Loon Lake Tales

Ok I know it has been way too long since I last updated our blog. I will once again try and do a better job. Just so you know the summer was great. We had very good help this year with Casey and Steve. Having kids you can depend on make our summer more enjoyable. We did part of a wedding in August and an entire wedding in September. Lots of fun and both went off without a hitch. Finished up the season in October with mainly weekend guests. Most out looking at the leaves and some grouse hunters.

This fall also brought some sad news. Willard Johnson who we bought the Lodge from passed away this October at the age of 95. He along with his brother and a friend bought the Lodge in 1949 and lived to see many changes along the Gunflint Trail. We along with many of you will miss him.

With the onset of winter I have been feeding the birds. This last year we have been trying to learn more about birding. I have three feeders of different sizes with different seeds. They seem to come in waves. We will have 6 or 8 pine grosbeaks come into the big feeder with sun flower seeds. The males are red with gray and the females are mainly gray with some dull yellow. The red-breasted nuthatch is the hardest worker. They just grab one seed at a time, fly off to a near by tree and crack the seed open, eat and start all over again. The black-capped chickadees are our most frequent visitors. They will work the feeders all day.

All of these years I haven't really spent the time to notice the different colors and beauty of birds. So this winter I will keep you updated on our feathered visitors.

Believe it or not Terry was skiing on the lake just yesterday!! Today however is a different story. The lake is just starting to get dark spots and that means melting. We are getting some warmer weather and rain is predicted before the end of the week. Before long we will start to hear the river run and within a short time loons and other summer creatures will return.

It is hard to get fired up about spring cleaning when you have to climb over snowbanks to get to the cabins. We will start in earnest in the next few days. We are opening early this year with our first guests arriving May 1st. That will be "Green Up Weekend". There are a number of events planned from tree planting to a dinner dance and finally the Ham Run Half Marathon. There has been a great deal of interest and I am sure there will be plenty of people on the Trail.

We are all looking forward to "ice out"!

The Winter Tracks Festival just finished up and it was great!! There was something for everyone and most events are free to the public. All of the winter business along the Gunflint Trail and some in Grand Marais participate in this 5 day event. Just to give you some idea on what goes on there is everything from seminars to snow sculptures and northwoods crafts to knitting by the fire. There are events for cross country skiing to snowmobiles and kids to adults. There is truly something for everyone.

Terry and I even got to a few of the events. We stopped by Heston's Lodge on Gunflint Lake. There Barb was cooking pizza in an outdoor wood-fired bread oven. She had all the toppings and it was some of the best pizza I have ever tasted. So we stayed for more. I will admit it was somewhat cold outside but with oven fired up it wasn't too bad.

We drove around the area and took some pictures of the snow sculptures. All I can say is there are some very talented people up here. They started with a 5 foot by 5 foot block of snow and then started carving away. They made everything from a dog team to a snow wood stove. They had them placed along the Trail and at different resorts. They were all well done.

There was a dinner for all at Gunflint Lodge followed by a dance. It was well attended by over 200 people. So next year if you are looking for a late winter get-a-way consider the Winter Track Festival.