The First Season Ends

Well usually I give Adam a hard time when he writes a really long blog. But I suppose this time I am also guilty. We survived our first season in the “North Woods” as owners of our own business. That’s what people say…just survive your first summer, and then each year it gets better. Starting your own business is hectic. At the same time it is rewarding to see all the changes and improvements. People always ask us how our summer has been. I usually answer “fun and crazy.” Adam’s usual answer is that “we learned a lot”. Both statements are very true.

Here are some examples of fun. A few mornings ago, we had some customers eating breakfast in the dining room. The kids were helping me clear a table for some people staying in the Bed & Breakfast who had eaten earlier. A table of 4 was observing us and commenting about what good “help” my 4 year old and 1 year old were, as they would carry one glass-at-a-time into the kitchen. As they were talking about Ady she walked right over to them with the glass in her hand, complete with her turtle neck, blue dress, purple coat, and princess shoes, flexed her arm muscles and said “Look how strong I am!” They of course, humored her, and she spent a good 5 minutes talking to them. She is taking after her Dad(the talking part I mean, I haven’t ever seen Adam go flex his muscles to a group eating breakfast)!

Another reason I know she is taking after dad is that she is a great story-teller and tour giver. She has a great story from this spring about the seagulls in the back of our truck. You should ask her about it if you get a chance. Also, if you know Adam, and understand that we have a very historic lodge, you wouldn’t be surprised that he will give several tours each day to people who stop in. Adam’s tours are all about Charlie Boostrom being the first white man to come up the Gunflint Trail to live with the Indians, and about how he built a cabin so his wife would marry him, and how he picked Clearwater Lake to be their settling place with the Lodge being finished in 1926…and on and on…. Anyway, starting about mid-summer, every once in a while you could over hear Ady in the lodge telling people, “Do you want me to show you a moose? And over here is a rainbow fish. Etc. Pretty fun!

We also had some examples of crazy. I think people realize beforehand that all things usually won’t go as planned or as expected. But we had some things happen this summer that we never would have thought of. Two examples: In July, the State Government of Minnesota shut down! Although we are located at the edge of a national park and didn’t get affected that way, we were affected because no one could get a fishing license for nearly 3 weeks. Over 60% of the people who come up to our area, say that fishing is either their 1^st or 2^nd reason for coming. That was a pain. Then, just this last month, the Pagami Creek forest fire took place. This fire has now been recorded as the worst fire in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area spreading almost 100,000 acres. In fact, at one time, the fire spread 5 miles in just ½ hour. Luckily, no one was harmed, and lucky for us, we are far enough away from the fire and it finally has been recorded as under control.

We also did learn-a lot. We learned a lot about our business- things like marketing, being employers, bookkeeping, outfitting for canoeists or kayakers, taking care of overnight guests, and all sorts of hospitality things. We learned a ton about being owners of a property—things like taking care of a water system, a septic system, a heating system, and all those things. We learned that we like working together and we actually do a pretty good job together. As we have worked together as a family for something it has definitely created a stronger bond one with another. So much time, planning, praying, patience, work along with dreaming, remaining passionate, and harnessing our ambitions has gone into this project. It wasn’t easy. It would have been easy to give up so many times and just decide to get a 8-5 job somewhere instead of getting a place and business of our own. I don’t know many people who have the same passion and drive to really know their dream, and to go after it like Adam did. We also appreciate my Aunt Laura and Uncle Carl, as our partners in this venture, for believing in us and giving us a chance to go for the dream.

While I am at it, I should also thank our parents, who rode a lot of the start-up roller coaster with us to actually get a place of our own. They also supported the ambition and the long road here(even though they probably thought we were crazy-and still might:D) They also both came out this summer to visit and help out-which they did a lot!

Well, we have been winterizing everything here and will be headed back to Utah in a couple of days and then on to California for a much needed vacation! Wish us luck on our loooong car ride back! In closing here are a couple pictures taken in the last week from right in front of the resort.

The fall colors are so pretty and we love the way things look right now.
We have been able to see the Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights a few times this summer. Last week when this set was going Adam and I took a boat and rowed out in the middle of the lake to watch. It was pretty cool and very beautiful. This is the picture that one of the staff took while we were out watching the sky dance.