Spring Quilting Weekend — May 3rd or 4th through May 6th

Karen Bates' much-admired quilt from Bearskin's Main Lodge. Karen will be one of the quilters attending the retreat.

What do you come to the Gunflint Trail to do? Hike, canoe, fish, relax — all of those are the expected obvious answers to that question. But here’s another surprisingly common answer: many people come up to Bearskin Lodge to sew.

Uninterrupted time to do what you love can be hard to come by in today’s busy world.  Many of our guests arrive at Bearskin with piles of books to read, stacks of unread magazines to peruse, pages of partially written novels to revise, or bins loaded with unfinished craft projects to complete. 

We’ve especially been surprised by how many people unload a sewing machine when they tote all their gear out of the car.  Large numbers of our guests use their vacation time to create quilt projects.  We had no idea!

Last summer several of our regular quilting guests suggested that Bearskin ought to offer a getaway retreat for quilters, an event where Bearskin regulars or newcomers could gather to share their quilting ideas and experience. We know that years ago Bearskin hosted at least one quilting retreat, perhaps several, that many guests remember fondly.  After getting great input from many quilting guests, we’ve planned a retreat for the first weekend in May, Friday May 4th, Saturday May 5th, through noon on Sunday, May 6th.  There’s also an optional day on Thursday, May 3rd, for those of you who dream of getting even more quilting accomplished.

When we first picked the date, we knew it was a time when many people weren’t too busy yet.  It’s before schedules fill up with the fishing opener, Mother’s Day, graduations, and end of year school activities.  We guessed “anything was possible” for May weather conditions, but figured that quilters could stay happily  occupied together even if it snowed.  Our unexpected sudden spring still doesn’t rule out inclement weather in May, but the potential for lovely weather during the quilting retreat has greatly increased. It’s already as nice as it often is during early May! On those rare occasions when spring arrives early on the Gunflint Trail, we always wish we could convince more people to come up and enjoy how beautiful it can be then.

If you like to quilt–or wish you had some friendly companions to help you learn how to quilt —  join us for  a 2 or 3 day weekend of quilting fun and camaraderie on Friday May 4th, Saturday May 5th, through noon on Sunday, May 6th. If you’d like to extend it an extra day, many quilters have expressed an interest in starting Thursday evening, May 3rd. Dining on Saturday, May 5th, and a simple lunch on Sunday, May 6th, are also part of your package. Cost for the whole weekend, including Saturday dinner and Sunday lunch, with shared accommodations will be $155/person for 2 nights, $220/person for 3 nights. (If a group of friends would like to come together, call us about pricing — we’ve priced this so everyone can have their own bedroom, but we can adjust pricing for friends or family members who would comfortably share a room.)

The plan: The downstairs area of the Main Lodge will be set up for quilting all weekend. We have several very experienced quilters joining us who would enjoy demonstrating special quilting techniques. Your lodging will be in the Main Lodge townhouses, with every guest having their own bedroom at a base rate of $65/night. If you have a group of friends who would prefer to rent a cabin together, the rate will be similar but in a cabin we may not be able to offer everyone a private bedroom.  

Early May is a very interesting time on the Gunflint Trail.  It is not unusual to view unusual migratory birds in early May, and the birds and mammals native to the area become more active as the season changes. You may choose to spend all your time quilting, but you might also decide to enjoy our beautiful outdoor environment during some of your trip.  This could be the perfect combination of relaxation, social time, outdoor experiences, and quilting accomplishment.

Call us at 800.338.4170 or email stay@bearskin.com. A $155 deposit will be needed to reserve each quilter’s spot at the retreat.

Guess the ice out date, before it’s too late

 

We’d better get the annual “ice-out” guessing game going ….  before the ice on East Bearskin Lake is gone. 

We never know quite what to expect for March and April weather at Bearskin Lodge.  Groomers have been out on the ski trails as late as April 17, and it is typical for the ice to finally disappear from our lake between May 4th – 8th.  Check our Flickr and Facebook pages for March and April in past years, and you’ll find far too many pictures and posts about spring snow storms and endless winters. 

But every once in a while a sudden spring surprises us.  In 2010 the snow abruptly melted around March 6th, and the ice went off the lake by an all-time early date, April 3rd. Our snow lasted a bit longer in 2012, but take a look at these pictures of the East Bearskin Lake ice taken today.  Examine them carefully, and then make your best guess for an ice-out date. This may not be the ideal year to take weeks agonizing over your date choice! 

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Here’s some info about previous spring ice-out dates:  http://bearskin.wordpress.com/2011/04/30/make-a-guess-on-the-ice-out-date-for-east-bearskin-lake-no-august-guesses-allowed/   Last year we were joking about summer ice-fishing and had several guesses of potential ice-out dates in mid-summer.  We think we can guarantee that an August guess this year will be wrong.  Pfffffft.

You can post your forecast in the comments section here, or on Bearskin’s Facebook site. If neither of those venues suit your communication style, just e-mail your guess to: stay@bearskin.com  To make it fair, your guess needs to have come in at least 5 (no, this year better make that 3!) days before the actual date. We’ll consider that the game has no winner if we can’t get a guess that’s within at least 2 weeks of the right answer. @@  Especially this year!

The unexpected early melting is probably Bob’s fault.  Ever since last year he has been planning to build our new big dock on the ice during the last week in March, 2012. Should have worked; Gunflint built a new dock on ice on the same schedule last year.  But suffice it to say, our dock building is happening much sooner and involves a lot more splashing through water than was ever originally intended. More on that story later.

Valentini’s brings fine Italian dining to Bearskin Lodge during President’s weekend, Feb. 18-19. Join us!

Logo from the Duluth Valentini's on London Road

Join the Valentini family for a night of fine Italian dining on the Gunflint Trail during President’s weekend, February 18th & 19th.  We are open for two seatings, 6 PM and 8 PM, during this dining event.

The Valentini name has been synonymous with Authentic Italian dining in Northern Minnesota since 1934.  Immigrating from Central Italy (La Marche) Louis and Justina Valentini settled in Chisholm, Minnesota and began the first of three generations of the family restaurant.

 Your guest chefs for the evening will be siblings Michael Valentini and his wife Sally, Carol Valentini and her husband Ed, and John Valentini.  Michael was a third generation owner of Valentini’s in Chisholm.  He and Sally sold the restaurant (to a cousin) and now live at the end of the Gunflint Trail on Saganaga.  Carol and Ed opened the new Valentini’s Vicino Lago in Duluth and have carried on the tradition of providing the best in ethnic dining to the Twin Ports.  John left the restaurant world to become a chiropractor in the Twin Cities, but he has always maintained a passion for cooking and frequently lends his talents to fundraisers and family functions.

The Valentini family has chosen a variety of entrées for this special weekend, featuring many of the dishes, sauces and desserts that have been staples of the Valentini family.  You will also have an opportunity to bring home a copy of the family cookbook “La Razza Die Ciurri” (translation: The Clan of the Curly Heads).  The book is filled with countless home recipes of culinary delights that were the hallmark of our Italian heritage.

See the menus for these special Bearskin Lodge dining nights here.   Make reservations online here, or call us at 218 388 2292, or email stay@bearskin.com.

 

Bearskin welcomes Chef Scott Bergstrom to the Gunflint Trail

Chef Scott Bergstrom preparing a meal at Bearskin

 

Join us for Saturday night fine dining at Bearskin Lodge this winter.

 

Bearskin Lodge welcomes our new chef , Scott Bergstrom to the Gunflint Trail. Scott received his training at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. He has many years of experience in all aspects of the food service industry. 

 

Scott takes pride in creating attractive and delicious multi-course meals for his guests. His most notable culinary talents were displayed as the Executive Chef at “510 Groveland” in Minneapolis, Executive Chef for guests in Curt Carlson’s private dining room “The Retreat,” and at his private corporate parties. When asked about his cooking style, Scott would say he likes to prepare healthy meals with the freshest “in season” ingredients possible.

Scott will be cooking at Bearskin every Saturday throughout the winter, with the exception of President’s Weekend, when we will be hosting a special dining event. (More info on this to come or click here.)  Reservations are needed and we recommend letting us know early, as our small, intimate dining area only has seating for about 20 guests. You may reserve a 6 PM, 6:15 PM, or 6:30 PM dining time.

 Call us at 218.388.2292, e-mail us at stay@bearskin.com , or use the online form here to make your reservation. Anyone is welcome to dine at Bearskin Lodge, although we try to give our guests first notice for dining events.

Scott likes to change our menu frequently. You can check for menu updates here.  Click on the date and if the menu is available now, a link will take you to the menu. If the menu is not available yet,  we will take an e-mail address and contact you about the upcoming week’s entrée choices. The price ranges will stay consistent and the entrée choices will be similar, but Scott enjoys varying the rest of the menu.

Click on the date to see the menu when it is available.

Saturday, December 30,2011 (full)

Saturday, January 14, 2012 (Add Sunday, Jan. 15 if there are enough reservations by Friday)

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Saturday, February 18, 2012 | Valentini’s comes to the Gunflint Trail (6 PM & 8 PM)

Sunday, February 19, 2012 | Sera di Festa Italiano — An Italian Festival evening (6 PM & 8 PM)

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Early winter update–and restaurant news

How did it get to be Christmas and the post-holiday rush so quickly?

November and early December tend to be slow times at Bearskin, in between busy seasons. Theoretically we could travel and enjoy some time away, but this is also one of the only chances each year when our cabins are empty long enough to accomplish repairs and updates. We have a tendency to get too many good ideas for improvements, with too little time to complete them. We especially overloaded ourselves this time–we barely finished before our Christmas season guests showed up.

Cabin 8 was our biggest project.  White Pine Cabin now has enclosed cabinets (too many, actually–you’ll have to bring lots of food to fill up all the empty space).  There are (TA-DA!) more electrical outlets  in the kitchen, so you no longer have to create an electrical cord octopus in the one kitchen socket.  And here’s the amazing part — the outlets work with 3 pronged cords.  We’re so 21st century here.  Even more remarkable is that the water heater has disappeared from the bathroom corner.  You now get to stare at a pine wall when you spend quality time in that bathroom, instead of musing over whether the water heater tank is developing a leak. 

Cabin 10 has a beautiful new stone fireplace, while cabin 5′s beloved old fireplace has been remodeled.  Lodge 1 and Cabin 4 have new kitchen floors and new cabinets. The wood floors in Cabins 9 and 10 are freshly sanded and refinished.  A new enclosed shower door is about to go into Lodge 4, but it didn’t quite show up on time to be installed before the holiday rush. We’ll complete that project after January 1st.

Our other time-consuming project has been to hire a new chef for the restaurant.  Judi Barsness, of the restaurant Chez Jude, decided not to come back to Bearskin this winter. (Her Grand Marais restaurant is still open, but one restaurant is enough to run right now.) We’ve been searching and searching for an excellent replacement and finally found an accomplished chef who is a perfect fit for Bearskin’s winter dining.

Chef Scott Bergstrom received his training at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York.  He has many years of experience in all aspects of the food service industry.  Scott takes pride in creating attractive and delicious multi-course meals for his guests. His most notable culinary talents were displayed as the Executive Chef at “510 Groveland” in Minneapolis, as well as Executive Chef for guests in Curt Carlson’s private dining room “The Retreat” and at his private corporate parties.  When asked about his cooking style, Scott would say he likes to prepare healthy meals with the freshest “in season” ingredients possible.

 Scott’s first night of dining at Bearskin will be on Friday, December 30. Check our website at www.bearskin.com to see menu options.  Additional dates will be listed on the website shortly.

Ruminations on autumns, past and present–and a “thank you” to our great employees

Overall, this has been a very nice fall on the Gunflint Trail — we’ve had a few mediocre days, but when it doesn’t snow 6 inches or rain nonstop in October, it qualifies as a good autumn.

We will always consider the fall of 2007 to be the low mark by which all autumns that follow will be judged. We were relatively new to the resort business, we were dealing with staff transitions, Bob was still teaching during the week and commuting to Bearskin on weekends, and to top it all off, it rained constantly. Serious “Noah’s Ark” consistent rain, creating the highest lake levels since 1976. Share our memories of 2007 by clicking here.)

Fall, 2007 -- a low point for autumns and a high point for water.

This summer’s sudden flash flood created similar temporary high lake levels, but after 5 summers of running Bearskin we were better equipped in 2011 to make good decisions about a fast, appropriate response. This year we had $700 worth of lumber delivered ASAP and staff members worked nonstop to build sturdy, wide ramps to every cabin within 24 hours.  

We didn’t have the confidence back in 2007 to tell entrenched Bearskin employees that expecting guests to wade through 6 inches of water to access a dock was ridiculous. We may not have started with a great deal of hospitality business experience, but even back then we weren’t comfortable with leaving problems unsolved. Bearskin is about providing a quality experience and sometimes that costs money, along with agreat deal of staff effort and time. We’re in the business of helping guests make great memories on their vacation.  We try hard not to forget that.

Which brings us to us to the point of this post:  the remarkable staff that Bearskin has gradually acquired. When we arrived in 2007, we did not initially start with a staff group that was uniformly enthusiastic about serving Bearskin guests. We inherited some fabulous employees, but also a few with serious attitude problems. Our long-time guests still enjoy retelling all the good reasons for those problems, but from our standpoint we are very grateful that isn’t the way it goes now. 

Our current staff is young, energetic, and capable.  They’re well-educated, live healthy lifestyles, maintain positive attitudes, and enthusiastically embrace the challenges of life on the edge of the wilderness.  We can ask anything of them — “Quick, build 11 bridges by tomorrow!”–and they embrace the challenge. Guests repeatedly compliment us on the quality of current Bearskin employees.

So here’s a big “thank you” to the great group of people who actually make Bearskin Lodge possible.  Rain or shine, high water or deep snow, 90 degrees above zero or 50 degrees below, they cheerfully build ramps, shovel snowdrifts, retrieve dead animals, clean up wads of chewing tobacco, do mounds of  unwashed dishes, trap intruding mice, answer inexplicable e-mails, toss out dirty diapers, rescue canoeists, collect endless bags of trash, retrieve escaped boats, and solve all the other daily problems of resort life.  They do so in a drama-free way, with a positive attitude that makes working with them a pleasure. They are appreciated!

 

A group of Bearskin staff members dining at Trail Center restaurant courtesy of a much appreciated gift certificate from Jan, Bill, Mary and Rick.

Open entry points

Cook County Visitors Bureau sent out this clarification note today in response to some incorrect maps published in the media. (A sharp-eyed Bearskin Facebook fan may have been the first to point these errors out. Thanks!)

There has been confusion in the media and in our community over which Boundary Waters entry points are still open, particularly concerning which entry points are part of the Vento Unit. Here is the latest information:

 

 

 OPEN COOK COUNTY BWCAW ENTRY POINTS

42 Brule (must stay on Brule only)

54A Seagull (must stay on Seagull only)

55A Saganaga (must stay on Saganaga only)

57 Magnetic

58 South 80 Larch

60 Duncan

61 Daniels

62 Clearwater

64 East Bearskin

66 Crocodile

68 Pine

69 John

70 North Fowl

So yes, you can still take that BWCA trip. Entry points in our area are open.  Give us a call.  Over the past few days we’ve sent out many canoeists who were displaced from other BWCA locations,  but we still have quite a few canoes and lots of gear available. Fire disrupted many BWCA plans, but it doesn’t have to end your trip possibilities.

No, we’re not on fire. Not even close.

Smoke intermingled with the clouds is giving us very red sunsets lately.

The pictures of the smoky plume emanating from the Pagami Creek fire have dominated the news for the last few days.  The fire is big news as far away as Milwaukee and Chicago, because smoke and ash are blowing that way. Canoeists are having to frantically change their trip permits because their planned routes are closed.  Consequently, everyone assumes Bearskin Lodge will burn down soon.

The fire is one of the worst fires in Minnesota history.  At this point it is bigger than the Ham Lake fire of 2007. But (and yes, this sounds cynical) if you’re not in it, everyone loves a big fire. It’s a good news story, so every media outlet is making the most of it.  As a result, they’ve caused a lot of worry and confusion by overplaying and under-explaining what is occurring.

The BWCA wilderness covers a huge area.  The fire is in the western section of the BWCA, around Ely. It has consumed 100,000 acres of land in one of the most well-used, beloved areas of the BWCA.  It’s an erratic, fast-moving fire that has been difficult to control.   The forest service has closed a great deal of the BWCA, but they did so to prevent canoeists from heading into the area of the fire. 

 As soon as the forest service closed entry points west of the Gunflint Trail, people started to assume that area was burning.  Those entry points are closed to keep people from taking trips that would lead them towards the fire area; they are not closed because the fire is reaching the Gunflint Trail.  Sometimes people have to be protected from their own bad choices.  The nearest point of the fire is actually 35 to 40 miles away from the Gunflint Trail.

The Cavity Lake and Ham Lake fires on this end of the BWCA taught us that anything can happen with a wildfire.  We would never say with full assurance that the Ely fire couldn’t possibly reach us.  But it would be a very improbable scenario.  Ash and sparks from the fire could start a new fire almost anywhere, but the risk of the current fire burning all the way to the Gunflint Trail is minimal. 

We had rainstorms Monday that were actually caused by the fire.  The storms brought down lots of falling ash.  The lake is ringed with little fragments of burned pine needles, which is pretty interesting.   But we have had very little smoke here. It’s worse in Chicago!

At an informational meeting today, the forest service reported that the fire did not grow appreciably yesterday or today.  The SE edge, the area of concern for our location, is reported to be very stable.   They have 250 firefighters as well as a large deployment of water carrying airplanes and helicopters working long hours at the site.  Cooler temps and higher humidity have helped diminish the fire’s growth. 

 The fact that it is, um, snowing at the moment may also slow down the burn. That should give the news media something else to talk about. 

A road less traveled — by Bruce Bates

Bruce Bates, a regular Bearskin guest, began writing this while staying in Cabin 10 a few weeks ago. Join him on the journey up to Bearskin:

A Road Less Traveled

Cook County Highway 12 – The Gunflint Trail, a legendary, folklore pathway for hundreds of years.  It may have been an Indian trail from the lakes of beaver country to Lake Gitche Gumee.  Then a logging road from the timber rich woods to Lake Superior.  Today, a winding highway from Grand Marais to a remote vacation land in the Arrowhead region of Northeastern Minnesota on the edge of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.  A winding road that unwinds our minds.

We wind our way northward from this quaint fishing village, now transformed into a tourist service community with many unique shops and restaurants.  As we smell the fresh air of the forest, we begin to feel a change from our sometimes hectic lives back in “the cities”.  We are leaving that world behind for a few days to reconnect with the quiet, pristine, peaceful world of nature, and with each other.

We head uphill from Lake Superior, past the small community hospital which specializes in sprained ankles and scraped knees of careless campers, past the community golf course and the sawmill, the lone survivor from the logging days.  As we pass the roadside sign for Superior National Forest , our new feelings of peace grow.  We are leaving the world of telemarketers who always seem to call just as we sit down to dinner.  The doorbell won’t ring for a few days with someone selling cookies or magazines.  The television and internet won’t prevent any form of meaningful conversations until bedtime.  There are no sales quotas or production  meetings this week.  No voice mail or tweets, or even cell phone disconnects.

We are entering the world of nature.  Skyscrapers and electronic towers are replaced by trees and views of distant hills across grassy valleys.  There are no manicured lawns here.  We don’t have to impress the neighbors.  The shoulders of the highway are carpeted with millions of tiny yellow wildflowers with an occasional pink or purple lupine tossed in.  Nature does give us a pretty burst of color every now and then.  We proceed up the trail with birch, aspen, poplar and pine sharing our roadside vista.  Occasionally we meet a car coming towards us – about ½ carrying at least one canoe or kayak.  We hope they have enjoyed the wilderness as much as we do.

We pass the first resort sign, Bearskin Lodge 20 miles.  The “other” world begins to peel away as skin following the summer’s first sunburn.  We begin to seriously wind down as neck muscles loosen a little and drain some of the stress from our bodies.  All the “stress” events of the “other” world don’t matter here.

Total relaxation won’t completely take over for a few days, but we can feel it start to envelop our bodies and psyche.  Our attitude begins to change from one of too many deadlines and unreasonable procedures of the business world to acceptance and cooperation in the natural world.  Control freaks don’t do well here.  We work together to finish ordinary chores and enjoy our friendship and time together – it’s fun to be here, together, in this world.

Another sign – Bearskin Lodge 12 miles.  We continue our winding  journey, uphill, downhill, left curve, right curve, a brief straightaway and then more hills and curves.  Our anticipation mounts as we break the crest of each hill.  Is it around the next bend?  We pass a small lake on the west shoulder – I make a mental note to bring the canoe back and try for a few small mouth bass.

Bearskin Lodge 6 miles – almost there.  We had hoped to see a few critters on our drive, a deer, a bear, a moose, a fox.  Not today, but there will be more drives before the week is over.  We have learned to respect their land and enjoy our brief meetings.  This is their world – they live here.  We only visit.

Finally we see the final sign – Bearskin Lodge – we made it.  It’s been a long 6 hour drive, but we are here.  Cabin 10.  It’s called cabin 10 by the resort owners.  It’s called heaven by us.  Cabin 10 is a beautiful log cabin made with 24 inch diameter, Engelmann Spruce  logs.  The quiet and serenity of this place completely surrounded by forest, 20 rods from the lake is why we drove here.  The massive logs give us a feeling of security compared to our 2 X 4 walls and aluminum siding 20 feet from another house with 2 X 4 walls and aluminum siding.  It’s good to be here.

“Here” is peace and quiet, serenity and relaxation.  There are no schedules or demands here.  When we get hungry, we eat;  tired we sleep.  When we want to fish, we fish, or hike, or swim, or paint, or read a book.  We take cameras to relive memories that nature gives us.  This also allows us to share memories of Bearskin with friends back home.

Bottom line – we are here.  The journey has become the destination.

Bruce Bates

July 2011

Summer must be over — it’s “Taste of the Gunflint Trail” time

A sign of how fast the summer of 2011 flew by: Our most recent blog post forewarned guests about buying fishing licenses before the July 1st state shutdown. And now, after what feels like a very short interval, we’re about to post the yearly picture of Andy holding a cookbook for the fall “Taste of the Gunflint Trail.”

In between we should have blogged about our fantastic summer staff or about celebrating the anniversary of buying Bearskin. We certainly should have written about the Gunflint Canoe races, the mid-July flooding, or the 97-year-old kayaker. Didn’t happen. The down side of  having an extraordinarily full resort all summer is that it’s very time-consuming.  Busy is a good thing.

The one blog we didn’t need to write this summer was the annual post usually entitled something like “Help, we need a recipe idea for the Taste of the Gunflint event.” Luckily for us, one of our longtime guests, Sarah Dale, did the thinking for Bearskin and came up with an inspired idea. The original concept was for resorts to serve a recipe featured in the Gunflint Trail cookbook, A Taste of the Gunflint Trail, such as the recipes for Sally’s Acorn Squash Soup and Sally’s Herb Bubble Bread. But we’ve already used all the doable Bearskin recipes that were included in the book.

Sarah Dale has been visiting Bearskin for years, and has fond memories of cooking school with Bearskin’s almost legendary former Chef Sally Bresnahan. Sarah even saved this stylish birchbark cookbook from 1994. (It’s desperately trying to return to tree trunk form, but with effort you can flatten it out enough to read the recipe pages.)

Sarah collected many of Chef Sally’s recipes over the years and suggested that we try Sally’s Fresh Mushroom Soup. I think of mushroom soup as a goopy, beige substance dumped out of a red and white Campbell’s can into a casserole dish. We use it, but we sure don’t eat it.

So we had our doubts about this recipe. Then we tried it. No wonder people love it – this is mushroom soup of a very different kind.

We’ll be serving Sally’s Fresh Mushroom Soup during the Taste of the Gunflint Trail event this Sunday, September 4th, from 11-5. The event is a fundraiser for the very successful Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center.

You can work your way up the trail Sunday afternoon tasting Gunflint Trail treats, then finish up with a piece of homemade pie and ice cream on the front porch of Chik-Wauk. There’s a $5 suggested donation and coffee and lemonade will also be served. After you’ve eaten your fill, venture inside the museum to enjoy the interpretative and interactive exhibits on Gunflint Trail history. Local authors John Hendricksson, Betty Hemstad and Beryl Singleton Bissell will also be hanging out inside, ready to sign books.

If you’ll be in the area over Labor Day weekend, join us for a Taste of the Gunflint and pick up a copy of Sally’s recipe.

Bottom line: Buy that fishing license online now!

Last year around this time we were quite excited about our new technological gizmo, the amazing new DNR 21st century touchscreen fishing license machine.  (See the story here.)   The new technology really was an improvement.  After we installed it, we never once handed a customer a fan-folded, wrinkled blue license, nor did any licenses come out of the machine in shreds. The downside of using this machine is that the screen is large enough that a guest can watch how many times we repeatedly make a stupid mistake inputting data on the touchscreen keyboard — in my case, it is not unusual for me to make precisely the same error 3 or 4 times.  It was better that you didn’t know.

Alas, time is up on our brief entrance into modern times.  They are taking away the new machines.  The replacement plan is for us to buy your license for you online, using our computers, our paper, and our printer.  No more slippery blue paper licenses, apparently.  The good news is:  You can do this yourself online, and you won’t have to stand for 15 minutes at our  counter, cringing as we make mistakes typing in your weight and gender. (Buy your license here.)  The online option has been available for quite awhile.  Now  that you aren’t even getting  a fancy piece of blue paper as a reward for time spent redundantly repeating personal information to us, there may be even less of a reason to put yourself through that. 

If you are coming to Bearskin in the next 2 weeks, we STRONGLY encourage you to go online now–yes, right now–and buy your license.  The State of Minnesota is currently doing a dysfunctional act. State government may shut down on July 1st.  We did this a few years ago, so we know how it affects travel: rest stops will be closed, so every gas station bathroom along your route will be knee-deep in overflowing paper towels. (Buy some chips from those people after you visit their restrooms — it will help fund the septic systems they all need to get pumped after the rest stops reopen.) State parks will be closed, so you will have to entertain the kids en route by visiting minimalls. 

And above all, don’t expect to be able to buy a fishing license anywhere.  The DNR says enforcement crews will still be out on the lakes (you know, “essential services”) but license sales will halt.  If we’re lucky, Minnesota will get its act together and none of this will happen on July 1.  If you have already bought your license online, you won’t need to worry one way or the other.

East Bearskin Lake Camper Cabin #2 is done!

Two years ago we received permission for the Forest Service to experiment with building a little camper cabin at the East Bearskin Lake National Forest Service Campground.

Camper Cabin #1, completed 2 summers ago

It was a simple cabin, without electricity, heat or water  –  the world’s best little tent, a sturdy place to stay dry and relatively bug-free in any kind of camping weather. The first camper cabin was a great success, making it possible for many people to try a campground experience without owning a camper, trailer, tent, or even much gear. It was designed with a ramp in order to make it handicapped accessible. Camper Cabin #1 also proved to be an excellent starting or ending destination for many groups heading out on BWCA trips.

This year we received permission from the Forest Service to build a second camper cabin. A few lessons were learned last time, first and foremost being to get the thing finished before August. This camper cabin has a small loft, which can serve as an extra sleeping area for adults (not a good choice for small children) or as a great “out of the way”  place to store gear. It also has a screened porch. Like the first camper cabin, it is handicapped accessible, has sturdy bunks and a dining table inside, has a fire ring and picnic table outside, and has a path leading to the lakeshore from the campsite.

The first rental was June 15th. Surprisingly, Camper Cabin #2 is already somewhat  booked for this summer.  But it’s new and relatively few people were even aware that the camper cabin was being built, so it isn’t as booked up as Camper Cabin #1. You can reserve both camper cabins at reserveamerica.com (recently renamed active.com).

Below are pictures of our staff hard at work on the camper cabin.  You will note one “staff member” who is not overworking herself. (Hint: She has lots of wavy black hair.)

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We have winners!

Webcam view 9:15 AM, May 10th. More ice remained in the bay to the west, but mostly it was all gone this morning.

Official total ice out date is May 10th, with all but a small sheet of ice disappearing the night of May 9th. That makes the May 10th guesses of Susan Arbisi and Ginger Alexander right on the mark, with Sarah Dale’s May 9th guess close enough to argue about.

We drew names and Susan is the T-shirt winner.  (We’ll e-mail you about this, Susan.) Ginger and Sarah, when we see you this summer you should each choose a Bearskin mug as a trophy for your guessing expertise.

You can see pictures of each day’s changes on our daily photo site here.  When the ice went, it changed fast.

Now to get out there and collect the main dock and all the other items that were swept down into the bay by the ice flow.

Remaining ice at 9:15 AM on May 10th.

It’s officially spring at Bearskin Lodge– at last!

5.10.11, a photo by Day by Day at Beautiful Bearskin Lodge on Flickr.

This is all the ice that is left on East Bearskin. It will be gone by early afternoon. Let the canoe trip and fishing season begin!

Traveling ice

View of East Bearskin this morning, looking out from the campground picnic area

We are closing in on “ice out.”  A wind out of the east has blown most of the remaining ice on East Bearskin down into our bay.  The ice from the 2 arms of East Bearskin Lake is rapidly headed this direction.The black degraded ice is tinkling, sounding like thousands of ice cube-filled glasses all being jiggled at the same time. The main dock, which we disconnect from the shore for winter and spring, broke its rope and has traveled down to cabin 4.  It will be, um, entertaining to attempt dock retrieval. 

The ice won’t be gone today, but tomorrow seems likely. A continuing sequence of pictures can be seen at our daily photo site here.

A forest service pilot made ice observations yesterday from the air.  Here is the report–

Overview:  With few exceptions, roughly any lake that is of any size east of a line running south of Big Saganaga Lake still has quite a lot of ice.

Lakes in LaCroix and Kawishiwi Districts: Most lakes are open including Basswood and Knife Lakes.

Lakes in Tofte and Gunflint Districts:  

                Open:  Ogishkemuncie, Sea Gull, Little Saganaga, and the western half of Gunflint, Little Cascade; Sawbill ; Perent, Isabella

                Some Ice:   Tuscarora (floating scraps), Loon (south of Gunflint Lake) is mostly ice, Homer has scraps of ice

                All Ice:  Cherokee, Frost, and Brule still have ice tight to the shore—and mostly any lake of any size east of these lakes ; Gabimichigami, Gillis, Cherokee, Winchell, Brule, Loon and Davis; Cascade, Tait, and Clara; South Temperance;  Alton, Beth; Devil’s Track

                Couldn’t see:  Dumbell and Silver Island Lakes