Closing is Complete!

Good morning,

I am writing this blog post from Illinois!

That's right, we made it across the border and traveled home over the weekend.  I think we are all happy to be out of the car.

Everything at the lodge is all winterized, tucked in, and buttoned up for the next few months.  Here you can see our fleet of boats from Red Lake up and out of the water getting a much deserved rest:

And here are my two absolute favorites saying goodbye to their absolute favorite place on earth:

Until next year!

Notables from our trip home:

1. Apparently citrus fruit is NOT allowed when crossing back into the states.  Who knew?  They brought a special agriculture border/customs agent to inspect my backpack full of citrus fugitives.  All three oranges I had in there.

2. We spent an entire day fishing in the rain less than 24 hours after crossing back into the states.  Hello smallmouth bass!

3.  Cabela's is a very VERY dangerous store.  So. Many. Things.

4. We are constantly amazed at the kindness and generosity of guests/friends/family who open up their home to us as we travel back and forth.  THANK YOU!

5.  Apparently the Green Bay Packers perform better when Travis is out of the country.  Oops.

6.  Cosmo is less than impressed to be back in his winter "confinement" BUT got extremely nervous throughout the entire trip back that we may be leaving him behind.

Example: We left him at our friends' house while fishing and Don's wife let him out when she got home from work.  She tried to let him back in and get him some water but he stayed firmly planted right next to the truck until we returned.  As if to say "No thank you.  I am just fine here.  My people will return and I want to make sure I go with them."

7.  It is definitely bittersweet to leave Canada and get home to Illinois.

I hope everyone has a great week and please keep following the blog over the off-season.  We have some exciting posts planned!

Red Lake 2013 Ice out pictures

Hello everyone!

* A real quick phone/internet update: everything appears to be fixed and working properly.  We apologize to everyone who had a delayed email response or was unable to get a hold of us by phone while we were setting things up/dealing with issues.  Lets hope all operates as it should for the rest of the season!*

Now, on to the good stuff.

I hinted in the last blog update that we were able to watch the ice out from the point overlooking Red Lake during our first few days out at camp.  Here are some still shots with the date and time taken.  It is incredible how fast it melted once it started breaking up.  We did have a few days with high wind and full sun which definitely helped as well.

View from the point

on Thursday, May 16th around 2pm

View from the point

on Friday, May 17th around 2pm

View from the point

on Saturday, May 18th around 10am

View from the point

on Sunday, May 19th around 10am

View from Red Lake dock 

on Sunday, May 19th around noon

Sunday, May 19th around 5pm

How cool is that!  It was very windy on Sunday, May 19th and as you can tell in a few short hours all the ice was completely gone.   We launched the barge this Tuesday and have been VERY busy getting all the supplies out to camp and will be happily welcoming our first group tomorrow!  

Have a great weekend!

Goodbye, January. Hello, February!

Hey!

Just wanted to stop in and remind everyone that deposits are officially due this week on February 1st.  Crazy right?  Is it just us, or did January fly by?  We really appreciate all of you who make an effort to send your deposits in on time.  It makes it much easier for us to know which weeks to focus on promoting as we attend sports show this spring as well as plan accordingly for the season ahead.  We wrapped up our first sports show yesterday and had a great time at the Illinois Fish & Feather Expo here in Bloomington, IL.  Thank you to everyone who stopped by to visit and learn more about Eagle Falls Lodge.  Here is a peek at our booth:

No idea why I thought the "hands on hips" pose was necessary.  Good grief!  We booked a few groups over the weekend and fielded several calls today in response to the show, so we are pleased!

Side note: What is with the single digit temperatures quickly followed by 50+ degrees today?  For those of you with pets I'm sure you can relate to the constant muddy paws coming in and out, in and out, in and out.  Cosmo and I ran this evening and we both needed a bath afterwards!

Have a great week!