I love the weather in Northern Minnesota. We had T-shirt days last week and are blessed with a couple of inches of snow this week. After all, it is still April and we have seen this type of behavior in May, so I am not at all surprised—just a little disappointed. Soon enough the snow will melt away and we... READ MORE >
Easter has always been a memorable holiday for me. My birthday nears the end of March, so my mother enjoyed hosting an Easter egg hunt as an activity for my childhood birthday parties. It was the same week as our middle school’s spring break, so the neighborhood kids who were not fortunate enough to be in the Bahamas would come... READ MORE >
Saganaga Lake, at the end of the Gunflint Trail, still has a fair amount of ice past the narrows, as of April 1. The warm days and high winds will make pretty short work of the remaining ice this week, as it did on all of the mid-trail lakes. Saganaga, I predict, will be free of ice by the time... READ MORE >
Gunflint Lake did not make ice until December 28 and it melted away by March 25. Three short months of ice on Gunflint seems like it would be some kind of a record. The sight of open water is bittersweet for most residents up here, since the spring runoff was short-lived and the lake levels are starting out at record... READ MORE >
Say goodbye to the ice. Consecutive 60 degree days matched with high winds and a little rainfall are causing the lake ice to disappear quickly. Our winter has disappeared in a matter of days. While working at the Cross River Lodge on Gunflint Lake this past Monday, I watched the melted shoreline grow 100 feet out onto the lake over... READ MORE >
The annual Trout Derby was held this past weekend on West Bearskin Lake and I thought it was a nice change of scenery. The fishing was slow for most, and the lake was pretty sloppy with a lot of slush to power through, but everyone seemed to be having a great time. I was over-dressed and over-heating since I chose... READ MORE >
March is a busy month on the Gunflint Trail with some fun events, and two of them happen this weekend. The Mush for a Cure fundraiser will be held this weekend at both Windigo Lodge and Trail Center. The non-competitive race will be held on Saturday morning with the starting point at the Gunflint Pines. The “sleeping bag” start is... READ MORE >
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is now requiring “Lake Service Providers” to have aquatic invasive species (AIS) training. Our waters are quickly being contaminated by a variety of invasive species and this training is designed to help people understand and identify the problems that are infiltrating our waterways. I know this comes across as another stupid hoop to jump... READ MORE >
Northern Minnesota is famous for stargazing, and the further away from city lights the brighter they shine. Stargazers should be loving the Northern Lights, coupled with the Milky Way, that were illuminating the night this past week. The starry nights have been spectacular. I do not stay up very late these days, so it is nice when the Northern Lights... READ MORE >
This year my wife and I decided not to gift each other on Valentine’s Day. The romance has not been lost, but our money will be better spent on an upcoming vacation to Key West, Florida. What could be more romantic than that? Besides, I think that Valentine’s Day was invented by the greeting card companies. If it were a... READ MORE >
