September 9th, 2011
 A gorgeous day for a sail on Bass Lake! I will be forever amazed I think by the change in the energy at our resort after Labor Day. Although there are still kids here the place feels so quiet! Maybe it’s just that the pace of our resort life changes so Jay and I notice it more than anyone else would but…wow! It’s is SO peaceful this time of year. Our guests this week are enjoying some incredible September weather. Warm and sunny with perfect blue sky and gorgeous sunsets. Some leaves are already starting to turn – it seems like fall color season is just around the corner.
 The newest addition to the fleet - 2001 Bennington with 40 ph 4stroke Evinrude Our big excitement recently (beside school starting) was the purchase of a new pontoon. We bought a gently-used 2001 Bennington pontoon with a 40 hp 4-stroke Evinrude motor. The set-up is exactly the same as our 2004 pontoon which makes it a perfect fishing pontoon as well as cruising pontoon. The new pontoon has already been reserved for a few weeks in 2012 but if you have an interest please send us an email (stay@wildwoodresort.net) or call 1-888-328-5858 to check availability for next summer. We will be getting it added to our Rates page on the website soon!
There are some neat things to do in area during the month of September. First of all, the Children’s Discovery Museum is still open Monday – Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Wildwood has a resort membership to the CDM and our guests can visit for free. Coming up this weekend: the MN Street Rod Association Fall Campout hosted by the Northern Cruisers Car Club; the 5th Annual Bigfork Valley Challenge including a 1/2 marathon, 4.5 mile run and 3 mile walk; the Bigfork Valley Community Foundation Hoedown Fundraiser, 5:30p @ Marcell Family Center including dinner and dancing to music by the Miltich-LaPlant Folk Ensemble, silent and live auctions; and Enduro Stock Car Races @ Grand Rapids Speedway, Itasca County Fairgrounds. For more information on these and upcoming events in our area please check out this Community Calendar.
Here’s another great potluck recipe that a one of our guests just sent me. Enjoy!
Cashew Chicken Pasta Salad
• 3 cups bow tie (farfalle) pasta
• 1 (16 ounce) bottle bottled coleslaw dressing (I use Rudolph’s)
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup Miracle Whip
• 4 cups cubed cooked chicken (I usually use a rotisserie chicken)
• 1 1/2 cups seedless green grapes, halved (I slice)
• 1 1/2 cups seedless red grapes, halved (I slice)
• 2 cups thinly sliced celery
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
• 2 cups cashew halves
• 1 cups dried cranberries
Directions: 1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes until al dente; drain, and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together coleslaw dressing, mayonnaise, and Miracle Whip. In a large bowl, combine pasta, chicken, green grapes, red grapes, celery, and green onions. Stir in dressing, and mix well. Place the salad in the refrigerator to marinate for 2 hours, or overnight. Mix in cashews and dried cranberries just before serving. Serve cold.
We hope your plans in the coming weeks include the very best of fall: fall fishing, fall color tours and a relaxing fall get-away with us at Wildwood Resort!
Kim & Jay
Posted in Minnesota Fall Color Tours, Minnesota Family Resort Vacations, Minnesota Fishing | 1 Comment »
September 3rd, 2011
 I know this is a terrible photo taken through the screen on our livingroom window but it was so cute I just had to post it. K. helping her Daddy clean the grills. I guess that summer really is going to come to an end. It goes too fast!! (I’d like to register that as an official complaint!) However, with that being said it really is time to get on with the year. Our girls go back to school next week and they are ready. Supplies are purchased, new clothes are washed and teachers have been introduced so bring on a new school year!
My parents went back to Big Red country this week and we miss their company. Before they left we were discussing the fact that they were leaving soon and Katie said, “But who will take care of us?!” Although we all laughed she does have a point. Grandma and Grandpa support us through our busy summer and make sure we all eat regular (and delicious) meals, have clean clothes to wear and Grandpa ALWAYS has time to go fishing or for a bike ride. We love them, miss them and appreciate them. THANK YOU, MOM AND DAD!!
 Another beautiful night on Bass Lake! The fishing has been up and down in these last few weeks. Seems like everyone has fish to fry for supper but we’re not seeing too many entries in the fishing contest. We continue to hear about big sunnies as well as a few walleye and northern. The weather this time of year generally doesn’t help. This week we’ve had everything from 80 degrees and sunny to thunderstorms and 60 degrees. The sunsets have been fantastic, though!!!
 Soon we will be cruising over the lake on a snowmobile instead of a pontoon. Are you ready??? Jay and I have both taken calls in the last week for winter stays. It is funny how we get so out of practice! We could hardly remember ANYTHING about winter….too much summer on our minds. The reverse is true during the winter – I can’t seem to remember my summer “self” when all we’ve talked about is Minnesota snowmobile trips! Although I hate to see summer end it is fun to think of the coming winter. We love our snowmobiles and we’re so lucky to have such a great snowmobile trail system in Itasca County. I’m sure I will be blogging this winter about our snow adventures and I’ll give you our version of a snowmobile trail report. I’m including a winter picture just to get us all in the mood for the white stuff. (Did it work??)
That’s it for now. I hope all of you have a great holiday weekend.
Kim & Jay
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August 26th, 2011
 The Kid's lineup for Kids vs. Adults baseball game The weather as I write the blog is so gorgeous! I love these late summer days when we wear shorts in the afternoon and sweatshirts and jeans by the fire at night. We’ve had some rain and wind in the last week but, fortunately, nothing damaging. The worst outcome of the latest storm was that one of our kayaks has gone missing. We are hoping to get a call from a neighbor letting us know it washed up on their shore.
We finished our last potluck of the year on Monday night. It is always a bittersweet night for us. Frankly, we are SICK of goulash, however, the last potluck signals that our summer season really is coming to an end and that makes us a bit sad. We miss our guests when the season is over! Don’t worry, though. We finished on a high note – there was a lot of good food and a couple of recipes that must be shared! (I promised to get the recipes on the blog!) Here they are:
 Ready for the last potluck of the season! Glee’s Hot Chicken Salad
2 lb chicken, cooked & diced
2 C. celery, diced
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 can sliced water chestnuts
3/4 C. salad dressing
1 can Cream of Chicken soup
3 T. chicken broth
potato chips
Mix salad dressing with chicken soup and chicken broth then add all other ingredients. Put in greased 9×13 pan, sprinkle with crushed potato chips and bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes.
Peanut Butter Brownie Bars
1 box brownie mix for 9×13 pan
1 can chocolate frosting (or buy brownie mix with frosting packet)
1 C peanut butter
1 C. powdered sugar
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups miniatures
Make brownies according to box instructions. Mix peanut butter, powdered sugar (add a little water as needed) and spread on brownies. Frost with chocolate frosting. Arrange Peanut Butter Cups on top.
 Wildwood Resort is a perfect destination for fall color tours All these thoughts of the end of summer bring to mind the obvious…fall! With Autumn just around the corner I wonder if you have given any thought to a fall getaway? Itasca County is an incredibly beautiful place to plan a fall colors weekend or a fall fishing trip. Our off-season rates are very reasonable at more than 40% off of summer rates. Now that’s a deal! Best of all you can unplug and unwind in one of our beautiful cabins overlooking Bass Lake. Don’t fish? That’s ok…there are lots of other fun reasons to visit us in the off-season that have nothing to do with baiting a hook: team-building weekends, church planning retreats, girls getaway weekends, scrapbooking weekends, and quilting retreats to name a few! Why don’t you think about it and give us a call. We would love to see you (again) this year.
Kim & Jay
 2nd and 3rd generation Wildwood guests
 The Dane family  The referees for the kids vs. adults baseball game  Plan your next scrapbooking weekend or quilting retreat with us!
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August 18th, 2011
 We love the smell of a campfire! Don’t you love the smell of a campfire? It’s one of my favorite scents and always reminds me of summer vacation at Wildwood. The days the nights are getting cooler now so campfires this time of year feel as good as they smell!
 Seriously cute kids with big sunnies! We seem to be coming out of a slow fishing period. For the last several weeks we’ve not had too many entries in our fishing contest. The hot, sunny days of late July and early August seemed to put a damper on fishing (or more appropriately the “catching”). However, this week we are encouraged to see BIG sunnies in the fish house and to hear stories of the big bass being caught along the lily pads. We even have cute kid photos to back up the fish tales.
 Katie & her first trophy The Itasca County Fair is going on this weekend. Karlee, Katie and I took in the sights and sound this afternoon and had a good time. We ate junk food, played around in the kiddie barn with the puppies and rode some rides. Katie even got a trophy for her 2nd place finish in the tractor-pull. (She’s so proud!) As I talked with the friends we ran into it seemed like all of us are having a hard time believing that we are looking at school starting in a couple of weeks. Where did the time go? Regardless of the looming fall Jay & I are determined to enjoy our families during these last few weeks of summer. So here’s to the last hurrah – we’re going to treasure our s’mores and sunscreen before we have to give in to school supplies and schedules! We hope you can do the same…
Kim & Jay
 Big sunnies caught by little cuties. (and their dad)  Love that proud smile!  My dad caught this nice bass last night!  FIVE entries in the fishing contest equals bragging rights!
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August 5th, 2011
 We enjoyed a visit this week with my family! Normally when I talk about family vacations at our resort I’m talking about other peoples’ families. This week, however, I’m talking about my family as well! My sisters joined us this last week for 6 wonderful days tubing on Bass Lake, stuffing our faces with our favorite recipes (mmmm….homemade ice cream!) and lots of talking. (Jay often feels the need to go to his “quiet place” during visits with my family.) We had lots of fun tubing on Big Mable – especially when Mom and Dad took a turn. Our girls have such a good time being spoiled by their aunties!! Our thanks to my parents and sisters for a wonderful week…it’s never long enough!
 John enjoyed a break from the Iowa heat and good fishing this week! The weather has been pretty perfect again. Our Iowa guests are enjoying a little break from the heat down south! We had a BIG rain last Monday night but, fortunately, not much wind. We got over 2 inches of rain in a short period of time so Jay had to fix the boat ramp and drag the road to remove ruts but other than that all was okay. At one point looking out the windows of the house it looked like we were in a car wash! Why can’t the rain come in gentle 1/2 inches soakers?! Oh well, we needed the rain and hopefully some of it soaked in during that pounding. All of our native gardens look so beautiful right now! There are so many plants blooming in each bed that I can’t identify all of them. When they look like this I can definitely say they were worth each back-aching minute it took to plant them.
 Wildflowers against a backdrop of Bass Lake Sunset This weekend is Tall Timber Days in Grand Rapids and the White Oak Rendevous in Deer River. Both are jam-packed community celebrations that are fun for the whole family!
 Same name, same age, same adorable smile We still have a few openings toward the end of August. Just enough time to sneak in a visit to Wildwood before back-to-school. White Pine Lodge is open August 13th and August 20th. Book either opening for the week for $1700. That’s a savings of almost $800! Cabin 2 is also open for a partial week from August 20th to August 25th. Book Cabin 2 and receive our off-season rate of $899. These offers are good on new reservations only. Please be sure to mention these specials when you call to book your One-Last-Getaway-Before-Summer-Ends Vacation at Wildwood Resort!
Enjoy these beautiful summer days!
Kim & Jay
 We had to dodge raindrops during potluck this week  Introductions!  Waiting their turn for potluck!  Water skiing on Bass Lake
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July 29th, 2011
 The best way to pass a hot summer day is on the water! I’m starting to sound like a broken record and I’ve only been blogging a few weeks! But….I have to say it again…the weather this week has been beautiful. Only one day this week was a little rainy and otherwise every day has been perfect lay-on-the-beach, tube-on-the-lake, fish-in-the-morning, campfire-in-the-evening kind of days! Really, summer vacation doesn’t get any better than that! The warm, sunny weather has meant that we haven’t seen as many fish this week as in past weeks but last night the smell of a fish frying is wafting up to the house so someone is catching some fish!
 Beach days! This week around our area is a busy one. Today (July 29th) is the 27th Annual Northern Cruisers Car Show from 7:00 to 4:00 at the IRA Civic Center. The 40th Annual Northern MN Itasca Vintage Car Club Show & Swap Meet is going on Saturday the 30th from 7:00 to 6:00 and Sunday the 31st from 7:00 – 4:00 at the Itasca County Fairgrounds. The Reif Center is also hosting the world premier of the Church Basement Ladies: A Mighty Fortress is our Basement at the Reif Performing Arts Center. Next weekend (August 5-7) is also a busy one with Tall Timber Days in Grand Rapids and the White Oak Rendevous in Deer River.
If you haven’t made it out of town yet this summer or if you want one more vacation before school starts please check our Availability. We still have openings the weeks of August 13 & 20!
Kim & Jay
 Waiting for her turn at potluck!  Lots of guests ready to enjoy potluck!
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July 21st, 2011
 The hot weather meant water fights and sprinklers during our weekly Kids' Activities We’re from Iowa and I realize that what we consider to be “hot” at this point in our lives is not the incredible heat and humidity we experienced in our youth. However, I asked one of our Iowa guests this week if our current weather is “Iowa” hot and she confirmed it is…so I feel justified saying, “Holy Cow – it’s hot!!” In fact, we postponed Monday’s potluck for the first time in 13 years due to heat. We’ve canceled for rain before but never heat. No worries, though, we’ll sneak potluck in tonight…Jay and I don’t miss out on great food cooked by other people! The good news is that if you are on vacation at Wildwood this week you are a happy camper. (pardon the pun!) Hot and sunny outside means great days to lay on the beach, swim in the lake and go tubing! Then you can go back to your air conditioned cabin when you are ready for a break from the heat. Today is starting out absolutely beautiful with cooler temps and a pretty, blue sky!
 Krista, our very own Pied Piper, leads our Supervised Kids' Activities each week Our supervised Kids’ Activities were all about water this week. The kids played a variety of water games and Krista took them down to the beach when the kids got tired of playing with the sprinkler on the ball field. We are so lucky to have Krista Sjostrand come out twice weekly to play with the resort kids. She does a great job!
 The cute youngster in this photo still visits Wildwood each year with his family. (But he's a teenager these days!) Our indoor project this week has been to find a way to use our old fish photos. They’ve been sitting in a photo album in the Lodge buried under the Bocce Ball set and a few bean bags. Not doing much good! So Jay got the wild idea to crop them and laminate them for use in the fish cleaning house. It has been so fun for us to look back over 13 years and remember the people who have made our first decade at Wildwood so special. While it was enjoyable it confirmed what our backs have been telling us for a few years….we are so old…because many of the babies we see in the early pictures are now in middle school! And a few of the kiddies are even out of college. Yikes!
The baby eagles have finally gotten their “wings” under them and are flying with the same grace as their parents. We don’t see them sitting in our trees anymore but it’s still fun to see those beautiful birds soar overhead. It would seem it’s time for them to leave the nest, though, because Jay saw the parents chasing the young away from the nest this week. I guess it truly is time for them to fly!
 The hot weather has slowed down the fishing just a bit but our guests are still finding big sunfish! We hear that those jokers down in Minneapolis have decided to put the state back to work. Visitors to Minnesota can once again buy fishing license and The Forest History Center will reopen on Saturday, July 23rd. Hopefully the entire state can get back to business quickly! Mississippi Melodie Showboat performances continue this weekend and next and the last weekend of July includes many fun area activities and festivals: 56th Annual North Star Stampeded, in Effie; 27th Annual Northern Cruisers Car Show and the 4oth Annual Northern MN Itasca Vintage Car Club Show & Swap Meet.
We still have an opening the week of July 30th week in Red Pine Lodge. We are discounting that cabin to $1700/week for 1-8 people. (normal rate is $2495!) It’s a great opportunity to slide into a Minnesota family vacation! We also have White Pine Lodge open the week of August 6th to August 13th. Give us a call today if you have interest in a stay with us. Or please pass on our openings to those you know who might be able to plan a last minute Minnesota vacation!
Have I mentioned that we are also on Facebook? “Friend” us and you can see even more photos of life at Wildwood Resort. Have a great weekend!
Kim & Jay
 Tom (with his catch in 1999) and his family are long-time Wildwood guests!  Our sweet Kodi in 1999 before he was even a year old. I remember snapping this photo - he wanted to charge those geese!
 Don and his lovely bride, Coleen, have been coming to Wildwood Resort for many years! This photo of him menacing some perch was taken during our first season. (1999)
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July 15th, 2011
 Fish for supper! Hello all! We hope you had a great week and can look forward to a fun weekend. As usual we are sad to say goodbye to this week’s guests. Goodbyes stink! But then after a hard day’s work on Saturday we get to welcome back new guests who are excited about their week of vacation at Wildwood. Saturdays are a crazy rollercoaster around our house in the summer!
 Proof! This ain't no perch, people!! The fishing this season continues to be outstanding. We are seeing nice walleye, big sunfish, some big northerns and, finally(!) big bass. We love to bass fish and so do many of our guests. This last week the largemouth bass seemed to come out to play and we saw lots of nice ones. This week the biggest we saw was 4 lbs but there were many in the 3lb+ range. Jay and I even got out fishing this last week…just the two of us! I caught a very nice bass and Jay did NOT!! Lightening chased us in off the lake before he could catch one for himself so I’m enjoying bragging rights until we find time to fish some more. He continues to “shrink” my fish in his re-telling of the story so by next week he will probably be telling people it was a perch the size of a hot dog. However, I have proof! Gotta love camera phones!
 Good people and good food - the perfect company on a summer evening This week we had some excitement that, fortunately, doesn’t happen often! A guest needed emergency assistance after a fall and the ambulance was called for only the 2nd time in 13 years. We are so gratified to have an outstanding volunteer fire department in Cohasset. Volunteer firefighers were on the scene in a matter of minutes followed quickly by the Meds-1 ambulance crew. The care and compassion demonstrated by all involved was incredible and we are happy to report that altough our guest is banged she is doing fine. She even got to fish during her remaining vacation days and that’s all she cared about! Our many thanks to the heroes of Meds-1 Ambulance and the Cohasset Fire Department!
 Every week we get to welcome the greatest people to ever enjoy a Minnesota vacation The coming week will be a busy one in our area with lots of fun thing to do and see. We are so fortunate to own a resort in beautiful northern Minnesota where there are so many natural, cultural and just-plain-fun things to do! The Mississsippi Melodie Showboat performances start this week and continue each weekend through the next two weekends. It is such a fun show! If you are in the area be sure to check it out. The KAXE Riverfront Festival is tomorrow and beginning Thursday the downtown Grand Rapids businesses will be having Krazy Days. (You can see more details about area events at: http://www.visitgrandrapids.com/vacations/calendar/july_aug_sept.html) Add fishing, swimming, relaxing, tubing and waterskiing to the list of fun and you can see there is so much to see and do during your Minnesota vacation at Wildwood Resort!
We have discounted our July 30th opening for Red Pine Lodge. Call us today and you can book that 4 bedroom Lodge for the 3 bedroom rate – a savings of $400! We also have an opening the week of August 6th in Cabin 4. Have you booked your summer vacaatin yet? If not, we hope you will consider a stay with us this summer!
Have a great weekend!
Kim & Jay
 Introductions are part of the potluck tradition at Wildwood!  This one wasn't quite big enough for the contest but it was a nice northern pike!  Thsi 3lb 9 oz bass was released!  It was a bit windy this week for potluck so Dad and Jay put up a windbreak.
Posted in Minnesota Family Resort Vacations, Minnesota Fishing | 1 Comment »
July 10th, 2011
We hope that your holiday week was a good one. Ours was wonderful. We’re so grateful for those who secured our freedom and those who continue to defend it!
 Is there any better way to spend a beautiful summer day than on the beach?! Is there any better way to spend a beautiful summer day than on the beach?!Our weather was simply perfect last week. We could not ask for any better! The sun has been shining and our guests have been down on the beach soaking it up. We have gotten out on the boat a few times and have enjoyed swimming, touring the lake and snacking while doing both. (We never hit the lake without food!) The lake really has warmed up a lot – the surface temperature is around 77 degrees! Although no one under the age of 12 seems to mind that water temp I found it rather shocking. I’m going to assume that is another sign of my advancing “maturity.”
 Pat caught this 15+ oz bluegill last week! Fishing was very steady last week. Lots of fish in the fish house means lots of fish tales around the resort! The sunfish are just huge! We’ve seen several this year right at a pound and even bigger. A 1+ pound sunfish looks like a dinner plate!
 With a nest next door to the resort we are often visited by the young bald eagles when they first begin to fly. This one sat on one of our log swings for awhile one morning this week. Our young bald eagles are flying! The babies have officially left the nest and are crashing into our treetops. One even tried to land this morning on one of the metal roofs and took a wild (and fast!) ride to the ground. The eagle was unhurt but they always sit on the ground with a look on their face that seems to say, “What just happened?!?!!?”
We had a last minute cancellation for the week of July 30th to August 6th. Red Pine Lodge is now available for that week. The weekly rate is $2495 for up to 8 people. (but the cabin will sleep 12) We also have an opening now for Cabin 4 the week of August 6th. The weekly rate is $995 for 1-4 people. Call or email today if you are interested in a stay with us this summer!
Have a great weekend whatever you are doing!
Kim & Jay
 We love to eat at Wildwood so Jay and I NEVER cancel potluck. (unless it rains!)
 Many of our Wildwood guests have been vacationing on Bass Lake for more than 40 years.
 He finally caught a big one on Bass Lake! This 8 lb + northern was brought in last week.
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July 1st, 2011
 Summer Vacation at Wildwood Resort Shhhh…don’t say it too loudly but it would seem that summer has finally come to Minnesota resort country. The sun was shining yesterday and today looks to be just as beautiful. It was so nice to see kids playing on the beach. Those industrious kids even built us a hot tub! Of course, it will be hard to heat in the winter but for now it’s a fine addition.
Last week’s rain combined with Monday’s 3 inches has boosted the lake level up to the bottom of the docks. That’s about where Jay sets them in the spring when he puts docks in and by this time in years past the lake level has usually fallen. We aren’t complaining! I haven’t had to water any of our new landscaping projects since I planted them. I do love regular rain. Our friends just north of us got 6 inches and that is too much to deal with….we are lucky!
 Nice Walleye Caught Bobber-Fishing for Sunfish Fishing has been really good this week. We’ve seen lots of walleye, sunfish and even some big largemouth bass. Today was sunny and some of our guests caught nice walleye bobber-fishing for sunnies in the middle of the afternoon. So the key to successful Minnesota walleye fishing must be to do the opposite of what all the pros say…and take some cute kids out with you.
There is a lot going on in and around our community this next week. Bisch Bash II kicks off the holiday weekend. It is held at Portage Park in Cohasset all day July 2nd. The Bisch Bash Committee has done an incredible job planning a fun community event with a heart. All proceeds go to the Itasca County Cancer Crisis Fund. Fireworks will be on display in Nashwauk on July 3rd and Grand Rapids on the 4th. Both displays begin at dusk. Nashwauk and Warba also have celebrations planned for the holiday weekend. The Naturalist Program has classes weekly a the Edge of the Wilderness Discovery Center in Marcell, The Reif Center has wonderful performances scheduled all summer and even the Grand Rapids Public Library has a summer kids program. Check out the Community Calendar on the Visit Grand Rapids website for more details about upcoming events!
Have a safe and fun 4th of July weekend!
Kim & Jay
 One of our wonderful families!
 Face Painting is a favorite activity during our Kids' Activity Program
 We do love our weekly potlucks! It is a chance to eat (LOTS!) of good food and to spend time getting to know one another.Our guests, both new and old, are the biggest blessing of our life at Wildwood!
 Our guests, both new and old, are the biggest blessing of our life at Wildwood!
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