnic last year.

75 Degrees Today

Peggy and I returned from our quick trip to Indiana to see our family. It was quite hot there, in the 90's almost every day. We returned to the Lodge and back to our nice cool Northwoods weather. Temperatures have been in the mid-70's during the day and getting into the upper 50's or lower 60's at night.

The Cavity Lake fire is now 80% contained. We continue to have no impact from the fire but it is an interesting science lesson. This was a hot fire, which when it comes to natural forest regeneration is good. The first event will be that wild geraniums will grow. These will be from seeds that have laid dormant for decades or even centuries waiting for such an event to clear the forest and allow the sun in. By June of next year, the entire floor of the burned area will be covered in green with red flowers. I'll keep posting more information on the regeneration over the next few days.

Photo of the stairway portage was provide by Paul Spadino from his recent trip. Good Photo!!