a little teaser

Over this past weekend, Mike and I were up north with all of my moms family for a celebration of life party. Here is one photo from the weekend. It's become one of my favorite photos ever!

I'll post more in a few days (or weeks!) after I get a chance to look through them all and make edits.

Quick weekend get-away

I've found my new favorite north woods hotel-- though it's far from the North Woods perception.
Chase on the Lake is my newest love! (Since the jelly shots in December!) Located on Leech Lake in Walker, it's a historic hotel with a story to tell. It's been burned and remodeled to it's original glory. And, it's GORGEOUS! I love the woodwork and all the charm. It was beautifully remodeled.
Mike and I stayed there this past weekend, actually Sunday night. I purchased a Groupon in December (I think), so we had to use it before it expired. I have to tell you that I've wanted to stay here for about two years. I visited the hotel and the conference facilities about two years ago, and ever since, I've wanted to stay here. I finally got my wish! I was soooo excited to see the Groupon appear in my inbox that morning saying "Chase on the Lake."
The Groupon was an awesome deal. For $89 we got: our room, $50 at the 502 for food, and 4 hours of a rented snowmobile. We didn't really need the snowmobile rental, but it just sweetened the deal. We decided to bring Mike's snowmobile so we didn't have to ride 2-up.
So, we headed out Sunday afternoon. About an hour from home I got a call from Chase saying that they had problems with our snowmobile rental for Monday morning. The snowmobile we had rented was banged up over the weekend and wasn't expected to be fixed in time. I wasn't happy to hear this. We didn't bring fishing gear because we planned on riding. I was asked if they could sub the Wii room or the bowling alley for an hour. I can play Wii and go bowling at home. We didn't drive 3+ hours to play Wii and go bowling. I told them we'd talk about it when we checked in.
When we checked in we were told that they'd make phone calls to people and see if someone would give us their time slot and their snowmobile. In the meantime, we were upgraded to a lakeside studio suite (which is AWESOME!). In the end, we got a snowmobile from 7:30 to 10 a.m. Not nearly enough time. We were back by 10, but I could have ridden all day. The trails were beat from the weekend, but they were all snow covered and pretty good for a Monday morning.
Our room was awesome. Nicer than my house, and very well could be the same square footage (I'm not kidding!). Granite, stainless appliances, real wood floors and a fireplace. It was really nice! Plus, it had a washer/dryer in the room. I could live there!
Mike and I had dinner at the 502 Sunday night. He had a full rack of ribs and I had scallops. Yum-o! We were given up to $25 per person for our meal. Drinks, apps and dessert was separate. Still a smokin' deal! we spent a total of $21.75 on our meal, when it should have been $71.75.
After din, we headed to the pool area. We took a sauna and jumped into the cold water plunge pool. 65 degrees feels pretty cold after sitting in the sauna for 20 minutes. But, it's great, and it feels good. I swam in the pool, which hasn't happened for years and years. I don't want to see myself in swim suit let alone other people. We were the only people in the pool there except for 3 teen-age looking kids. Before leaving we hit the whirlpool for a few minutes. I haven't gone swimming for a long time, so that was kinda fun.
We bummed around the room for the remainder of the evening, playing a new card game that I don't even know the name of and some cribbage. We had to get up early to go riding, so it wasn't a wild and crazy night on the town. (As if there's anything to do in Walker on a Sunday night, anyway!)
Bright and early Monday morning we hit the trails. I rode the rental. A Polaris (GASP!!!!). Yes, I had to ride something other than a Ski-Doo. I paid for it, too. I put my little camera in the saddle bag with my water bottle and when we stopped the first time, I was going to take a photo. I reached in and my hand felt inches of water. NOT GOOD. My camera floated around in water for about an hour. It's dead, and I'm convinced that it's because I had to ride a Polaris! :) Stupid water bottle. Mike told me I was dumb for putting my coveted camera with water, but I've done it lots of times before. That was the worst part of the trip. I'm really disappointed that the camera is dead, BUT my memory card survived and I was able to get the pics from it.
We had an hour riding to pack and check out. We had some of the continental breakfast, packed and headed home. I wasn't happy to be going back home so soon, but I know that I'm going back. I love the place.
Here are some pics from the weekend. There's one from the lobby, some from our room and them two from our meal.

The results are in: it was a success...

.... for the most part! The camp site at the lake (Harris Lake) we were planning on camping at was taken, so we had to drive to another lake (Whisper Lake) with a camp site, and luckily, it was open. It's a gorgeous camp site, so secretly I was happy to be at that one! The weather on Friday was perfect, Saturday was cloudy and windy, and Sunday was stormy when we packed up our gear. That was the worst part-- packing up tents and totes and all camping gear in pouring rain and then treking down a 100-yard trail to the trucks. I didn't pack light because I was anticipating camping at Harris Lake where we pretty much drive up to our camp site and don't have to walk far. Lesson learned. Pack only the essentials next time!

Fishing wasn't good, not like it was when we were there in July. We caught a handful of fish, but none large enough to keep, which was pretty frustrating. All in all, it was a good time. I had fun sitting around the fire and chatting and listening to all the stories and debates.

weekend trip up north

No running water. No electricity. Bugs. Miles from civilization. Living in a tent for three days.
Not my idea of fun! But, I'll sacrifice for the awesome fishing and the beautiful scenery.
This weekend Mike and I along with his brother, sister and their spouses, are going camping up by Ely on a lake in the middle of NO WHERE! Actually, Harris Lake, where we are going, is about 15 miles from Babbitt. So, not really in the middle of no where, but once we get there we won't be leaving again until Sunday (unless someone is already camping there!). The lake is about 2/3 of a mile off the main road, but we have to drive on a trail to get there. It's less than the width of the Suburban in some places and extremely rocky and uneven. The truck got soooooo scratched when we were there in July (we didn't camp there). We also stopped dead on some rocks that caught the frame of the truck. Not good. Good thing they didn't get the oil pan or anything else.
We'll all have canoes to fish from, but since we're fishing for muskies, it's going to be challenging! Mike caught this first musky in this lake in July, so we've wanted to come back ever since. I had three followers, but couldn't get them to bite. It's a beautiful lake, about 150 acres, and clear. Not like most of the lakes on the Iron Range that are stained brown. There aren't many deciduous trees around there, but I hope the ones that are are colorful. So far, the weather is supposed to be decent. I hope it's sunny and warm.
Did I mention that my idea of camping is a camper at a campground????? I've been to the Boundary Waters twice and camped in a tent in my backyard a handful of times-- that's it. So, my cumulative number of nights in a tent on the ground equals about 10. But, it didn't kill me.
These are pics from our July trip. Praying for warm weather and awesome fishing. :)