Big Step!

Displaying her recent catch

Wild Iris

The Swamp River which will be one of our dog sledding routes

Simple Beauty

Brent met us at the parcel earlier than our scheduled appointment and spent an hour walking around the parcel and providing multitudes of local and much appreciated knowledge. That's good service for you!

Measuring the driveway entrance

Our recommendation

Neil removes a tree that has come down over the driveway

This is exactly why I love winter. There are beautiful sights all around but living up in the northwoods year 'round would not be tolerable without a bug shirt a few months in the spring and summer! Maybe some folks are "tougher" and can do without such apparel. To them I say, "See you on the dog sled in the middle of the lake at 30 degrees below zero with a howling wind!" I'll take the later any day. Darn bugs.

Neil and I spent the weekend in northern Minnesota at what will be the new Points Unknown "facility" in the not- so-distant future. The first step was to meet with the driveway contractor to discuss the new driveway! This will be put in place this fall. In addition, the building pad will be cleared.

It was a breath of fresh air (literally) to get away from the hustle and bustle and spend the weekend at a much slower pace. On Saturday we spent ten hours just hiking around the property and marking way points on the GPS for dog sled trail entrances. It's interesting how different the terrain looks in the summer. We walked over a half mile past one trail entrance before discovering our error. Aside - bringing the map along would have been a good idea but then again, we wouldn't have gotten as much exercise and it was a perfect day for a long hike.

During this hike, we had the pleasure of being spooked by a large grouse that launched himself up in the air upon our approach. A lone wolf heard us coming and must have ducked into the woods only to return back to the trail after we passed as we didn't see his footprints but for the last 1/4 mile going in but did see them on several other occasions, going out.

A beautiful red fox showed herself to us along the Arrowhead Trail early that morning. She had been hunting and held her trophy in her mouth as she trotted along. While hiking on the Points Unknown parcel, a loon kept us updated on its whereabouts in the distance.

While up north, we met some wonderful new people and also spent time with some old friends, all of which we will eventually be able to call our neighbors.