Let’s Talk About a Minnesota Summer Vacation

winter weekends in Minnesota
We’re flocked with snow again after yesterday’s snow. It’s so beautiful!

We just got another beautiful Minnesota snowfall.  Looks like close to 8 inches at our house and once again the trees are flocked and roads are snow-covered.  Lots of people around town were disgusted by the snow since it had gotten so warm last week.  However, I see the snow as a sign of the coming spring!  March snow is as much a part of the summer cycle as the first sunburn on pasty white skin.  Not as painful, of course, but part of if just the same.  Even last year during our no-snow winter we got a March storm big enough to go snowmobiling.  So I say “Bring it on, Mother Nature!”  Get it on and get it over with so people can come North!

minnesota family resort
Even our water toys get a rest in the summer. Our hydrobikes are sheltered while they wait for open water!

Jay and I have a spring vacation planned.  We are looking forward to getting a rest and spending quality family time!  We haven’t always planned a spring vacation.  In fact, for most of our 14 years at Wildwood we haven’t taken any vacation at all.  But last year we called a halt to that crazy behavior because we all need a timeout.  First of all, we need something to look forward to.  Nothing is more depressing than facing another year of nose-to-the-grindstone months.  We planned our coming vacation in December and we have been talking about it and dreaming of it ever since.  I’m not even dreading the coming summer season where we work from May to October without a day off.  I KNOW that when we return to real life after our vacation that I’m going to be ready to spring clean those cabins.  Taking a Life Timeout does that for a person.  I read something in a book once that I’ve quoted many times over:  we pour ourselves out into others but if we never refill our own pitchers then we have nothing left to give.  I think that’s what a family vacation does for a body.  We’re so tied to our devices and our schedules that it almost feels like the sky will fall if we aren’t plugging away in our little corner of life all the time.  However, I know for a fact that isn’t true!  We CAN shut off our phones and leave the house or leave the country and just enjoy our kids and our spouses.

minnesota family resort
These could be your kids having fun on vacation!

We can unplug and unwind and the sky won’t fall, Chicken Little!  So that’s our plan:  unplug, unwind and rest.  And when we get back from our Life Timeout we’re going to be ready to work hard to get the resort ready to welcome you!  Because this summer is your time to unplug, unwind and rest.  Do some fishing, lay on our beach and eat s’mores by a fire while you watch the sun set over Bass Lake.  Ah….doesn’t that sound like something to look forward to?  Won’t that refill your pitcher?!  You don’t have to stay at Wildwood Resort this summer…there are LOTS of Minnesota family resorts that are amazing and fun and relaxing.  Just pick one.  Do something for your family today.  Do something that doesn’t involve running kids around town or planning supper!  Plan a stay at a family resort in Minnesota and get ready for fun.  The snow can’t last forever but memories last a lifetime.

Minnesota cabins have fire rings
Can’t you smell it?!   Bring on the marshmellows!
mn ice fishing
A nice man from a nearby ice house “loaned” us his fish for a photo op

Fishing on Bass Lake has been pretty darn slow this last week.  We had guests in last weekend who really had to work for their fresh fish supper!  The girls and I had never gone ice fishing so on Sunday we decided to find out for ourselves whether or not the fish were biting.  Guess what!?  They weren’t!  However, it was a GORGEOUS 30 degrees and partly sunny so I didn’t care that we didn’t catch fish.  It was relaxing just sitting there on our 5 gallon buckets talking with friends and watching the Vexlar.  It was amazing to me that it was just as relaxing as sitting in a boat fishing on open water.  I was wishing we’d driven a truck out to the spot so I could crawl in the back and take a little snooze.  (That’s what I usually do when we fish in the summer!)  Ice fishing in Minnesota is a cool experience.  There was a sense of commradery out there that I didn’t expect.

ice fishing with kids
Jay getting the girls all set up

In the summer you’ll hear fishermen growl when another boat comes too close and drops anchor to fish.  It’s a breach of fishing etiquette to encroach on another boat’s personal space while fishing on open water.  However, on the ice it seemed that there were no rules about how close you were to other fishermen.  People would just drive up to the spot and start punching holes with their ice augers.  (Assuming they were able to start their ice augers…our friend, Bob, couldn’t get his running!)  One couple pulled up in their pickup and the husband got out, punched a hole right outside the passenger door of the truck and his wife sat in the truck and just fished from her seat.  She didn’t even get out of the truck!  That cracked me up!!  I bet when she got nice and relaxed she just layed back on the seat of their truck an snoozed in the weak winter sun.  We had a blast even if we didn’t catch a fish.  Now Jay is scouring Craig’s List for an ice auger, a portable ice shack and a Vexlar.

ice fishing in minnesota
Jay had some trouble sticking on his seat so he spent some time rolling around in the snow!

Thank God he found something new to search for!  He bought a plow truck in January and without plow trucks to obsess over he’s been a little lost.  Search on, dear husband.  I need a portable shack conducive to catnaps out on the ice!

DSCN1002In late February we took a weekend off and went to the North Shore for a snowmobile weekend.  We had a blast!  I was surprised that the trails on the north shore where we were looked very much like the trails around Itasca County.  The trails we rode were all be inland and for some reason I had expected to be riding more along Lake Superior so we could enjoy the view.  However, that sounds like criticism and I don’t mean it that way.  We had a wonderful time and visited very cool places like The Trestle Inn and Gooseberry Falls.  We stayed at the very wonderful Cove Point Lodge in Beaver Bay, MN and ate great food at places like The Rustic Inn just north of Two Harbors.  (The homemade pie at The Rustic Inn is worth a trip to the North Shore all by itself!!)  We rode, laughed, ate too much and generally got to enjoy what our guests enjoy when staying at Wildwood for their Minnesota snowmobile weekends.  I’d never seen Gooseberry Falls before.  We were literally standing on the falls which was so cool.  We even saw some crazy guy climbing the ice flow.  Crazy but cool!

Soon it our time for recreation will come to an end so we’re busy planning our spring projects and purchases and that always makes us excited for another season.  It will be here before we know it!  Enjoy this last little taste of winter and if you haven’t done so already, plan a little family time for the coming summer.  Even Chicken Little learned that the sky won’t fall and he was, well….a chicken!

Kim & Jay

P.S.  Do you follow us on Facebook?  Like Wildwood Resort on Facebook and you’ll have the chance to see lots of photos and sometimes a few videos of life at Wildwood Resort!

mn cabin vacation
The picnic tables are kinda buried right now! But in a few short months they’ll be back in action for our weekly potlucks.
MN snowmobile weekend
The moon rising over Lake Superior

 

Ready…Set….Ride!

Last winter in Minnesota was a huge disappointment with its lack of snow.

minnesota winter cabins
The moon was setting over our cabins as I came back from dropping the girls at the bus stop. My camera didn’t do the beautiful scene justice!!

And after a freakish rain ruined our snow earlier this month we thought that this winter might be a repeat of last year.  However, we got a lovely storm Monday night which dropped about 4 inches of snow at Wildwood and 8+ just to the north of us.  The warm temperatures that accompanied the storm was also a nice surprise.  After spending a week or more in the double digits below zero I can tell you that 14 degrees feels like summer!!

minnesota snowmobiling
One of our favorite stops while out snowmobiling area trails is the Scenic Pines restaurant!

We took advantage of the new snow and went snowmobiling a couple of times this week.  Both days we headed northwest out of Marcell on the Marcell Trail to the Cameron Lake Trail to the Herb Brandstrom Trail.  Last Saturday when we rode we had the girls with us so we didn’t get quite as far as we would have liked.  It was fairly cold so we stopped to snack and warm up at Antler Lake Store (always a great stop for gas, snacks and a bathroom break) and then had lunch at Scenic Pines.  The trails were so good that we decided to head back that way on our regular Tuesday trip to see if we could get a few more miles on and try out the Taconite Trail.  We made it to Scenic Pines (again!) for lunch and then got just 15 miles or so up the Taconite before we had to turn around and head for home.  The trails were ungroomed with 6-8 inches of fresh snow and I’m telling you it was the most fun we’ve had in a long time!!  We met snowmobilers who had ridden farther north on the Circle L and Circle T Trails and they thought there was close to 12 inches in far northern Itasca County.

minnesota snowmobile weekend
We rode the Taconite Trail yesterday and the new snow made for a beautiful ride!

We just love snowmobiling the Taconite Trail and yesterday was a blast.   Someday we’re going to ride the Taconite from our place up to Ely! The Marcell Trail is a little rough in spots but very rideable.  The Cameron trail was also rough but the farther east we traveled the smoother the ride.  The Herb Brandstrom trail was beautiful as was the Taconite.  After the clubs get those trails groomed this week the riding is going to be fantastic!  The Bushwacker Trail that runs just south of Bass Lake was groomed today and looks good.  Maybe we’ll sneak in another ride yet this week just to check in out!

Our ice fishermen in last weekend did really well, too.  They caught nice sunfish, northern and some bass.  They found most of their fish in about 10 feet of water hanging out in the vegetation.  Bass Lake is very accessible right now with good ice! There is plenty of ice for truck traffic but after the snowfall we received Monday access by snowmobile might be easiest.

The weather is supposed to turn cold again this week but it is winter after all!  At least we won’t be losing any of our new snow to warm temps.  We hope you have the chance to get out and enjoy this beautiful Minnesota winter!

Kim & Jay

 

Minnesota winter vacations
The drive north on Highway 6 yesterday was beautiful with the rising sun shining on a stormy sky and flocked trees.
minnesota winter weekends
The drive into the resort was beautiful, too!

Bring on the Hard Water!

mn family resort
Jay is so smart. He’s figured out how to make the pontoons into covered wagons so the snow just slides off the pontoons.
mn family resort
There is no indoor storage for all our pontoons so they have to get tarped outside.
minnesota pontoon rental
Jay had to let the air out of the tires on the trailer to get the pontoon in the shed.

This is one of my favorite times of our year.  It’s not like “Top 5” favorite times of the year but it’s close…Top 10 for sure.  It follows on the heels of my “Number 1 Least Favorite Time of the Year” which is fall.  Love the weather, the colors and the guests.  Just don’t love the back-to-school, clean-every-day, do-I-have-clean-sheets-for-the-cabins part of fall.  Then at the very tail end of my Number 1 Least Favorite Time of the Year comes the “Really, Absolutely Worst Part of the Number 1 Least Favorite Time of the Year” and that is shutting down the resort.  We’re tired and we need a rest after 5 solid months of 24/7 (or so it feels) and the last thing I really want to do is shut down the old cabins, stow the boats and pull the docks.  While we are doing the work I realize that it’s never as bad as just anticipating doing the work.  Thinking about doing the work is more exhausting than actually getting it done.  Anyway, it took many weeks to get ready for winter but finally…whew!…we are here.  We pulled docks on Friday and Saturday suffering only minor marital strife in the process.  We had the usually hiccups and “what the heck!” moments but overall it’s a done deal.  It can snow now without Jay having a major anxiety attack.  We’re all(mostly) tucked in for the winter – our nuts are stowed, so to speak – and that’s what makes it a Top 10 time of year.  We can finally rest! So now we say, “Bring it on Mother Nature and Old Man Winter!”  We’re ready…mostly…pretty much.  Okay – I just thought of something we didn’t get done yet.  Maybe just a couple more days and then “Bring it On!”…

minnesota winter resort
The shoreline looks cold and lonely without the docks in the lake.
minnesota winter resort
The boat launch becomes an ice fishing and snowmobile launch in the hard water season.

Our Winter Rates went into effect on November 1st and already we’ve had some fun girlfriend weekends that made me green with envy.  I love sister-mom-aunt-grandma-girlfriend time.  Once I read something in a book that has stuck with me.  Basically the idea was that as moms we ‘pour’ ourselves out into our families and those we love but if we don’t take time to refill our pitchers we’ll end up empty.  That’s what I always think of when we have ladies’ groups in for crafting or relaxing.  Some groups get together to accomplish their scrap booking projects or to finish their quilts and still others just come together to rest.  We had a group in over the last weekend that brought in a massage therapist and a chef.  And another family group a couple of weeks ago that spent time watching and learning how their grandma made their favorite dish.  My husband refills his pitcher with a fall fishing trip each year but I think I would rather go with a massage and girl-talk!  Who’s with me?!?!

mn fihing resort
It’s hard to get down to Cabin 4 this time of year since the docks block the way.

I’ll be spending a day or so at the St. Paul Ice Fishing and Winter Sports Show that’s being held November 30th through December 2nd at the River Center in St. Paul.  I’ll be there representing Visit Grand Rapids as well as Wildwood Resort talking about Grand Rapids as a destination for Minnesota ice fishing trips and Minnesota snowmobiling weekends.  Stop by and say hi if you make it to the show.

That’s it for now! Oh…if you’re interested in how the docks come out of the lake visit our Facebook page to see some video.

Kim & Jay

mn fishing resort
Gotta remove the ramps before we can pull the docks out
pontoon rental
The newest pontoon gets indoor storage this year. However, it didn’t quite fit in the shed door. Oops…
Minnesota fishing resort
The docks are stored behind Cabin 4

Vroom! Vroom!

minnesota snowmobiling
The dusting of snow we got last week turned the roofs on downtown businesses white…and got us thinking about our snowmobiles!

We awoke Thursday morning to a layer of snow covering the grass.  It wasn’t frost, either.  It was honest-to-goodness “but-it’s-only-October” snowfall!  At first I wasn’t too happy.  But as I headed into town to work that morning I changed my tune.  While driving down our road I found myself scanning the ditch where the snowmobile trail comes off the lake.  Let me tell you that a few minutes of anticipating snowmobiling flipped my frown up-side-down!!  I’m trading in my swimming suit for the snowmobile gear – the hydrobikes for the sleds.  Minnesota snowmobiling is the bright spot in our long winter so bring it on, Mother Nature!

mn fall color tours
One of our guests took this beautiful fall photo at the peak of colors

We have spent the last week scurrying around the resort trying to get things done before it gets much colder.  We probably look a lot like the squirrels about now.  (minus the bushy tails!) Whenever we’ve gotten any kind of break in the weather we have run outside to mulch leaves and strip the bedding in the older cabins.  My wise resorter friends spend a lot of time cleaning in the fall before they shut down their winterized cabins.  I know in the spring I would appreciate having less to do thanks to fall cleaning. But I just can’t find the energy to care much about the spring right now.  So this year I’m just washing and bagging the bedding, removing any food and/or paper items to discourage critters from taking up residence and shutting the door.  I’m always just a bit sad to put the girls to bed (that’s how I think of the original cabins) but I figure after 70+ years of sheltering guests at Wildwood they deserve their winters off.  🙂  So far Jay has the kayaks and beach chairs stowed for the winter and next he’ll blow out the water lines on the old cabins.  That just leaves putting the boats away and pulling docks and I guess we’ll be ready for winter.  I’m hoping for a nice and sunny 70 degree day for that last chore.  Somehow I think I’m going to be disappointed!!

mn northern pike fishing
Kent caught this very nice northern last week
minnesota perch fishing
We had a lot of guests find some nice perch this fall

The fall fishing this year was not anything to brag about.  Most of our friends with resorts said the same thing.  We definitely had groups that did really well but overall the fish just weren’t jumping in the boats for our fishermen.  We saw some nice perch which is encouraging.  I think we see more perch in that 11″ range now than when we bought the resort in 1999.  Several of our long-time guests have mentioned that “back in the day” the big perch were thick on Bass Lake.  Hopefully the big fish we see in the fall these days means that population is recovering.  We did see a couple of really nice, big northern a couple of weeks ago.  I included a photo of one of them…

The fall colors this year were simply spectacular.  One of our guests who was visiting during peak colors took some fabulous photos for us.  Visit our Facebook page to get a look at them:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Wildwood-Resort/129916920113?ref=hl.

Kim & Jay

bald eagles
Fall colors were a perfect backdrop to this photo of the eagles who live next door
minnesota fall colors
The fall colors from the lake were just gorgeous

Minnesota Fall Colors – Change is in the Air

No matter how hard it is to believe we’ve actually made the plunge into fall.  It seems like just yesterday we were in our summer rhythm!  Now we’re trying to find a new routine with cabins turning over almost every day. The girls are back in school but it’s still a struggle some days to remember to go get them. (!)

Minnesota Fall color tours
Is there a more beautiful time than fall to visit Wildwood?

The fall color season has officially began.  I missed it, by the way.  I was just commenting to someone yesterday that the tree I use as my “color meter” hadn’t even started to change yet.  But then I actually looked at the tree and, guess what?!  It’s changing.  So much for my powers of observation!  I’d say we are at about 25% color around these parts so if you are thinking of coming north for a fall color tour give us a call.  I would say that we will be at peak fall colors in a week or two.

mn walleye fishing
6 lb 12 oz walleye

Fall fishing has been really good this month.  We’ve seen nice bass, big walleye and (as always) big sunfish – lots to brag about in the fish house!!

I’ve done a poor job of updating this Blog with our summer happenings.  It was a good summer in spite of the storm on July 2nd.  We had lots of fun with our guests and enjoyed warm days, cool swims in Bass Lake and lots of s’mores by the campfire.  I’ve included some photos from our summer to catch you up.

This Saturday, the 22nd, I’ll be in Bemidji at the Sanford Center for the Bemidji Pioneer Press Women’s Expo. I’ll be talking up Wildwood as a destination for quilting retreats, scrapbooking weekends or girlfriend getaways.  If you happen to be in the neighborhood stop on in and say hi!

quilting retreat, scrapbooking retreat, girls' weekends
The winter months are a great time to plan a scrapbooking retreat, quilting weekend or girls weekend!

Enjoy those fall colors!

Kim & Jay

mn bass fishing
3lb 8.5 oz largemouth bass
minnesota vacation
One of our favorite summer pasttimes is enjoying “our” resort kids as they grow…

 

supervised kids' activities
Face painting was a huge hit during kids’ activities
Supervised Kids' Activties
Our Activities Coordinator did a fantastic job with our supervised kids’ activities
family fishing vacation
We saw lots of nice panfish this summer!

 

minnesota family vacations
We enjoyed time with my parents and sisters this summer!
minnesota family resort
Cousins! Love the looks on their faces!
mn family resort
We capped off our August with a visit from the Jamtgaards. It was so nice to spend some family time together!
minnesota family vacation
A game of kickball, anyone??

 

minnesota resort vacation
Have we mentioned how much we love potluck night?!
minnesota family vacations
We enjoyed spending the summer with all of the fabulous families that visit us at Wildwood!
minnesota walleye fishing
Mike had good reason to be proud of his nice walleye!

Blessings in Spades

mn resorts
From the Lodge looking at the lake

We had an interesting week at Wildwood July 4th week.  On Monday night, July 2nd, we rode out a severe storm that rolled through northern Minnesota.  We had finished potluck when we saw on radar that the storm was approaching.  At that point it was west of Bemidji and, although it looked somewhat severe, we had no indication that it was anything out of the ordinary.  We did our normal storm preparations (for which we have always been made fun of by our repeat guests!) and alerted everyone of the approaching storm.  By the time we got finished with our storm prep chores and made it back to the house to check radar again the storm had grown into something truly scary.  Intellicast.com was predicting 80 mph winds and hail.  We had no sooner realized the severity of the storm and it was upon us.  When the storm sirens in Cohasset went off we headed to the basement with the girls, my parents and visiting relatives.  None of our guests had time to head to the storm shelter with us.  The wind roared for what we guessed was about 20 minutes and when we felt like we could come up from the basement we were unable to go outside because the lightening was still too close.

Minnesota family resort vacation
Looking toward the south across the beach

We could see debris in front of the house and our hearts just sank.  We had been praying the entire time we were in the basement that our cabins were able to withstand the winds in order to shelter our people and we were immediately freaked out by what we could see out the front window.  We could see that trees were down everywhere but the seven cabins we could see from the house appeared to be fine.  However, we can’t see Cabins 3 & 4 from the house so it was many nerve-wracking minutes later before we could confirm that all our guests were fine and, miraculously, all 9 cabins were intact.  We gave thanks that everyone was OK and were relieved to find no serious damage – blessings in spades!!!

july 2 storm damage
The debris pile looking from the beach toward Red Pine & White Pine Lodges

Our blessings continued in the form of the guests and friends that showed up to help us clean up.  Local friends lent us generators and a few came by with a skid steer and chainsaws and worked in the heat and humidity for hours to clear the resort of downed trees.  Our guests that were here pitched in and helped us in a million little ways.  From storm cleanup to lifting our spirits they helped us through a very stressful week!  Even the smallest kids helped pick up sticks and remnants of beach chairs and by nightfall Tuesday night we had 5 generators powering refrigerators and fans in the cabins as well as the Lodge, lift station and well.  The only broken window we had was on the Lodge and that was amazing.  We lost most of the beach chairs, several grills, many beautiful trees and our incoming power source.  The storm was so large that it caused a regional power outage with hundreds of miles of downed power lines stretching from Bemidji to Grand Rapids. We knew that we would not get power back quickly because not only did our power company have to get the power back on to the neighborhood but we felt like it would take additional time for them to repair damage on individual properties like ours. In the end we were out of power for 3 long days but we know now that we were so lucky.  Not only was no one hurt but we suffered no extensive damage.  Many other resorts and property owners in our area sustained massive damage in the storm and our neighbors to the south in Aitkin County are still out of their homes due to flooding from earlier in the summer.

MN Walleye fishing at Wildwood Resort
Nice mess of walleye!

On the positive side, the weather since that week has been very beautiful.  Warm days and cool nights have provided the perfect backdrop to summer vacation in Minnesota.  Fishing has been good and we’ve seen lots of walleye in the fish house in the last couple of weeks.  We’ve also seen a lot of bluegill but haven’t had a lot of contest entries so far this summer.

MN bluegill fishing
Grandpa and his girls

In addition to fishing, swimming, boating and campfires there are lots of great things to do during your Minnesota Family Vacation at Wildwood Resort!  This summer on Thursdays you can participate in Taconite Mine Tours at 1:00 p.m. at the MN Discovery Center in Chisholm.  The bus leaves for the Hibbing Taconite Mine for a 2-hour tour where you can watch iron ore miners navigate 100-ton maintenance trucks, large drilling rigs & huge bulldozers.  Cost is $5/person and children must be age 10 or older.  Upcoming July events including the Mississippi Melodie Showboat July 19-21 and the 26-28, “Be a Lumberjack” children’s program at the Forest History Center July 20th and 21st, KAXE Mississippi River Festival on July 21st, and the Northern Cruisers Car Show and Northern MN Itasca Vintage  Car Club Show & Swap meet July 28th & 29th.  There are also free programs offered at Scenic State Park and the Edge of the Wilderness Discovery Center.  Check out the area calendar of events provided by the Visit Grand Rapids organization for more things to do while in our area!

Are you following us on Facebook as well?  We post lots of photos and videos (when we have them) on our Wildwood Resort Facebook page so don’t forget to stop by and “Like” us next time you log on.

Until next time…
Kim &  Jay

Perch fishing
12 oz sunny and a nice perch!
Sunset over Bass Lake at Wildwood Resort
Sunset over Bass Lake at Wildwood Resort
big bluegill at wildwood resort
Nice 14.5 oz bluegill!
mn family vacation
In front of Cabin 1
Minnesota fishing vacation
The shoreline in front of Cabins 1, 2 & 3 took a beating!
July 2 storm damage
Looking toward Cabin 2 from the deck of Cabin 1
Sunset
This was the sunset the night of the storm. It was breathtaking!
Mn family vacations
Look at that smile…Love it!! His 13 oz bluegill got him on the board!
Minnesota loon
Barb took this beautiful picture of a loon and was kind enough to share it with us!
Wildwood Resort Grand Rapids Minnesota
Bluegill for supper!
MN walleye fishing
Nice walleye!
bass fishing at wildwood resort
Pat’s 3.5 lb bass got her on the board!

Minnesota Family Vacations in Full Swing

Wildwood Resort is a MN family resort

I guess that it is officially summer at our place.  You could argue that it’s still late spring since the Summer Solstice is still a week away.  Or you could argue that summer started really early since we had such an early spring.  However, for us summer begins when our guests come back.  We work hard for endless weeks through April and May and then all of the sudden it’s time to make the beds and throw out the Welcome Mat.  We love it!  So far we haven’t been disappointed, either.  We got a lot of rain the week leading up to Memorial Weekend.  In fact, the lake came up about 5 inches!  In spite of that, the fishing was really good and the weather even cooperated for the most part.  Last week was the first full week of “busy” and it felt good to have people back in the cabins.  We smelled bacon cooking in the morning and campfire at night so it must be summer no matter what the calendar says!!

Minnesota fishing
This 1lb bluegil was caught on the 10th of June!

We’ve seen some nice fish so far.  We saw our first 1 lb. sunfish yesterday.  Those things always amaze me.  It measured just over 11 inches long!  We saw a big northern caught on the river and lots of nice walleye.  Even the largemouth bass have been cooperating.  Minnesota fishing at it’s finest!

We think Itasca County is a great place to plan your Minnesota summer vacation.  There are lots of fun and interesting things to do!  We have list of Area Attractions and Day Trips on our website.  Forest History Center and Hill Annex Mine are both really great outings that are close to the resort.  Once again this year our guests can visit the Children’s Discover Museum and Judy Garland Museum for free.  It’s a great rainy day activity for the kids!  You can visit their website at:  http://cdmkids.org/.  Visit Grand Rapids has a comprehensive list of things to do on their website so visit http://visitgrandrapids.com/vacations/calendar/april_may_june.html for a list of scheduled events.

Minnesota family vacations
We love welcoming our friends back to Wildwood!

We still have an opening left for next week – June 16 to the 23rd – wanna come see us? We’re offering Red Pine Lodge at the off-season rate of $1399 for the week for up to 8 people.  Just visit www.wildwoodresort.net or call 888-328-5858 to make plans!

Hope to see you soon!

Kim & Jay

P.S. Before you transport your boat in Minnesota this summer be sure you know what the DNR will require of you.  Their efforts to stop aquatic invasive species are ramped up so make sure you are compliant – otherwise you may face a fine!  Visit the DNR website at:  http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/invasives/index_aquatic.html.

Minnesota walleye fishing
These nice walleye were caught Memorial Weekend
MN fishing - northern pike
This 9 1/2 lb. northern was caught on the Mississippi
summer vacation
Ah….my favorite “sign” of summer
Minnesota bald eagles
Our neighbors got out of the nest for a bit one night last week…
MN walleye fishing
Walleye for breakfast!
lilacs and butterflies
Lilacs and butterflies