Growing up, living and working on a Minnesota resort, Northwind Lodge near Ely, MN presents challenges, wildlife, and some interesting stories next to the BWCA.
Last Saturday, it was slow in the store and I wanted to finish shingling Cabin #3 because I still had one more roof to go and winter is approaching. I wrote on a full sheet of paper this message:
"Blow horn twice for service. Give me a couple of minutes and I'll be right here."
The reason for blowing the horn twice is because I was using an air-nailer that has a bark. I'm bound to hear one of two honks. The reason I said to wait a few minutes was because I had to climb down a a ladder and cross through about 100 yards of trails and brush. Simple enough to understand, or so I thought.
Well, as the beautiful late-October day grew shorter, I heard my four-legged doorbell Delilah go off, loud and clear when a truck drove into the yard. So, I hit the ladder and down to Terra firma I climbed. I cut past Cabin 7, took a couple of turns through the brush and stepped onto an obscure trail that leads me right to the store. It took me all of 45 seconds to get there and as I approached, I saw a late 20's couple looking at a map on the wall and peering into the glass on the door with cupped hands on brows. They looked like they were trying to find something on the deck, as well.
I could see what looked like the essence of confusion. I greeted them and inquired if they missed the note that I taped OVER the door knob, but also quickly added that it didn't matter because Delilah was making far more noise than any horn.
The guy replied in a slightly exasperated tone that they would have "blown the horn" but could not seem to find it anywhere around the door. He looked around the area as he said this to me. He also pointed to the obviously dead door bell button next to the door frame and said that nothing "really sounded any horn" no matter what they tried. They were perplexed.
I said slowly, "The horn on your truck, is what the note meant. There is no horn hanging by the door here for you to actually blow."
"Oooooooooh", they both said in a slightly confused harmony after seeing the light. "The horn on the truck.", the guy said. She nodded her head slightly in understanding.
Internally, a part of me died....of laughter....and then sadness.
For the next time I have to do this, I'm considering suggesting that there is a "Horn Blowing App" that people should download to their smartphones or maybe I'll hang a saxophone or a trombone on a peg next to the door.
"Play a tune and give me a few minutes to get there." Still SMH.
Nothing really exciting going on but you get the sense of the quiet we have here once fall sets in and a tiny bit of snow starts to fall. This was filmed on October 7, 2014.
After building Cabin #1 as my family still knows it today and using it for a few years, Grandpa Frank Baltich decided to build a second cabin that was more out in the open and in sunlight. The #1 (Grandpa's Log Cabin) is still up against the side of a really steep hill on it's south side. In the summer, it is the coolest spot being located in the shade except for from mid-June through August, but the shade always grows longer as the seasons head to winter. That would make for a very short day in the darkest months of the year. Grandpa got a little tired of those conditions which can weigh on one's psyche and decided that the next cabin would be in sunlight and next to running water which was Jasper Creek. So, in 1946, right after the war and when my dad was only 14, Grandpa bid on a government building that was no longer being used. It was the on the Firetower Road about 5 miles from Northwind Lodge. It was the ranger's quarters and they were making changes in up on that really tall hill where the fire tower was.
That fire tower installation was one of the neater places that we visited when I was a kid. First there was the road up to the fire tower. It was, and still can be, rough and bumpy and steep. At the top, was the fire tower standing tall & proud but unused for many years even when I was a kid. Towers gave way to airplanes in the never-ending vigilance of tired eyes watching for that little stripe of smoke that makes its way into a monster if left unchecked. A board was bolted up on the first 20 feet of ladder to keep the crazy people off during it's retirement. On the ground was a beautiful, old log building with one of those old desk telephones like you'd see on the Andy Griffith show sitting on a table in the pane glass window. A log garage there with boats that the game wardens was stored as well. That was a really cool place.
We always went up in the fall time when the resort was closed. My dad, my brother and I wandered around in the crisp air of the Minnesota fall with really crunchy leaves under foot looking for partridge. For some reason, there were oak leaves (very few oak trees in this area) present and they were tough and extra crunchy. You could try to sneak around in hunting mode, but it was hopeless to be really quiet. There were also pine needles thick and if you could find a clear patch on the ground, you could hide the noise for a second until you met up with the leaves once again and your cover was blown. Good thing partridges aren't that spooky. Age-old trails headed down the hill towards the Kawishiwi river and a spot where the CCC camps built a wellhead at a spring where the water flows even today. There were and still are the big rock foundations for the cabins and signs of masonry that lives forever but blends in with the land from where the rocks and logs came.
The other thing that I can't forget up on that hill was the wind in the white pines. It constantly made that soothing sound of loneliness and freedom, and happiness all wrapped up into one endless song. No matter when you go there, you'll hear that sound and smell those pine needles. It was the place that I always wished I could live at for it's beautiful desolation and the sound of the gentle wind always present. Strangely enough, it was the kind of desolation that could drive one to madness, but like a mermaid on the rocks, it always called me back. It is still one of my most favorite places to be.
If you followed one unmarked trail to the northwest, it took you down from the peak and to place where the ultra modern world met the old. It was some sort of science testing station complete with a little building, several little chicken coops with louvered vents and strange contraptions and propane tanks. It was like you wandered out of a spooky desolate woods high on a hill into an alien landing site where somebody did experiments. At least that is what my 14 year old mind told me it was. It was really creepy.
Back in those days, everything was government secret and they didn't tell anybody what was going on, so imaginations had to fill in the details. I was pretty sure it was for ungodly alien experiments on humans, but it was and still is, a weather testing center. If you go there today, they actually spent $10 bucks and put up a sign so kids don't think the aliens have an outpost there.
The place I've just described is from where Cabin #2 came to Northwind Lodge. Grandpa and my dad won it on a government bid. They cut the building up into four pieces and reassembled it at it's current location. Over the years, Grandpa added a front porch which is now the kitchen, and a back room which used to be the kitchen. In later years, my dad remodeled it. Then in the mid 80's my brother Bernie remodeled it again. In 2010, I remodeled the kitchen. It served as a home in 1946 and then in 1952, Grandpa built what is now Cabin 8 and Cabin 2 went into rentals. The beaver boards that make the ceiling beneath the tiles in one of the bedrooms will still show the nail holes of many stretched and dried hides all brought to the fur buyer so many years ago.
I'm always amazed when I think back to how long we've been here. Cabin #2 is part of the history of not just us Baltich's but also countless men who stopped fires from burning the woods around us undoubtedly saving people's lives. That's why it's such an interesting cabin at Northwind Lodge - it's been standing the test of time with great success.
Now, that global warming has officially set in on northeastern Minnesota, we are dressing appropriately and still getting out on the water to nail some lunkers. This is Connie Wegisin from Ohio with her northern she caught yesterday. That was a particularly chunky monkey she brought into the boat.
The weeds in the lake this year are unlike anything I've ever seen before. It's weird how some years we have no weeds and think the rusty crayfish have moved in and killed them all. Other years we have normal weeds, and this year we have weeds up the wazoo. And yet, my garden croaked and was a waste of $28... The brush this year is thicker than peasoup and the growing season was ridiculously short for everything.
As a result of the thick weeds in the lake, the Wegisins were casting topwater plugs because even the weedless are hard to do right now. Red and white is hot and I think Connie was using a Spook or something similar - Tom couldn't remember the name. Anyway, the haukies are pounding red and white and Connie caught one of these:
So, if you were staying at Northwind Lodge right now, not only would be enjoying cool weather, but you could be taking advantage of the serious northerns rising from the cover of cabbage weeds to attack easy targets twitching on top. I don't want to rub it in. Oh, what the heck; yes I do...
Here is recent blog post in our Red Rock Outdoors Blog about a recent trip to Wood Lake with friend and Northwind Lodge guest Paul Edwards. Lots of wind, one really nice walleye with the JVC Adixxion II camera worked both above and underwater. Yes, it is definitely waterproof and dries off very rapidly. Between the driving rain and dunking, "waterproof and rugged" is a good thing in little action cameras.
One of our cabin guests just came in to say the reason for he and his wife come here to stay is because when he sits out on his cabin deck looking out at the lake, all he hears are loons calling, the creek flowing, and seagulls overhead. He was quite moved in his describing and couldn't find all the words one needs to describe what it is to experience true wilderness solitude. He said he couldn't find anything like this at home. I understood completely.
Momma Loon on her nest on Jasper. She and the father have been raising two
young loons all summer long. A Loon family of four on Jasper Lake.
On Saturday, 8-23, the Wilson party arrived and checked into Cabin 6 in the late afternoon. Right now at 11:45 AM on 8-24, Lori and her friend Joanne popped into the store looking for bass tackle. They bought Yum Crawbugs and Booyah bass jigs to put together to form Jig-N-Pigs like I showed them about three years ago. Less than 20 hours after arrival to Northwind Lodge, I asked Lori if they had done any fishing yet. She replied in a conclusive, confident tone, "Oh, yeah...we've already caught 19 fish." By Sunday's end, they boated another 19 fish! Monday morning it was so windy, after boating four fish, they headed into shore to wait for the wind to die down. Today, because they were land-locked, which is a rare occasion, Lori, Joanne and I talked more fishing and Lori said that they have now pretty much fished every spot that Jasper has to offer and caught fish out of every last one of them as well. Jasper has 4.1 miles of shoreline and the Wilson party knows it and all the spots in between probably better than most. The Wilson party came here for several years in the past, but with kids, school and college and activities, they had dropped off the Northwind Lodge yearly return-roster several years back. But, one day, out of the blue, kids done with school and on their own, Lori gave us a call and they showed up for vacationing once again at Northwind Lodge. At the time, I recall Lori saying to me that "it had been too many years" and they looked forward to staying here again. We were more than happy to have them back this time with the addition of friends Mike and Joanne. As I recalled, they used to fish, but I couldn't remember anything truly notable with their results of years past. I'm sure they caught fish back then, but nothing really notable stood out with me. Then, one day, a few years ago, Larry, husband of Lori came in to Red Rock to look for a bait-casting rod & reel. Having been in the business of fishing and selling gear for my entire life, I felt it was my duty to inform my customer about what he was planning to do. Over the years, I felt that I'd seen far too many people buy a bait-casting combo with not enough info and then they would go home and stick it in the corner after experiencing their first major backlash - which usually occurred in the first cast. So, I told Larry to test mine out first. I had a $350 outfit with Pflueger Summit reel on a Falcon casting rod and 20 lb. test braid (the ONLY way to go with a bait caster - mono really does not work nearly as well), and suggested Larry go out and beat the water to a froth with it. I just happened to have Jig-n-Pig rig tied on that sales rep for Booyah Bait Co., Yum, and Pradco (which stands for Plastics Research and Development Company) Tim Fogarty set me up with to try for largemouth bass fishing "because it is a TON of FUN". I left the lure on and told Larry that it is weedless and he could cast it right into the lily pads or cabbage weeds and it would crawl right through the thickest ones with little difficulty. It was a fun bait to use because the little Crawbug arms flip like a crayfish through the water. The other cool part about that jig is that you can let it hit the bottom just about anywhere and it come right to you when you retrieve it. As far as catching fish with it, I had no real luck partly because I am more in the store talking about fishing that actually fishing these days. Larry disappeared out the door, and other duties called me to action. I forgot all about Larry and the bait-caster. About 4 hours later, Larry showed up with that fancy-schmancy bait-caster and jig-n-pig in tow. I asked him how it went as I saw the reel was devoid of a bird's nest and showed no signs of sword-fighting. Larry handed it over, thanking me for being able to demo it. He also added that he's glad I set him up with the demo and he no longer wants to buy the bait-casting combo because it wasn't for him. "BUT", he added, "where do you get more of these?", he asked pointing to the Jig-n-Pig rig. Well, as luck would have it, I knew precisely where he could get more. I asked him if they were working and he said Lori told him to get some more and return quickly. I grabbed one off the shelves and showed Larry how to rig it up. Then, he grabbed a bunch that I put on the bill and disappeared out the door.
It was "Game On" from this point with the Wilson party. They turned into fishing fanatics! They'd be gone all day long on Jasper, rain or shine. I'd see all four of them in the boat, plugging the hell out of the shorelines, working the weed beds and lily pad rafts . The women would make an occasional visit to the store for a Jig-n-Pig resupply and they weren't excessively wordy. They got to the intended point of their visit and then back out the door they went. I was amazed at how hard the fishing focus combined with the competitive nature of their fishing. (!) Man, you talk about serious, butt-kicking, take-no-prisoners attitudes about putting fish in the boat, measuring them, releasing them, and winning. Apparently, they've had a rather serious competition going for the last few years and from the calm quiet intensity of it, I would contend that they are betting their homes, cars and maybe even gold doubloons. In reality, I think the prize is simply bragging rights which makes it even more spectacular. Annette and I remain fascinated by it all. I would have to conclude that they are now harder-core fisherpersons than our hard-core guys and I thoroughly enjoy them proving what this particular lake is capable of producing when one goes out and works at it. After all, they pulled in 19 fish in under 20 hours time here and while that doesn't sound impressive per hour, you gotta remember that they slept, ate dinner and breakfast during that time as well.
So, it's off to the races with the Wilson party in Cabin #6 for another year. They are on to a solid start on Jasper for 2014!
.png)
