Northern Wilds

Wetland Wonders

All things wet and wonderful

Have you been serenaded by spring peepers? Do you feel like summer is nearly here when you see marsh marigolds in bloom? Ever pass the time watching a beaver busy at work? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you’re in for a treat with this issue of Northern Wilds, which we’ve dedicated to wetlands. Within this region lie the headwaters of the Great Lakes and Hudson’s Bay watersheds. The many lakes and streams that feed these great waterways are in turn nourished by the flows of bogs, swamps, springs and marshes—wetlands too numerous to count.

Nearly all of these wetlands are pristine or nearly so, which is not always the case in more populated regions. Nevertheless, our wetlands need protection. That’s why Kelsey Roseth sat down with one of our best-known defenders of water and wetlands, octogenarian Dave Zentner of Duluth, to learn what we can do to keep our waters clean. In contrast, Casey Fitchett talked with an up-andcoming clean water advocate, 11-year-old Olya Wright of Grand Marais, about the efforts of her Nordic Nature Group to raise the awareness of adults regarding local environmental issues. When it comes to age, Dave and Olya are 70 years apart, but they share a passion for clean water and the great outdoors.

You might say this issue is all wet. Emily Stone tells us about spring frogs. Teacher Chris Dube describes working with his students to set up a simple, yet sophisticat-

Drury Lane Books correction

ed classroom aquaponics system. We also welcome new writer Ali Juten, who reports on an innovative streamside clinic to teach women how to fly-fish for steelhead. Our favorite fisherman, Gord Ellis offers stories and advice for fishing from a canoe. Meanwhile, the intrepid Eric Chandler ventures with his family deep into the wilds of Wisconsin to discover some lovely waterfalls along Lake Superior’s South Shore. A Thunder Bay woman who loves fishing is profiled by Kim Casey.

We have stories from indoors and on dry land, too. Elle Andra-Warner translates some quirky Canadian terms. Julia Prinselaar makes the case for growing native flowers in your garden. Maren Webb tours restaurants that make a point of catering to vegetarians. Kim Falter gives us the rundown on spring greens. Breana Roy shares some of the art that will be displayed during the Art Along the Shore event this month. Speaking of Breana, she is participating in a big event in Grand Marais, the third annual Cook County YMCA dance performance, for which she is one of the instructors and choreographers.

May is a busy month for many folks across the Northern Wilds as they get ready for summer. We’ll be busy here at our offices with publications, special projects and print jobs. But we’ll still set aside some time for fun. You should, too. Spring is here. Don’t let it get away.

—Shawn Perich and Amber Pratt

In the April issue of Northern Wilds, the Arboreal Writing Contest event story at Drury Lane Books incorrectly listed Gwen Danfelt as the owner. Drury Lane Books is owned by Joan Drury and managed by Gwen Danfelt. Visit Drury Lane Books in Grand Marais on Saturday, May 20 and hear the winners of the writing contest read their stories alongside Josh MacIvor-Andersen, the editor of Rooted: The Best New Arboreal Nonfictio n, and author of On Heights & Hunger, a memoir of professional and competitive tree-climbing. MacIvor-Andersen will also read from his new anthology and share stories on writing and editing. Event will begin at 7 p.m.

How to have Safe Driveways in Rural Areas

Driveway Access for Emergency Vehicles

Emergency personnel try their best to respond to calls in a timely manner. Planning for access by emergency vehicles improves safety for homeowners and their families. This is especially important in rural areas where response times may be considerably longer than in cities.

Driveway Width, Height& Grade

For emergency vehicles to safely access your property, your driveway must have an all-weather surface that is able to provide adequate support for large, heavy vehicles. Vegetation must be cleared to the following standards:

• Have an unobstructed vertical clearance of 14 feet.

• Limbing and/or removing trees and brush to provide the necessary vertical clearance.

• Have at least a12-foot wide drivable surface, with a 2-foot clear zone on each side of the driveway (16-feet overall).

• May require the removal of rocks and burying utility lines to provide adequate sight distance.

• Driveway must not exceed 12% grade overall.

Do you have a question for one of our writers? Or an interesting photo, recipe, or story you’d like to share with Northern Wilds? Please send it to breana@northernwilds.com.

Cook County Firewise

411 W 2nd St, Grand Marais, MN 55604

firewise@co.cook.mn.us

Phone: 218.235.0899 www.cookcountyfirewise.org

With over 250 acres of fun and ac tivities, there’s something for the entire family! From awardwinning historic programs, concer ts & festivals, to a science centre with an astronomical obser vator y – there’s so much to see and do! an

Youth-led environmental group brings forward Climate

Inheritance Resolution

GRAND MARAIS—The Nordic Nature Group has been busy. Between collecting years worth of Grand Marais’ environmental impact data and presenting it to groups of supporters, it’s surprising that the group manages to squeeze in another big priority: school.

The main mantra of the six local (and two honorary) members—“tackling global climate change at a local level”—is one that rolls easily off the tongue of group leader Olya Wright, 11.

“I got the idea to start the Nordic Nature Group around five years ago. We started doing hikes and then we went on to bigger projects,” she explains. “At the beginning we didn’t do as much to help the environment, we just enjoyed it. We started to feel like we needed to do something more to help the environment.”

In conjunction with iMatter, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to helping groups like the one based on the North Shore, the Nordic Nature Group compiled their research from 2014 and 2015 to assess the environmental efforts of the city of Grand Marais. What they found through tabulating the “report card” is that the small town definitely has room to improve.

“The grade for the city was a D+,” said Wright. “We also delivered [to the City Council] a Youth Climate Inheritance Resolution.”

The report card, whose metrics were developed by a climate scientist, assesses a city’s efforts with net-zero emission planning, renewable energy use, waste, carbon removal and the inclusion of youth

When not submitting proposals and resolutions, the Nordic Nature Group finds time for outdoor recreation. | SUBMITTED

in decision-making. The resolution, delivered by the group, asked for the creation of a climate change action plan in the immediate future that includes the youth voice. Including a voice like Wright’s isn’t difficult, as she is becoming a figure in the community that is willing to stand up in front of a crowd. More than 50 individuals attended the group’s February presentation, which ended in a standing ovation.

The Nordic Nature Group’s connection to iMatter has been instrumental in teaching lessons that will extend beyond their current environmental mission. During biweekly meetings, leaders of groups of kids across the country meet with leaders of iMatter through an online video chat.

These sessions focus on topics that are important for advocates of all ages: taking time for yourself, gathering signatures, elevator speeches, and more.

Larry Kraft, the executive director and chief mentor of iMatter, acts as a mentor and advisor for the Grand Marais group.

“Grand Marais was the third city in the country to pass a youth-led Climate Resolution,” said Kraft. “Young people are really the moral authority on climate change as they are going to have to live with the effects of it for a lot longer than the older generations. When they speak up authentically and passionately, it really has a huge impact.”

Developing an extended network has been a second-hand benefit for the young advocates. The work has encouraged the group to develop stronger ties, both within their own community and with other like-minded youth across the country hoping to achieve similar feats.

“I’m helping a girl—she’s starting a campaign in Akron, Ohio,” said Wright. “She called me up for some pointers about how we went about it. That’s been a nice friendship. She’s 11 years old.”

The work of the Nordic Nature Group and other youth-led coalitions across the U.S. and Canada serves as a gentle reminder that one day they will be the ones to inherit the planet .—Casey Fitchett

FISHING SEASON is kicking off NOW! It’s the

you need to catch your

AND SO MUCH MORE.

By morning, the fire had grown to approximately 8,000 acres. A mandatory evacuation was issued for residences northwest of the Cross River. For a brief time, those evacuees were stranded on the Gunflint Trail as the fire burned through below them. Yet another evacuation on May 9 followed, for residents in the North Gunflint Lake area.

Cook County Public Health staffers set up temporary housing at the Cook County Community Center. As word came in of historic homes and cabins burning in the path of the wildfire, the community came together to support displaced homeowners. Friends and neighbors opened spare bedrooms. Churches took turns providing meals.

People doing their every day jobs were impacted, such as the Gunflint Trail mail carrier at that time, Linda Bloomquist. She remembers her delivery route changing daily as the fire perimeter grew. Each day the post office checked to see how far mail could be taken.

Bloomquist especially remembers the day the fire jumped across Gunflint Lake. She recalls meeting multiple emergency vehicles speeding past her and the thick black smoke and thinking, “What am I getting myself into?”

Shortly after that, Bloomquist joined the Colvill Volunteer Fire Department, in part because of that experience. Her husband, Clark Bloomquist, was one of many local volunteer firefighters who left their jobs for days on end to work with U.S. Forest Service and DNR firefighters to combat the wildfire. The GTVFD was joined by the Grand Marais, Hovland, Lutsen and Maple Hill Volunteer Fire Departments, all focusing on protecting homes.

Despite the efforts of multiple fire departments, the DNR, and Forest Service, by the time the fire was considered contained on May 20, it had burned 75,851 acres in the U.S. and Canada; the largest fire in Minnesota since the early 1900s. Thirty-plus structures were destroyed.

Evacuated residents were finally able to return home on Tuesday, May 22, 2007. About 75 people gathered to watch Leanne Adams of the Seagull-Sag Home Owners Association and Shari Baker of the Gunflint Trail Association cut a bright orange ribbon to “re-open” the historic Gunflint Trail.

There was also a ceremonial tree planting, which a year later became the “Gunflint Green Up.” In 2008, 450 volunteers planted over 50,000 trees in the Superior National Forest. Seedlings were donated by the Iron Range Resources Nursery, Hedstrom Lumber Company, and the Quetico Superior Foundation.

Over the years, community members and Trail visitors continued to plant and tend to thousands of trees in the wake of the Ham Lake wildfire.

Also in 2008, the annual Ham Run Half Marathon was established to celebrate the revitalization of the Gunflint Trail after the wildfire.

Using the same communication and logistics they had in the Ham Lake wildfire, the GTVFD hosted the half marathon to rave reviews from runners and bystanders alike.

This year, the race and the surrounding celebration holds special meaning. It’s been 10 years since the devastating wildfire.

It’s time to look back, which the community is doing with a special exhibit at Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center. Working with the Gunflint Trail Scenic Byway Committee, GTVFD, U.S. Forest Service, WTIP Community Radio and Good Measure Media, the museum is gathering photos, videos and oral history memories of the Ham Lake wildfire.

There will be A Celebration of Community: Remembering the Ham Lake Fire 2007 on Saturday, May 6 at the Seagull Lake Community Center (Fire Hall No. 3). The GTVFD and the Gunflint Trail Historical Society are sponsoring the gathering from 3-6 p.m. A social hour is planned at 3 p.m. with food and refreshments at 4 p.m. A Commemoration Program will be held at 5 p.m. All are invited to come visit with friends, neighbors and volunteers to share stories and memories of the Ham Lake wildfire—as well as the strength and resilience of the Gunflint Trail community.—Rhonda Silence

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The GTVFD was one of many departments helping to combat the wildfire. | VISIT COOK COUNTY

The wildfire was finally contained on May 20. | VISIT COOK COUNTY

The fire destroyed 30-plus structures, and this row of canoes. | VISIT COOK COUNTY

Fire retardant was used to help stop the wildfire. | VISIT COOK COUNTY

Spring singers in the swamp

NORTH SHORE—Each spring, I find myself stepping outside on mild evenings to listen for the frog chorus. If my own wet woods are silent, I’ll pick a warm afternoon to ride my bike slowly down a certain stretch of road where a southwest-facing wetland always seems to thaw first. The rough quacks of wood frogs rise from pools where a skim of ice still floats. Spring peepers begin their jingle-bell chorus right after the wood frogs’ cue, and western chorus frogs are just a few beats behind.

These early singers all spend the winter frozen solid—essentially dead—in the leaf litter near their breeding pools. There, just below the forest duff, warm rains and a strengthening sun thaw the frogcicles quickly. Once awake, it’s only a quick hop, skip and jump over to the frogs’ honeymoon suites.

The woodland pools that these early-breeding frogs inhabit have one main claim to fame: because they dry up by the end of summer, they harbor no fish. Fish prey heavily on the eggs and larvae of amphibians and insects. While some species have adapted to living with fish in lakes and ponds, many types of frogs and salamanders, as well as insects and other invertebrates, have simply adapted to go where the fish aren’t.

The catch is that in a vernal pool, you have to breed early and your babies must grow fast. This requires its own set of adaptations. After spending the winter as a pool-side frogcicle, wood frogs thaw from the inside out. Some unknown trigger jumpstarts their heart before the body is even fully thawed. Breathing resumes next, and circulation begins as soon as their blood liquefies. After about five hours, their leg muscles regain some function. After 24 hours, the frogs exhibit normal body postures and coordinated muscle functions.

Just a couple days later, their mating drive kicks in. That’s when we’re treated to an almost deafening cacophony. Some frogs and toads can be as loud as a lawn mower. Luckily, they have an internal pressure system that keeps their own eardrums from vibrating excessively, and therefore prevents hearing loss in the shouter himself.

Male frogs and toads need highly developed body-trunk muscles in order to drive air over their vocal chords and produce those surprisingly loud calls. Packed with mitochondria, the powerhouses of the cells, the singing muscles have the capacity for high aerobic metabolism. Plus, frogs and toads call for such a long time that their muscles must eventually switch from burning carbs to burning fats, just like human endurance athletes.

What’s the point of all that muscle and noise? Impressing the ladies, of course! The impassioned calls draw females toward the pond. The more females their collective calling can attract, the better chance each male has of finding a mate. Wood frogs are “explosive breeders,” meaning that they gather in large numbers for a short time.

For just a few weeks, this wood frog choir will resume their performance whenever the temperature rises near 50

degrees F. and above. In the chill of early spring, this means that frogs will sing even during the day. By late spring, though, they prefer to sing on warm evenings under the cover of darkness.

Although large numbers of frogs mean increased competition, it also means greater opportunity. Amusingly, wood frogs can’t see or smell whether a party guest is male or female. Male frogs just approach everyone from behind and give them a hug. Fellow males feel skinny and give a loud croak. They are released. Females who have already mated and laid their eggs are slender but silent. They also get released. When a male frog grips a plump female—chock full of eggs—he hooks his thumbs around in front of her and doesn’t let go. This is called “amplexus.”

Fertilization happens externally as the female deposits her eggs in a floating mass. Here, too, explosive breeding is useful. When many wood frogs lay their

eggs together, the eggs in the center gain protection from predators, absorb heat and develop faster. In a vernal pool with a limited lifespan, anything that hastens development is beneficial. Eggs laid in the cold infancy of spring mature slowly, over the course of a month. That’s ok, because the pools also evaporate slowly then. By late spring, though, the eggs may hatch in only 10 to 14 days, and the larvae must waste no time in developing landlubbing lungs and legs before the waning wetland disappears.

If you miss the early spring chorus, don’t worry; there are 14 species of frogs and toads in Minnesota, and they all wake up and begin singing their songs in a typical order each year. While an early spring will find wood frogs breeding as early as March, you’ll still be able to hear green frogs, bullfrogs and mink frogs near your favorite lake or wetland in July. —Emily Stone

{LEFT] Spring peepers are one of the earliest frogs to start singing. One peeper sounds like a loud beep. A group of peepers sound like jingle bells. | LARRY STONE

[RIGHT] Wood frogs are easily identified by the black bandit mask across their eyes, and their duck-like quack given from the water. | EMILY STONE

Aquaponics adventure in the classroom

TERRACE BAY—I teach an Outdoor, Experiential, Environmental Science course at the Terrace Bay High School. During a discussion on sustainable agricultural practices, composting methods and food miles, the topic of aquaponics arose. We stumbled upon aquaponics as part of the urban agricultural movement, but we didn’t know much about how it works. We decided as a class to research, design and attempt to build our own aquaponics system. Thus, our class aquaponics adventure began.

First, we started our query using a researcher’s new best friend: YouTube. We discovered that aquaponics is a hybrid term that combines hydroponics (soil-less growing of plants) and aquaculture (raising fish). The general concept is that the nutrient-rich water from the fish tank is used to water and fertilize the plants in a closed-loop ecosystem.

Thus, our “big question” developed: Can we use aquaponics to grow plants in our school sustainably, using only recycled materials? If so, what system would work best for us and why? With our very limited budget, we wanted to keep with the philosophy of reducing and reusing, re-thinking and re-purposing. Luckily, I was able to find a solar panel and a fish tank sitting in storage at the nearby elementary school. These would become integral components of our system.

We decided upon a hybrid of a few different designs to suit our particular location and materials. We found a spot in the lunchroom by a south-facing window. The spot was relatively small, so the system needed to be compact. Starting at the bottom of our system is a fish tank with minnows we purchased from our local tackle store. Adjacent, we used the south-facing solar panel to trickle charge a lawn tractor battery. This battery runs a small water pump that pushes the water to the top of the system, which is made of 4-inch, black PVC pipe connected in series. We cut 3-inch diameter holes in the pipe to hold flower pots. The water enters from the top and flows through the cascading pipes that are held in place by a wooden triangular structure, designed by the students from used two-by-fours. The water then exits back into the minnow tank via a hose on the bottom, which drops approximately 6 inches to aerate the tank for the minnows. We run the system for about 20 minutes every day.

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One of my students, Alexis Ray, reflected on her experience building our system.

“I thought it was really interesting to learn how to create a well working, self-watering garden. Something I did not know was that the water from the plants is really good for minnows. I also didn’t know that bugs formed life in the tubing, and when the water goes through all the tubing they wash out and become food for the minnows. Aquaponics is a really good way to have a garden when you don’t have a lot of space or a lot of money.” Currently, our system grows plants for teachers’ classrooms and students’ homes in an effort to green our living and work places.—Chris Dube

• Special Ham Lake Fire Exhibit

• Kids activities, Naturalist programs

• Hiking trails, Wildlife viewing area

Open Daily from May 27 - October 22

28 Moose Pond Drive, Grand Marais, MN 55604 55 miles up the Gunflint Trail (Hwy 12) 218-388-9915

| CHRIS DUBE

CHRIS DUBE

Cougar carcass found near Thunder Bay

THUNDER BAY—The long-asked question of whether cougars exist in northwestern Ontario may have been answered.

On Saturday, March 25, Mandi Weist of Thunder Bay, and three of her friends, were driving along the Boreal Road on their way to do some target practice in a gravel pit. They saw a van pulled over on the side of the road and stopped to check on them.

Weist and friends inquired if the folks in the van were ok. They answered, “Yes, we are just looking at the mountain lion.”

Weist and her friends piled out of their jeep to see a cougar partially frozen into some snow.

“We were shocked,” said Weist, of the find. “We had driven by the spot before and assumed it was a deer dead in the snow.”

Knowing it was an extremely rare find, Weist and company loaded the dead cougar onto their vehicle and brought it into Thunder Bay.

Weist contacted the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (OMNRF) via online service and got a confirmation number for the dead cougar.

They had also been talking to taxidermist Dan Cavicchiolo and decided to bring the cat to Boreal Tales Taxidermy on Hwy 61, southwest of Thunder Bay.

“It definitely is a cougar,” said Cavicchiolo. “Full grown male cougar.”

Cavicchiolo said the animal had long claws and good teeth, but was emaciated.

“It was in really bad shape when I skinned it. Very thin,” he said. “It weighed about 80 pounds, but it was all skin and bones. It seems like it died of natural causes.”

Cavicchiolo removed between 50 and 75 porcupine quills from the cougars shoulder and nose, but there were none in its mouth.

The day after they found the cougar, Weist took an OMNRF conservation officer to the site where they found the animal. Weist said the officer told them they could not keep any part of the animal because it is endangered in Ontario, and therefore not legal to have.

Weist said she was told the animal would be displayed for educational purposes.

Jolanta Kowalski, a communications specialist with the OMNRF, said the animal carcass was in their possession and would be DNA tested to confirm whether it was a wild cougar, or a domesticated pet that had been released. She said the ministry had not decided what would be done with the mount. A vice principal on the public school board has already pitched having the animal displayed at an outdoor education centre they operate at Kingfisher Lake, on Hwy 527.

For her part, Weist said she and her friends were disappointed they couldn’t keep the mount, but happy they had helped potentially solve a mystery.

“They said it was the very first confirmed mountain lion carcass in Ontario,” said Weist. “It’s pretty neat. It is a special find.”—Gord Ellis

Friday, May 5

Morning: Rolls & coffee with our Valspar/Cabot Reps

5:30 - 7:00 p.m. —All things fishing with Matt & Amanda Weberg

Saturday, May 6

9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Gardening Expert

1:00 - 3:00 p.m. Paint & Plant a Pot

Sunday , May 7

Noon - 2:00 p.m. Kid’s Games 3:00 - 5:00 p.m. Pet Portraits

A cougar carcass was found March 25 on Boreal Road, northwest of Thunder Bay. | MANDI WEIST

Healthy soil: The secret to stopping climate change?

FINLAND—What if there was a way to not only slow climate change, but reverse it?

Automatically, you may think that’s impossible. However, an international non-profit organization headquartered in Finland, Minnesota says they may have identified a way.

Their solution starts with carbon.

“Carbon is the currency of life,” said Kaare Melby, the social media and web content coordinator of the Organic Consumers Association, an online and grassroots public interest organization that campaigns for health, justice and sustainability.

“The atmosphere is overburdened with carbon and that leads to climate change,” said Melby.

The Organic Consumers Association is spearheading a worldwide movement to remove the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and return the carbon to the soil, which Melby said would reverse climate change.

They’re doing this through an initiative called Regeneration International, which advocates for regenerative agriculture and land-use practices that rebuild soil fertility and biodiversity.

The Organic Consumers Association has nearly one million members. Through the global network of Regeneration International, it’s connected to 3.6 million consumers, farmers, activists, scientists and

policymakers in over 100 countries, all working to address climate change.

As you may know, greenhouse gases are one of the causes of climate change. They act as a blanket, making the Earth warmer than it would be otherwise. Carbon dioxide is one of those greenhouse gasses, transferred into the atmosphere through a number of ways, including the extraction of fossil fuels and modern agricultural techniques.

Melby said because of farming practices like overfertilization and overtilling, there are dangerously low amounts of carbon in the soil. That’s bad because carbon-rich soils protect against erosion, soak up rainfall to help ranchers weather droughts, feed plants and nourish animals, among other uses.

The solution is to pull carbon back into the soil through photosynthesis.

This change is possible by a shift in agricultural mindset, said Melby. “It’s hard to be against this. We simply need to explain the science of how it works. The actual solution is a really simple thing.”

One of the techniques is for ranchers to mimic grassland herds of the past. Bison centuries ago would roam wide, open spaces, staying close together to protect themselves from predators while moving from one area to another in search of food.

The herds would consume the high nutrient plants, trample down others, create

holes in the soil that hold water, urinate, defecate, and then move on. The bison often wouldn’t return to the same land for one or two years, which gave the high nutrient plants time to regenerate and the soil a chance to be naturally fertilized by the bacteria left behind by the herds.

Today, bison and cows often overgraze by eating in the same place again and again. They consume the highest nutrient plants, and return to the same spot before the high nutrient plants have a chance to regenerate, and poor plants take over. Over time, due to this and other concerns, the carbon content of the soil is reduced.

Another potential solution, outlined in the video “Soil Carbon Cowboys,” which has more than 26 thousand views on the Organic Consumers Association Facebook page, is called pasture cropping.

Using this method, farmers rotate their acres with animal pastures and food. Perhaps one year, the space holds a corn crop, and the next year become a pasture for grazing animals. This process ensures organic matter is high in an area and keeps carbon in the soil.

Melby said the key message Regeneration International is spreading is one of positivity and hope, and that change can happen in as little as a decade.

“It’s possible to revert to preindustrial levels of carbon by using regenerative agriculture…We can make a tangible difference in our lifetimes.”

To learn more, visit organicconsumers. org and regenerationinternational.org —Kelsey Roseth

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Drummers at the Giant

SLEEPING GIANT For a dozen springs, I have spent a week in Sleeping Giant Provincial Park photographing ruffed grouse. Most ruffed grouse mating occurs before the park opens on Memorial Day weekend. But if a fox destroys a nest, the hen will likely mate again and renest. So the males remain vigilant in maintaining what Arthur C. Bent referred to as “the throbbing heart of awakening spring.”

The cock selects one or more stages that provide visibility, protection from raptors and mammalian predators, and a nearby food source. Most stages are on the familiar drumming logs, but dirt mounds and boulders can provide suitable stages. The cock occupies a small territory during the spring mating ritual.

Periodically, he straightens and shifts a couple times, positioning himself crossways of the log at his particular spot to begin the next drumming session. If he is a year old, most likely he spent some time learning to produce the sound during the previous autumn. During one autumn trip to Sleeping Giant, we watched a young cock going through the motions but unable to make a sound. Come spring, he was beating the airwaves with powerful strokes that created a vacuum into which collapsing air emitted the “pup” sound. About 45 beats in 10 seconds start out distinctly spaced but turn into a flurry with diminishing volume. Usually, the cock waits three or four minutes between drumrolls, but I have seen a fired up bird drum every minute for 20 minutes before slowing the pace.

The grouse near Marie Louise Campground are accustomed to people and hence approachable. In other places, I’ve struggled to sneak into a blind in starlight to photograph drummers. In contrast, I learned that within a couple days the Giant’s grouse would accept me. During my first attempt, they usually walk away. By the third day, most will allow me to set up 10 feet from them. They don’t perceive me as a threat.

Often when a grouse is still wary of my approach, it will step off its stage, walk perhaps 100 feet, mount an alternate log,

and not miss a beat. On at least three occasions, I slowly followed a bird to two or three stages and then back to the original log where it decided to settle in and continue drumming. The alternate logs had droppings on them, indicating that they were being used some of the time. Occasionally, I’ve used a mirror and a decoy to elicit additional grouse behavior. For one red phase cock, I sat the mirror 15 feet from him on a long log. He drummed but obviously couldn’t see himself. I circled him to look down the log and determine what adjustment to make on the mirror. Another drum. Another adjustment.

After the fourth adjustment, he made one wingbeat, stopped, went into the strut, and charged the mirror. At five feet from it, he jumped off the log to meet what he perceived as a rival charging him. The mirror image disappeared; he hopped onto the log’s root mound and continued to strut, probably satisfied that the rival had disappeared. On the third day, he ran to the mirror and shadowboxed with his reflection.

On day three, another drummer finally let me set the tripod where I could photograph. After an hour of moving closer and continuing to photograph his drumming, I decided to go back to the car and get my decoy. I placed it on the log eight feet from him. He immediately began displaying to it. He strutted, pecked at the log, and did the rapid head twist that I think helps erect the ruff feathers around the neck. He displayed for 20 minutes and came within a couple feet of the decoy.

I can drag the decoy with a monofilament line, and the next day I led him around with it. He was so oblivious to my presence that he rubbed the tripod as he circled the decoy. Then he mounted it and jumped off in obvious bewilderment. I hadn’t been able to see what happened because of my angle, but now I saw the decoy’s head laying on the ground. The cock grasps feathers on the back of the hen’s head, but the head shouldn’t come off. That was traumatic, but I suspect he recovered.—Al Cornell

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Backlighting shows the full extent of wing motion. | AL CORNELL

Hiking Association hires new executive director

TWO HARBORS—The Superior Hiking Trail Association (SHTA) has hired a new executive director. Denny Caneff will lead the SHTA into the future of maintaining, improving, permanently securing and protecting the trail, as well as securing financial resources to support the SHTA and cultivating membership.

“We are fortunate to have found a leader with Denny’s depth of experience and dynamic personality,” said Tim Kuehn, vice president of the SHTA board of directors and chair of the executive director search committee, which received more than 70 applications for the position.

“With this summer’s completion of the trail, the association’s focus and needs are broadening. We not only chose Denny for his passion for the outdoors but his big picture thinking and strategic skills and his ability to build relationships with stakeholders. These skills will be key in setting the future direction of the trail for years to come.”

Caneff comes from Madison, Wisc., where he held professional positions in land and water conservation, most recently completing a 13-year stint as executive director of the River Alliance of Wisconsin. His work at the River Alliance was honored with two recent awards: the Conservation in Action award from the Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters, and a River Hero award from the national

river conservation organization River Network. As a long-time nonprofit executive and consultant, Caneff has raised tens of millions of dollars in grants and donations, developed volunteer and board capacity, managed professional staff, shaped conservation policy and educated the public on complex issues.

“I’m really excited to bring my nonprofit management experience and passion for the outdoors and conservation to the Superior Hiking Trail Association,” said Caneff. “The North Shore has always drawn me in, and what better way to answer that call than this work to keep the Superior Hiking Trail a regional and national gem.”

A Minnesota native, Caneff was born and raised in Hastings. He’s a graduate of St. Cloud State University and holds a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The father of four children, Caneff is an avid kayaker and hiker, canoed the entire length of the Mississippi River, spent time in over 20 foreign countries, and served in the Peace Corps in West Africa.

Members and hikers attending Hike Fest on May 19-21 will have an opportunity to meet and welcome Caneff, when he will be formally introduced to the association on Saturday. Visit shta.org for more information.

Photo by Paul Sundberg

Gitchi Gami State Trail

Denny Caneff

Willard Munger State Trail to be reconstructed

DULUTH—A 5-mile section of the Willard Munger State Trail, between Grand Avenue and Becks Road in West Duluth, will be closed for an extensive construction project from mid-April through August, according to the Minnesota DNR.

The project will stabilize parts of the treadway damaged during the 2012 flash flood and bring that section of the trail up to current standards that call for a wider surface and shoulders. Because heavy equipment will be operating in the area, the section of the trail will be closed to all traffic throughout the project.

“While the construction will be disruptive for trail users in the short-term, we are already looking forward to having this project fully repaired and being able to welcome people back to an improved

trail when it’s completed,” said Martin Torgerson, DNR Moose Lake area supervisor. “For safety reasons, we ask that people obey the closure signs during the construction and avoid areas where heavy equipment is present.”

Construction updates will be posted in the trail notes of the trails webpage at mndnr.gov/statetrails. For more information, email the DNR Information Center at: info.dnr@state.mn.us or call (888) 646-6367

The trail is a collection of three trail segments accommodating multiple uses, including bicycling, walking, horseback riding and snowmobiling. The 70-mile Hinckley–Duluth segment is completely paved and passes through three state forests and Jay Cooke State Park.

One million visit Ely wolves

ELY—The International Wolf Center achieved an important milestone on March 25, when the one-millionth visitor passed through its doors during the weekly “What’s For Dinner?” program.

The International Wolf Center has been welcoming visitors to its Ely Interpretive Center since opening in July, 1993. During its first few years, attendance numbers were very high as people came to see the new facility. But by the late 1990s, attendance began to decline.

Recent efforts to increase promotion and offer new exhibits each year have had a positive effect on bringing more people to Ely and through the Center’s doors, with last year’s attendance increasing by 27 percent to 44,381 guests—making 2016 the largest attendance at the International Wolf Center since 2004.

“It hasn’t been easy to turn things around,” said executive director Rob Schultz. “While pup years bring more guests through the door, we’ve had to find other new ways to promote ourselves, to draw

excitement for our programs and ambassador wolves, and to expand the kinds of special exhibits to attract new audiences.”

Grant funding from the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board (IRRRB) helped promote a collaboration with local northern lights photographer Heidi Pinkerton, which resulted in increased attendance. This upcoming summer, the Center’s advertising campaign will feature Axel and Grayson, two arctic wolves who have grown significantly over the winter months after arriving from Canada last spring as three-pound pups.

For more information, visit wolf.org

Painting by Dave Gilsvik

Good Times Await

Seeking a Hip Scene?

North of the Border

Head for Thunder Bay’s Waterfront District and the nearby Algoma & Bay Neighborhood. You’ll find it all: live music, great food, funky galleries, unique shops, the OLG Casino, Marina Park and more. This ain’t your daddy’s Thunder Bay! www.thewaterfrontdistrict.ca

(Remember, Thunder Bay is on Eastern Time —1 hour ahead of MN time.)

Start the month of May by visiting the Thunder Bay Art Gallery. Currently on display until May 7 is the Dennis Franklin Cromarty High School Exhibition , featuring student art from the 2017 art class. Also currently on display until May 28 is The Tangled Arts: Point of Origin exhibit by Melannie Monoceros. An opening reception and artist talk will be held May 5, from 7-9 p.m. Monoceros is a poet and artist exploring poly-sensory production through textile and performance. theag.ca

Check out the Youthful Expressions Exhibition May 3-30 at the Baggage Building Arts Centre. The exhibit is a collection of original printmaking by students from Thunder Bay elementary schools. The works are the result of classroom visits by arts educator and printmaker Brian Holden, made possible through the Ontario Arts Council Artist in Education program. (807) 684-2063

Sign up for Pints and Poses at Red Lion Smokehouse on Saturday, May 6. Held from 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., enjoy a one hour yoga class, followed by beer tasting. Cost is $35 per person. Then, stop by from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on May 7 for the Craft Revival event, featuring local artisans, tasty treats and craft beer. Other Red Lion events include live music every Saturday, Celtic Night every Thursday, Arts & Craft Beer Night on May 10, and a Blue Grass Mother’s Day Brunch on May 14. redlionsmokehouse.ca

The Thunder Bay District Master Gardeners will hold a Spring Workshop featuring Heather Holm on Saturday, May 6. Holm is a horticulturist and biologist by training, educating audiences about the fascinating world of pollinators, beneficial insects and native plants. The workshop will include talks on: “Common Native Bees: Their life cycle, foraging behavior and pollination of native plants” and “Gardening for Bees and Butterflies: Nesting, food, plants they pollinate, host plants.” The workshop will be held at the Confederation College Lecture Theatre at 9:30 a.m. Tickets are $20; lunch not provided. mastergardeners.eventbrite.ca

The Thunder Bay Multicultural Association presents the 2017 Folklore Festival: A World Tour of Nations, May 6-7. Held at the Fort William Gardens and Curling Club, the festival will feature local artists on site, exhibits and displays, “shop-the-world” booths, live music by 21 Gun

Fun, the fanfare of world flags, prizes, international foods and imported beers and wines. Children will enjoy free face painting, arts, crafts and games. The festival takes place from noon to 11 p.m. on Saturday, and noon to 7 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is $5 adults; $3 students and seniors; $1 children ages 4-12. folklorefestival.ca

World Laughter Day is May 7 at the Baggage Building Arts Centre. Learn to laugh for no reason at all with this free event, taught by Sherry Anne of Laughter Yoga Thunder Bay. Laughter Yoga is a series of breathing and easy moment exercises, designed to teach the body to laugh without jokes or humor. Great for all abilities; no previous yoga experience required. World Laughter Day will be held from 1-2 p.m. laughteryogatbay.ca

Join the Magnus family for the Ales & Apps night on May 13, featuring local craft beer, tasty appetizers and entertainment. Sleeping Giant Brewing Company will provide several different varieties of locally brewed craft beer to help shake off those winter blues and celebrate spring. There will also be a variety of auction items, raffles and door prizes. The event will begin at 6 p.m. at the Magnus Theatre. magnus.on.ca

The 5th annual New To You Jewelry & Purse Exchange & Sale will be held on Wednesday, May 17. Bring four gently used purses, jewelry, or a mixture of both, to exchange. There will also be jewelry and purses for sale; nothing over $20. Appetizers and refreshments provided. Tickets are $10. All proceeds go to the Military Family Resource Centre. Event will take place from 7-9 p.m. at the HMCS Griffon; 125 N. Algoma Street. (807) 345-5116

Victoria Day is Monday, May 22, to honor Queen Victoria’s birthday. Also on Monday is the Fire Fighters 10 Mile Road Race. The race will begin at 9 a.m. on Simpson Street. Registration required. 10mileroadrace.org

The 25th annual 55 Plus Centre Art Exhibit & Sale will take place May 26-30. The show features talented and emerging artists from the 55 plus community. This popular event will kick-off with an opening night gala on May 26, from 7-9 p.m. at the Thunder Bay 55 Plus Centre. Other viewing times during Centre hours. All ages are welcome to attend. Silver collection at the door. (807) 684-3066

Thunder Bay Fish & Game

Shooting Ranges

OPEN HOUSE

Saturday, June 3, Noon - 4 p.m.

“If you’ve ever wanted to try shooting a gun.” Small Fee — NEW this year Demonstrations — All are welcome

Pento Road off of Government Road www.thunderbayfishandgame.com

Thunder Bay District Fish and Game Association

By Kelsey Roseth

If you’re interested in protecting Minnesota’s water resources for generations to come, Duluthian and renown conservationist Dave Zentner has the solution—and it’s you.

“There is no elixir, but I think that the environmental conservation movement has to move back to neighbor-to-neighbor, grassroots, bottoms up, putting people in the picture,” said Zentner, who is in his early 80s and a local legend among Minnesota conservationists.

Challenges of Citizen Engagement

The way he sees it is that some people, especially younger generations, are put off by the current “top-down” environmental organizations—you know, the organizations that seek donations, develop policies, and talk with the Legislature about the issues on behalf of the members. Zentner said the organizations with “check-writing memberships” hold an important place in our communities and in our state, however, “they don’t do a very good job of having the average man or woman see themselves as a steward of water and wetlands.”

Zentner has thought a lot about this topic. One of his passions is seeking ways to connect communities and boost citizen involvement. Another one of his passions is getting involved with local conservation issues.

A Lifetime of Conservation

Zentner has a long and significant history of being involved in Minnesota’s conservation efforts. After retiring from a successful financial planning and insurance career, Zentner helped lead the campaign to pass the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment, which generates more than $300 million each year to protect water, wetlands, wildlife, parks, trails, and the arts and cultural heritage in Minnesota.

Recently, funding from the amendment helped the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, the Lake Superior Steelhead Association, and several other agencies complete a habitat project that stabilized 2,200 feet of eroding clay banks along the upper Knife River, which is a critical habitat for steelhead spawning. This year, there are a number of local projects planned, including one that will restore and protect watersheds and streams in Minnesota’s Lake Superior coastal region, and another initiative will provide local governments with grants to support parks and trails in northeast Minnesota.

Another feather in Zentner’s cap—in the 1970s, he served as the national president of the Izaak Walton League of America, which is a nearly 100-year-old national conservation organization with more than 43,000 members.

He also joined forces with people across the state to help establish Voyageurs National Park, he’s worked for years to protect the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, and he served on the board of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency… the list goes on. It’s safe to say that Zentner, who is also an avid angler and hunter, knows what he’s talking about.

On a personal note, Zentner married his high school sweetheart Margo when he

was a junior at the University of Minnesota Duluth, and the pair don’t miss a Bulldogs’ hockey game if they can help it.

Finding the Middle Ground

Part of Zentner’s conservation success comes from his ability to observe issues from all sides, and understand other people’s perspectives. Also, he has the ability to think about the issue as a whole, rather than just the here and now.

“You need to divorce yourself from the instant case long enough to say, ‘what are we doing on a daily basis that will make a difference long-term,’” said Zentner.

Zentner said that the way we live today is complicated, and it’s time for us as individuals to confront the reality of those difficult decisions.

“There are no easy answers,” he said. “But the need for technology does not dismiss the equally compelling need to try and use our natural resources for the highest and best use.”

In Zentner’s eyes, the solution to obtain

Why Your Involvement is Important

It’s clear that water’s impact locally is tremendous. However, Zentner said people often forget that water conservation “is not just about wild things. This is about us.”

Our local paper, taconite and agricultural industries rely on water to operate. Also, following best practices when it comes to water management is fiscally prudent. Citing the 2012 floods that devastated Duluth and other North Shore communities, Zentner said that proper management of water saves people billions of dollars in disaster relief, as wetlands hold watersheds together and local streams are conduits of storm water into Lake Superior.

“People don’t take into account the bigger picture,” said Zentner. “They don’t understand that how we manage water changes and increases the frequency and severity of floods.”

Water conservation and preservation allows us to continue to support the wide diversity of wildlife we have in northeast Minnesota.

“It’s all the living things we love to be around,” said Zentner. “Everything we love to see. From the mallard with its clutch walking across the road, to the fish we like to see, catch, eat, to the herons, to the things that give us richness in our lives.”

Also, healthy wetlands are carbon sinks for climate change, and water conservation can help people protect the planet for the long-term, and avoid the costs related to managing climate change in the future.

Most importantly, “We need not be ashamed to put in the moral imperative. We need to take care of the things that live around us that depend on actions we take for their existence,” said Zentner.

How to Get Involved

If water conservation starts with you, where can you start?

citizen involvement is three-fold. First, individuals and organizations need to educate people on our natural resources and help them understand that water conservation starts with them. Then, organizations need to open themselves up to those from other backgrounds or generations, to obtain greater volunteerism, opinions and ideas. Finally, Zentner said if conservation organizations still want to remain relevant today, they need to change the structure of their meetings, becoming flexible to reach a new generation of people.

“We are pretty rich and diverse with conservation organizations in northeast Minnesota,” said Zentner, and if those organizations want to compete and attract new members, he said they should provide opportunities for people to become educated on water conservation and develop the foundation to think for themselves. State park visitor centers and other local resources like Hartley Park in Duluth can teach people to see themselves as stewards of our natural resources, and learn how to personally protect them.

Begin by staying up-to-date on local issues. Read articles from trusted news organizations like Northern Wilds, Minnesota Outdoor News, Minneapolis StarTribune, and others.

Learn how your tax dollars are being spent. Take time to understand the Clean Water, Land, and Legacy Amendment and how your money is being put to work locally: legacy.leg.mn

When visiting national, state or city parks and other public spaces, see if you can find educational materials to help you connect your outdoor experience with the big picture of Minnesota’s natural resources.

Manage your property with care and ensure you’re taking water resources into consideration. Explore the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources website to learn more: bwsr.state.mn.us

Consider becoming involved in a local water conservation organization like the St. Louis River Alliance, Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness, Minnesota Naturalist’s Association and others. Find them with a quick online or Facebook search.

Dave Zentner is passionate when it comes to helping local conservation issues. | KELSEY ROSETH

You know you are in a good place when a painted turtle welcomes you. | SALLY A. DUNN

For the Love of Swamps

BY SHAWN PERICH

When I’m finally called to the big fishing camp in the sky, there will be an alder swamp waiting for me. A celestial ghillie will outfit me with a fly rod, a box of flies, a pair of chest waders and hopefully some bug dope.

Then the ghillie will say, “Sir, if you head off into alders over there, you’ll find a beaver pond filled with 4-pound brook trout.”

And off I’ll go. Maybe I’ll find that brookie Shangri-La. Or maybe I’ll spend eternity crashing through the swamp, swatting swarms of black flies and cursing the ghillie who didn’t supply me with bug dope. Either way, I’ll know my fate.

I’ve spent a lot of time slogging through swamps, bogs, marshes and sloughs in many places and in all seasons. Often, my quest for trout has taken me there. When I was a kid, my father and I followed a path across a bouncy floating bog to try for brook trout in Lake County’s Section 8 Lake. I stepped around a puddle in the path. Dad stepped in it…and promptly sunk to his waist in oozing muck.

“Now I know why they call this lake Section 8,” the old infantryman growled. “You have to be Section 8 to go fishing here!”

Section 8, in case you are not of Korean War vintage, was a military term for mentally unfit for duty. Dad recovered from his mud bath and proceeded to go fishing. The brook trout were biting, which restored his humor, too.

The Northern Wilds is a landscape washed with water. This is most apparent in our wealth of lakes and streams. By contrast, our wetlands (most people know them as “swamps”) are often underappreciated. But these sloppy, muddy, bug-infested places are the well springs of our watery bounty and the filters that keep the water fresh and

clean. In other places, human development from urban sprawl to agriculture has led to the drainage and obliteration of wetlands. By contrast, the vast majority of Northern Wilds wetlands remain intact and largely protected from human encroachment. Activities such as logging occur in the winter, when heavy equipment can be operated on frozen swamps to prevent long term damage.

Have you ever walked a corduroy road? In the old days, loggers laid logs side by side to build roads across swamps, creating a natural platform to prevent horse drawn sleighs and, later, mechanized equipment from sinking into the mire. Preserved in the ooze, corduroy roads last for decades after the last load of logs rumbles over them. Very often they are the best way for a grouse hunter or some other backwoods wanderer to hike across a bog.

Peat bogs are the signature wetlands of the North. They are shallow basins that once were lakes or ponds, but over centuries and millennia slowly filled in with silt and vegetative matter through a natural process called eutrophication. A spongy layer of sphagnum moss grows over the peat. Some bogs support stands of black spruce and tamarack. Often the trees grow so slowly in a boggy environment that foresters refer to them as “stagnant” spruce.

When I was a kid, we once happened upon an old-timer who was using snowshoes in the summer to fish for brook trout in a creek flowing through a peat bog. Come to think of it, Dad should have been wearing snowshoes when we fished Section 8 Lake. I like to explore bogs in the winter, when you can snowshoe across a world few people visit. It’s quiet out there. You might see fox tracks or a raven may pass overhead, but a frozen bog is a place of lonely solitude.

Not all wetlands are this way. A marsh teams with life, serving as a focal point for a plethora of creatures; some exist there, others live nearby and others, most often birds, make seasonal visits. In spring I like to walk my dogs along the high ground above an expansive open marsh. Although I can’t see them, I listen to the calls of trumpeter swans and sandhill cranes. Both species have become more numerous in the Northern Wilds during the last 20 years.

Sometimes on these walks I’ll happen upon an antler dropped by a moose the previous winter. Swamps are an important aspect of moose habitat. In summer, moose eat aquatic vegetation and seek shelter from the sun in the shady coolness of black spruce bogs. In autumn, you can often find the battered brush and muddy wallows that are the calling cards of rutting bulls along the perimeter of a swamp. Last March, I found where a moose had spent part

Amphibians are among the many creatures that depend upon wetland habitat. | PAUL CHAMBERS

of the winter in a swampy grove of ancient white cedar, browsing on the understory of alder, birch and balsam fir. Wetlands, especially the ones where big cedars dwell, are among the least disturbed ecosystems on the Northern Wilds landscape. But change occurs in swamps, too. You can still see remnants from the early years of European settlement, when waterways were altered to facilitate logging operations. Lakes and streams were dammed to create a head of water for spring log drives. Dynamite blasts were used to create potholes in creeks for the storing logs and water. Swamps were ditched and drained to build roads and homes or to dry out land used for crops and pasture. These days we have rules in place to protect our water and wetlands from activities that may damage them or impair water quality.

But no one regulates the beavers. Sometimes called “nature’s engineers,” these industrious rodents have been busy at work in the Northern Wilds for millennia. Beavers cut down trees with their teeth to build dams across flowing water, from tiny trickles to sizeable streams. On large rivers and lakes, they are content to build their homes of sticks and mud along the banks; no dam necessary. The ponds created by beaver dams create a new environment used by a host of species, from black ducks and kingfishers to brook trout and painted turtles.

Beavers harvest deciduous trees for food and building materials. Aspen is their favorite. Where the terrain allows, they’ll even dig canals leading out from their ponds so they can reach more trees. Eventually, they cut down all of the nearby trees and run short of food. At that point, they abandon the pond. The beaver dam falls into disrepair and water drains out of the pond, leaving the original stream bed surrounded by muddy ground. Grass and sedges sprout from the mud, creating a lush meadow. Over time, trees return. At some point, another beaver decides to rebuild the dam and the process comes full circle.

I’ve watched beaver ponds pass through every stage of this process, sometimes more than once. I am humbled by the way these natural occurrences mark the passing of time. Beavers have long existed on this landscape. Long may they continue to do so. And when the time comes for me to seek that celestial beaver pond, I hope I find it.

Brave the bugs to visit a bog and you might see some pitcher plants. | SANDY UPDYKE

Northern pike swim in the shallows during spring, where they are prey for bald eagles.

| KEITH ANDERSON

The incessant activity of beavers is always evident on northern waterways. | JOHN MCFAUL

By Breana Roy

ART ALONG THE SHORE

During Memorial Day weekend, May 26-28, various art galleries from Schroeder to Grand Portage will celebrate Art Along the Shore, many of which will hold art demos, artist meet-and-greets, food, music and fun. There will also be new artwork on display, as well as exhibits and shows. For a list of events, check out visitcookcounty.com.

Artist Mary Bebie created this glass coaster. Bebie will be teaching a Class Coasters Class from 9-11 a.m. and 1-3 p.m. on Saturday, May 27 at the Grand Marais Art Colony.

| MARY BEBIE

Betsy Bowen will hold a woodblock printmaking demo at her studio from 1-3 p.m. on May 28. Also at Betsy Bowen Gallery & Studios is the Spring Art Underground event, featuring various artists throughout the weekend. | BETSY BOWEN

Joy & Company in Grand Marais now features artwork by Tanya Beyer of Floodwood. This piece, entitled “Loons and Lake Shimmer,” is a watercolor, gouache, pencil and ink piece. | TANYA BEYER

Check out the new artwork at Kah-Nee-Tah Gallery in Lutsen, such as this floral watercolor by Melinda Wolff. The gallery will also hold art demos with Judy Christensen and Maggie Anderson May 27-28. | MELINDA WOLFF

[LEFT] Jewelry artist Ron Piercywill hold an open house from 4-6 p.m. on May 26 to celebrate the grand opening of his store, Ron’s World Rocks: Silver & Gems. His store is located at 105 First Ave. W., across from the Arrowhead Pharmacy in Grand Marais.

| RON’S WORLD ROCKS

“Trout Camp Dinner,” by Dave Gilsvik. Gilsvik will hold “Always Looking for Color,” a painting demonstration from 1-4 p.m. May 27-28 at Sivertson Gallery in Grand Marais. | DAVE GILSVIK

MINNESOTA WOMEN ON THE FLY

Saturday, May 20 After the snow melts and rivers open up, novice and intermediate steelheaders will head to the banks of the Baptism River to learn the fundamentals of fishing on the North Shore. Women on the Fly, part of Minnesota Steelheaders, will hold their second annual streamside clinic May 20 for women to gain knowledge and experience fly fishing.

Lisa Murphy, an eight-year steelheading veteran, is one of the directors for Minnesota Steelheaders and Women on the Fly. Last year, there were five women who participated in the clinic; this year, there are 16 signed up. Three out of five participants caught fish at last year’s clinic, and most of them continue to fish today. “We had to add a second clinic this year—and also have a long waiting list. It’s encouraging because there is a lot more interest than anyone realized.” Murphy said. When she first started volunteering for Minnesota Steelheaders, she noticed there wasn’t information and resources specifically for women on their website. She had recently moved to Silver Bay from the Twin Cities with her fiancé to be closer to the rivers that they loved; she also wanted to share that passion with others. So in April of 2016, Women on the Fly came to be.

“I know that I am not the only woman who loves this. If we can provide the resources and skills, we can get so many more women involved,” Murphy said.

More women are catching on—according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the amount of female anglers has slightly increased in the last five years. In 2006, there were 7.6 million women fishing and in 2011, that number rose to 8.9 million.

The goal of the clinic is for women to have the confidence to fish on their own. For the average fly fisherman, fishing alone is sometimes preferred. Although it depends on the river, most can agree that shoulder-to-shoulder fishing typically doesn’t amount to much but frustration.

Murphy says that it is very rare to come across a woman fishing alone.

“There is no feeling like conquering a river, it’s a fantastic feeling and any woman can do it. They just have to have the confidence and the know-how to do it.”

That’s what the clinic is all about. To teach participants about migratory trout and salmon fishery so they know where to go, what to look for, and how to develop their skills and confidence navigating the water.

Plus, the clinic is free. Minnesota Steelheader staff volunteer their time to put it on—they do accept donations, though. Any donations received go toward funding future educational programs, community events, habitat projects, and their conservation mission. Throughout the year, Minnesota Steelheaders offer multiple events, from streamside clinics to a steelheader meet and greet. The purpose is to continue the fishing heritage in order to pass on the passion to future generations.

There is also desire to get more local women out on the water. Murphy says that many of the people coming for the clinics are traveling from the Twin Cities. While they are more than welcome, she’d love to see the impact of the clinic locally as well.

With enough interest, Women on the Fly may put together yet another clinic this year. Interested anglers can contact them at womenontheflyms@gmail. com or visit minnesotasteelheader.com to learn more. —Ali Juten

The second annual Women on the Fly Streamside Clinic will be held Saturday, May 20. | LISA MURPHY

Lisa Murphy passing on her passion for the river to her daughter. | LISA MURPHY

The clinic will help participants develop their skills and confidence as anglers. | LISA MURPHY

WORLD ACCORDION DAY & WILLARD

A. PALMER CENTENARY FESTIVAL

May 6-7

An array of international accordion artists will perform in adjoining festivals, sponsored by A World of Accordion Museum; World Accordion Day (May 6) and the Centenary Celebration of Dr. Willard A. Palmer (May 7). Held from 11 a.m.-8 p.m. each day, there will be concerts, lectures, workshops, jam sessions and free snacks.

Celebrity soloists include Kevin Friedrich, Stas Venglevski, John Scaffeo, Dr. Michael Middleton, Dee Langley, Michael Bridge, Carolyn Carver and Tracey Gibbens. Festivals will be held at the Harrington Arts Center in Superior. Admission is $60 per day or $100 for both days. Tickets available at the door. worldofaccordions.org

STORIES IN STONE

May 7, Sunday Visit Sugarloaf Cove in Schroeder to examine geology up close and personal. Learn how Lake Superior got here, ponder the origins of a beach with some of the greatest diversity of rock types on the North Shore, and puzzle out lava flow features from top to bottom. There’s no better place for rock adventures. Meet at the Sugarloaf Cove Nature Center at 10 a.m., and make sure to wear sturdy shoes for exploration. Sponsored by the MN DNR SNA program. sugarloafnorthshore.org

COOK COUNTY

YMCA PRESENTS: DANCE3

May 11-13 Over 90 dancers of all ages will perform in the third annual Cook County YMCA dance performance; Dance3. The recital features ballet, jazz, tap and hip-hop dances, choreographed by instructors Christine Curtis, Breana Roy and Lesli Higgins. The recital will be held at 7

p.m. (6 p.m. Thurs.) at the Arrowhead Center for the Arts in Grand Marais. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children. Tickets can be purchased at the door or online. arrowheadcenterforthearts.tix.com

LAKEHEAD SHRINE CIRCUS

May 13, Saturday The Lakehead Shrine Circus will perform two shows on Saturday, May 13 at the Fort William Gardens in Thunder Bay. The Shrine Circus is Thunder Bay’s hometown circus, having performed annually for over 60 years. This family-friendly event features hilarious clowns, dancing, acrobats, food, music and more. Performances are from 2-4:30 p.m., and 6-8:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online. tbaycircus.com

RUN SMELT RUN

May 14, Sunday Magic Smelt Puppet Troupe will hold the 6th annual Run Smelt Run Parade and Party on Sunday, May 14 in Duluth. This free, family-friendly event begins at 3:30 p.m. with the presentation of the Smelt Queen at the Maritime Visitor’s Center, followed by a second line parade on the Lakewalk, featuring music by the Brass Messengers from Minneapolis. The parade will also fea -

ture an energetic school of silver smelt puppets and mask dancers—participants and spectators are encouraged to wear silver. Then, head to the Zeitgeist Arts Café for a smelt fry and party at 5 p.m. magicsmelt.com

CHEQUAMEGON BAY BIRDING & NATURE FESTIVAL

May 18-20 Enjoy three days of birding and nature activities in Ashland, Wisc. during the peak of spring migration. Birders and nature lovers of all skills and ages will find a wealth of choices at this year’s festival, with over 100 field trips and programs to choose from. This year’s keynote speaker will be Matt Reetz, executive director of Madison Audubon. Festival headquarters is the Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center. Register online to attend. birdandnaturefest.com

from 10 a.m.-noon and 1-3 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Demos include basketry with Mary Jane Huggins; knitting with Kathy West; hand quilting with Orlene Fisher; wood carving with Al Sunde; Ukraine egg carving with Lavona Czaplicki; and hand tool making with Marland Hansen. In Lutsen, Tom Christiansen will provide a live bronze pour demo at Last Chance Fabricating at 4 p.m., followed by a reception to welcome sculptor Greg Mueller. Kah-Nee-Tah Gallery will feature a precious metal clay and silver demo with Judy Christensen, and a raku demonstration with Maggie Anderson;

both at 11 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Betsy Bowen Gallery & Studios will hold a sneak peek from 5-7 p.m. on Friday for the Spring Art Underground Show, as well as demos throughout the weekend. The Grand Marais Art Colony will host demos and a Pop-up Exhibit: Made at the Art Colony. Joy and Company will hold children’s art activities from 9-11 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. Other demos will take place at Sivertson Gallery, Ron’s World Rocks: Silver and Gems, and Wickwire Clay Works. A full list of events can be found online. visitcookcounty.com

MAY

26

LE GRAND DU NORD

May 27th, 11 AM

Art Along the Lake Demonstrations

p.m.

10:00 to 12:00p.m.

Mary Jane Huggins

basketry

Kathy West knitting

Orlene Fisher hand quilting 1:00 to 3:00p.m.

Mary Jane Huggins basketry

Marland

CROSS RIVER

Hours: Tues. - Sat. 10:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Sun.1:00 - 4:00 p.m. • Closed Mon.

May 27, Saturday Hundreds of cyclists will gather in Grand Marais for the second annual Le Grand du Nord gravel races. Held by Heck of the North Productions, races consist of a 100-mile course and a 50-mile course. Starting at the Coast Guard Station downtown, the route climbs almost 6,000 feet, providing spectacular views of the U.S./Canadian border. Post-race festivities will be held at Voyageur Brewing Company, featuring live music, drinks and awards. Registration is required. heckofthenorth.com

Art Along the Lake is fun for the whole family. | VISIT COOK COUNTY

Harbor, Grand Marais, MN

May

Northern Wilds Calendar of Events

April 20-May 7

La Cage aux Folles 7:30 p.m. (2 p.m. Sun.) Duluth Playhouse, duluthplayhouse.org

April 22-May 21

April Apiary: A Celebration of Bees Sivertson Gallery, Duluth, sivertson.com

April 30-May 7

Homegrown Music Festival Duluth, duluthhomegrown.org

May 1, Monday

Northwoods Gardening with Andy Hill 4 p.m. Ely, ely.org

Dream Dance Company: Live in the Moment 7 p.m. Thunder Bay Community Auditorium, tbca.com

May 2, Tuesday

Wudang Qigong & Chinese Calligraphy

Classes with Master Bing 6 p.m. Cook County Community Center, Grand Marais, wudangdao.com/ store0/wudang-qigong-class

May 3, Wednesday

IPC’s Reaching Out to Ontario

8:30 a.m. Valhalla Inn, Thunder Bay, rsvp@ipc.on.ca

Rick Mercer’s Canada: Coast to Coast 8 p.m. Thunder Bay Community Auditorium, tbca.com

Rock, Paper, Scissors Tournament 8 p.m. Red Lion Smokehouse, Thunder Bay, redlionsmokehouse.ca

May 4, Thursday

Duluth Lions Club Pancake Day 6 a.m. Duluth DECC, facebook.com/ duluth-lions-club

When Grief is Complicated 2 p.m.

Sawtooth Mountain Clinic: Lower Level Classroom, Grand Marais (218) 387-3788

Geocaching 101 4 p.m.

Ely Public Library, elylibrary.org

Writers Read 5 p.m.

Boathouse Brewpub, Ely, ely.org

Wine in the Woods Fundraiser

6 p.m. Northland Country Club, Duluth, hartleynature.org

Daylin James: Gospel Music of the King 7 p.m. St. Andrews Presbyterian Church, Thunder Bay, tbca.com

Jon Miller 7:30 p.m. Gun Flint Tavern, Grand Marais, gunflinttavern.com

May 5, Friday

Cinco de Mayo Celebration

5 p.m. Voyageur Brewing, Grand Marais, voyageurbrewing.com

Ham Run Pasta Buffet

5:30 p.m. Justine’s at Gunflint Lodge, Gunflint Trail, gunflint.com

Neechee Studio Free Summer Workshop 5:30 p.m. Definitely Superior Art Gallery, Thunder Bay, definitelysuperior.com

St. Louis River Experience Fundraiser 6 p.m. Duluth DECC, slreduluth.com/2017-fundraiser

Experience Dance: Petrouchka 7 p.m. Thunder Bay Community Auditorium, tbca.com

May 5-6

Spring Food & Wine Lovers Weekend Bluefin Grille, Tofte, bluefinbay.com

May 5-7

Buck’s Big Bash Celebration

Buck’s Hardware Hank, Grand Marais, buckshardware.net

May 6, Saturday

Dulcimer Day 9 a.m. First United Methodist Church, Duluth, dulcimersinduluth.com

Thunder Bay District Master Gardeners

Spring Workshop 9 a.m. Confederation College Lecture Theatre, Thunder Bay, tbmastergardeners.homestead.com

Spring Youth Outdoor Expo: Free 9 a.m. Hartley Nature Center, Duluth, hartleynature.org

MS Walk 9 a.m. Canal Park, Duluth, mssociety.org

Ham Run Half Marathon 10 a.m. Gunflint Trail, cookcountyymca.org/ healthyliving/ham-run-half-marathon

Green Touch Program 10 a.m. Gooseberry Falls State Park, Two Harbors (218) 834-2226

Nature’s Medicine Chest

10 a.m. Sugarloaf Cove, Schroeder, sugarloafnorthshore.org

Silvana’s Early Mother’s Day Event 10 a.m. DaVinci Centre, Thunder Bay

Pints & Poses 11:30 a.m. Red Lion Smokehouse, Thunder Bay, redlionsmokehouse.ca

Remembering the 2007 Ham Lake Fire

3 p.m. Seagull Lake Community Center, Gunflint Trail

DSSO: Now and Then 7 p.m. Duluth DECC, dsso.com

Spirit of Dance: The Magical World of Dance 7 p.m. Thunder Bay Community Auditorium, tbca.com

Brothers in Arms 8:30 p.m. Gun Flint Tavern, Grand Marais, gunflinttavern.com

May 6-7

Area 85 Round Up Current River Community Centre, Thunder Bay, aa-nwo-area85.org

Beginners Beekeeping Course Thunder Bay, thunderbaybeekeepersassociation.ca

Empty Bowls: Spring Make-a-Bowl Sessions Grand Marais Art Colony, grandmaraisartcolony.org



World Accordion Day & Willard A. Palmer Centenary Festival 11 a.m. Harrington Arts Center, Superior, worldofaccordions.org

Folklore Festival: A World Tour of Nations Noon, Fort William Gardens & Curling Club, Thunder Bay, folklorefestival.ca

May 7, Sunday

Free Day at the YMCA Grand Marais, sawtoothmountainclinic.org

Craft Revival 10 a.m. Red Lion Smokehouse, Thunder Bay, redlionsmokehouse.ca

Spring into Summer Craft & Vendor

Sale 10 a.m. Victoria Inn, Thunder Bay, facebook.com/events/185006038640331

Stories in Stone 10 a.m. Sugarloaf Cove, Schroeder, sugarloafnorthshore.org

World Laughter Day 1 p.m. Baggage Arts Building, Thunder Bay, laughteryogatbay.ca

Studio One: The Circle of Life

2 p.m. Thunder Bay Community Auditorium, tbca.com

Out of the Darkness Memorial Walk

4 p.m. Confederation College, Thunder Bay, outofthedarknesstbay@gmail.com

Timmy Haus 7:30 p.m.

Gun Flint Tavern, Grand Marais, gunflinttavern.com

May 8, Monday

International Dance Academy: New Journey 6:30 p.m. Thunder Bay Community Auditorium, tbca.com

DSSYO Spring Concert 7 p.m.

St. Scholastica, Duluth, dsso.com

May 9, Tuesday

Fairlawn Garden Work Day

9 a.m. Fairlawn Mansion, Superior, superiorpublicmuseums.org

Grief Group: Learning Life After Loss

3:30 p.m. 1st Congregational Church, Grand Marais (218) 387-3788

Ruby’s Pantry 5 p.m. Cook County High School, Grand Marais, facebook.com/rubyspantrycc

Parenting with Strengths in Mind: For Families with Tweens & Teens

5:30 p.m. Cook County Community Center, Grand Marais (218) 387-2330

May 10, Wednesday

Bike & Brew 3 p.m. Voyageur Brewing, Grand Marais, voyageurbrewing.com

Free Relaxation Video: Tree Roots Grounding 5:30 p.m. Sawtooth Mountain Classroom, Grand Marais (218) 387-2330

Fay Gleeson presents: Happy Birthday Canada 7 p.m. Thunder Bay Community Auditorium, tbca.com

Arts & Craft Beer Night 8 p.m. Red Lion Smokehouse, Thunder Bay, redlionsmokehouse.ca

May 11, Thursday

Nurses Appreciation Day Voyageur Brewing, Grand Marais, voyageurbrewing.com

Garden Club Meeting & Tour

6 p.m. Ely Flower & Seed, ely.org

Billy Johnson 8 p.m. Gun Flint Tavern, Grand Marais, gunflinttavern.com

Dean Brody: Beautiful Freak Show Tour 8 p.m. Thunder Bay Community Auditorium, tbca.com

May 11-13

YMCA Dance Recital: Dance³ 7 p.m. (6 p.m. Thurs.) Arrowhead Center for the Arts, Grand Marais, cookcountyymca.org

May 12, Friday

Teacher Appreciation Day Voyageur Brewing, Grand Marais, voyageurbrewing.com

Free Solar Day Camp for Kids

9 a.m. Cook County Community Center, Grand Marais, localenergy@boreal.org

Portage Band 6 p.m. Grandma Ray’s (218) 387-2974

Minnesota Ballet Student Performance 7 p.m. Duluth DECC, decc.org

May 12-13

Moonshine Mountain 8 p.m.

Gun Flint Tavern, Grand Marais, gunflinttavern.com

May 13, Saturday

Minnesota Fishing Opener

Playhouse Children’s Theatre Presents: The Stinky Cheese Man & Other Fairly Stupid Tales The Underground Theatre, Duluth, duluthplayhouse.org

YWCA Mother’s Day Walk/Run & Expo 7 a.m. Clyde Iron Works, Duluth, ywcaduluth.org/mdwr

Nice Girls of the North Marketplace 10 a.m. Lakeside Lester Park Community Center, Duluth, nicegirlsofthenorth.com

Lakehead Shrine Circus 2 p.m. & 6 p.m. Fort William Gardens, Thunder Bay, tbaycircus.com

Joe Klander: Strongman Exhibition Reception with Live Wrestling 5 p.m. Duluth Art Institute, duluthartinstitute.org

Ales & Apps 6 p.m. Magnus Theatre, Thunder Bay, mangus.on.ca

Zorya Ukrainian Dancers 7 p.m. Thunder Bay Community Auditorium, tbca.com

May 14, Sunday

Mother’s Day

Dance Dynamics: Inspirations 2 p.m. Thunder Bay Community Auditorium, tbca.com

Run Smelt Run Parade & Party 3:30 p.m. Duluth, magicsmelt.com

Jon Miller 7:30 p.m. Gun Flint Tavern, Grand Marais, gunflinttavern.com

May 16, Tuesday

Blood Drive 11 a.m. Silver Bay High School, mbc.org

Nature Storytime 4 p.m. Ely Public Library, elylibrary.org

Parenting Positively: For Families with Pre-School & Elementary-Age Kids

5:30 p.m. Sawtooth Mountain Clinic Classroom, Grand Marais (218) 387-2330

Wildflower Walk 6 p.m. Hartley Nature Center, Duluth, hartleynature.org

May 16-17

UnderOneRoof Twin Ports Conference Duluth DECC, underonerooftwinports.com

May 17, Wednesday

Blood Drive 9:30 a.m. Cook County North Shore Hospital, Grand Marais, mbc.org

Intro to Craft Beer & Beer Trivia 7 p.m. Voyageur Brewing, Grand Marais, voyageurbrewing.com

New to You Jewelry & Purse Exchange & Sale 7 p.m. HMCS Griffon, Thunder Bay, tbaymfrc@tbaytel.net

Legacy Performing Arts Company:

This Is Our Legacy 7 p.m. Thunder Bay Community Auditorium, tbca.com

Game Tournament 8 p.m. Red Lion Smokehouse, Thunder Bay, redlionsmokehouse.ca

May 18, Thursday

Blood Drive 8:30 a.m. Cook County High School, Grand Marais, mbc.org

Bike Safety Rodeo 3 p.m. Cook County Community Center, Grand Marais (218) 387-2330

Cigar & Beer Pairing 6 p.m. Voyageur Brewing, Grand Marais, voyageurbrewing.com

Lakehead Festival of Music & Arts Gala 7 p.m. Thunder Bay Community Auditorium, tbca.com

Thunder Bay Horticultural Society Meeting 7:30 p.m. Oliver Road Community Centre, Thunder Bay, tbayhortsociety.weebly.com

May 18-20

Chequamegon Bay Birding & Nature Festival Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center, Ashland, WI, birdandnaturefest.com

May 18-27

The Importance of Being Earnest 7:30 p.m. The Underground Theatre, Duluth, duluthplayhouse.org

May 19, Friday

Beer & Paint Night 5:30 p.m.

Castle Danger Brewery, Two Harbors, castledangerbrewery.com

Bags Tournament & Pizza Party

6:30 p.m. Voyageur Brewing, Grand Marais, voyageurbrewing.com

Pete K Group 8:30 p.m. Grandma Ray’s (218) 387-2974

May 19-20

Hike Fest Wolf Ridge, Finland, shta.org

Duluth Junk Hunt

Duluth Heritage Sports Center, Duluth, duluthjunkhunt.com

Ely High School Veterans Memorial Showcase Veterans Memorial Field, Ely, ely.org

Oak Steel & Lightning Gun Flint Tavern, Grand Marais, gunflinttavern.com

May 20, Saturday

Beaver House Family Fishing Festival Beaver House, Grand Marais, visitcookcounty.com

Superior Spring Trail Races

Caribou Highlands, Lutsen, superiorspringtrailrace.com

Senior Spring Cleanup Day Cook County (218) 387-3788

City Wide Rummage & Business Crazy

Day Sale 8 a.m. Ely, ely.org

GES Plant Sale Great Expectations School, Grand Marais

Open Art Group NWFA Gallery, Cook, MN, nwfamn.org

AEOA Home Stretch Workshop

8:30 a.m. Cook County Higher Education, Grand Marais, aeoa.org/housing/ homeownership

Veterans Memorial Hall 5K Fun Run

9 a.m. The Other Place Bar & Grill, Duluth, vets-hall.org

Yard Sale: Bike & Gear Swap 9 a.m. Spokengear, Two Harbors (218) 834-2117

Women on the Fly Streamside Clinic

9:45 a.m. Baptism River, Silver Bay, minnesotasteelheader.com/ wotfclinic.html

Duluth Monarch Festival

10 a.m. Coppertop Church, Duluth, duluthmonarchbuddies.com

Cystic Fibrosis Walleye Fishing

Tournament 10 a.m. Silver Rapids Lodge, Ely (218) 365-4877

SHTA Spring Hike: Judge C.R. Magney State Park to Kadunce River Wayside 10 a.m. shta.org

Spirit of the Times Fundraiser Party

6:30 p.m. Zeitgeist Arts, Duluth, zeitgeistarts.com/spirit2017

Writer’s Salon: Josh MacIvor-Andersen & Arboreal Writing Contest Winners

7 p.m. Drury Lane Books, Grand Marais, drurylanebooks.com

May 20-28

Duluth Dylan Fest Duluth, bobdylanway.com

May 21, Sunday

Board Game Competition

1 p.m. Voyageur Brewing, Grand Marais, voyageurbrewing.com

May 22, Monday

Victoria Day

Fire Fighters 10 Mile Road Race

9 a.m. Simpson Street, Thunder Bay, 10mileroadrace.org

May 23, Tuesday

Grief Group: Learning Life After Loss

3:30 p.m. 1st Congregational Church, Grand Marais (218) 387-3788

Australia’s Thunder From Down Under 7:30 p.m. Thunder Bay Community Auditorium, tbca.com

May 24, Wednesday

Artist Talk: Solarplate Printing with Dan Welden 4:30 p.m. Grand Marais Art Colony, grandmaraisartcolony.org

May 25, Thursday

Kimberlee Roth & Tom Hollenhorst: Water 6 p.m. Duluth Art Institute, duluthartinstitute.org

Mysterious Ways 8 p.m. Gun Flint Tavern, Grand Marais, gunflinttavern.com

May 26, Friday

Pinterest Projects 2 p.m.

Ely Public Library, elylibrary.org

Portage Band 6 p.m. Grandma Ray’s (218) 387-2974

May 26-27

Public Safety, Security & Health

Recruiting Expo Canadian Lakehead Exhibition, Thunder Bay (807) 708-1049

Art Demonstrations 10 a.m.

Cross River Heritage Center, Schroeder, crossriverheritage.org

Children’s Art Activities 10 a.m. Joy & Company, Grand Marais, facebook.com/ joyandcompanymn

Wickwire Clay Works Tile Making Demo 11 a.m. Betsy Bowen Gallery & Studios, Grand Marais, wickwireclayworks.com

May 26-28

Art Along the Lake Cook County, visitcookcounty.com

Studio Demonstrations 1 p.m.

Ron’s World Rocks, Silver & Gems, Grand Marais, ronsworldrocks.com

May 26-June 25

Spring Art Underground Betsy Bowen Gallery, Grand Marais, woodcut.com

May 27, Saturday

Le Grand Du Nord Gravel

Cycling Classic Grand Marais, heckofthenorth.com

RFDA Flea Market 8 a.m. Regional Food Distribution Association, Thunder Bay, foodbanksnorthwest.ca

Wildflower & Native Plant Sale

9 a.m. EcoSuperior, Thunder Bay, ecosuperior.org

Arbor Day 2017: Celebrating Our Urban Forest 10 a.m. Vickers Park, Thunder Bay, thunderbay.ca/arborday

Muffin Man Story Hour

11 a.m. Drury Lane Books, Grand Marais, drurylanebooks.com

Stephan Hoglund Jewelry Trunk Show

11 a.m. Betsy Bowen Gallery & Studios, Grand Marais, stephanhoglund.com

Thunder Bay Horticultural Society

Fundraiser Noon, Oliver Road

Community Centre, Thunder Bay, tbayhortsociety.weebly.com

Vintage Iron Car Club Spring Show & Shine 1 p.m. Atikokan, visitatikokan.com

Free Printmaking Demo

1 p.m. Grand Marais Art Colony, grandmaraisartcolony.org

Community Ink Day: Screenprinting

2 p.m. Grand Marais Art Colony, grandmaraisartcolony.org

Meet the Artist 3 p.m. Ron’s World Rocks, Silver & Gems, Grand Marais, ronsworldrocks.com

Bronze Pour & Welcome Reception for Sculptor Greg Mueller 4 p.m. Last Chance Studio & Gallery, Lutsen, lastchancefab.com

Michael Monroe Log Cabin Concert 7 p.m. Grand Marais, michaelmonroemusic.com

May 27-28

Dorion’s Canyon Country Birding Festival Dorion, Ontario, dorionbirdfest.ca

Pop-up Exhibition & Sale: Made at the Art Colony Grand Marais Art Colony, grandmaraisartcolony.org

Wilderness Medicine Workshop Hartley Nature Center, Duluth, theduluthexperience.com/ duluth-wilderness-medicine-workshop

Art Demos with Judy Christensen & Maggie Anderson 11 a.m. Kah-Nee-Tah Gallery, Lutsen, kahneetah.com

Dave Gilsvik Painting Demos 1 p.m. Sivertson Gallery, Grand Marais, sivertson.com

May 28, Sunday

MS Walk 9:30 a.m. Canadian Lakehead Exhibition, Thunder Bay, brittany.chrusz@ mssociety.ca

Betsy Bowen Woodblock Printmaking Demo 1 p.m. Betsy Bowen Gallery, Grand Marais, woodcut.com

Voyageur Brewing Company Tour

1 p.m. Voyageur Brewing, Grand Marais, voyageurbrewing.com

May 29, Monday

Memorial Day

May 30, Tuesday

Ely Farmers Market & Artists Market 5 p.m. Whiteside Park, Ely, ely.org

Take It With You: Season 4 7:30 p.m. The Underground Theatre, Duluth, duluthplayhouse.org

May 31, Wednesday

Quiz Night 8 p.m. Red Lion Smokehouse, Thunder Bay, redlionsmokehouse.ca

May 31-June 4

Duluth Superior Film Festival Duluth, ds-ff.com

Mondays

Nature Nook 10 a.m. Hartley Nature Center, Duluth, hartleynature.org

Open Mic 6 p.m. Grandma Ray’s, Grand Marais (218) 387-2974

Help with a Project & Open Knitting 6:30 p.m. Sisu Designs Yarn Shop, Ely, sisudesigns.org

Tuesdays

Open Studio 12:30 p.m. Duluth Depot, duluthartinstitute.org

Live Music 6 p.m. Poplar River Pub, Lutsen Resort, lutsenresort.com

Wednesdays

Country Market 3:30 p.m. Canadian Lakehead Exhibition, Thunder Bay, thunderbaycountrymarket.com

Open Mic 5 p.m. Gun Flint Tavern, Grand Marais, gunflinttavern.com

Thursdays

Live Music 6 p.m. Poplar River Pub, Lutsen Resort, lutsenresort.com

DJ Trivia 7 p.m. Kamloops, Two Harbors, superiorshores.com

Celtic Night 7:30 p.m. Red Lion Smokehouse, Thunder Bay, redlionsmokehouse.ca

Fridays

Preschool Storytime 10:30 a.m. Ely Public Library, elylibrary.org

Live Music 4 p.m. Voyageur Brewing, Grand Marais, voyageurbrewing.com

Live Music 7 p.m. Castle Danger Brewery, Two Harbors, castledangerbrewery.com

Saturdays

Country Market 8 a.m. Canadian Lakehead Exhibition, Thunder Bay, thunderbaycountrymarket.com

Voyageur Brewing Company Tour 11 a.m. Voyageur Brewing, Grand Marais, voyageurbrewing.com

Open Knitting 1 p.m. Sisu Designs Yarn Shop, Ely, sisudesigns.org

Tour the North House Campus 2 p.m. North House Folk School, Grand Marais, northhouse.org

Live Music 4 p.m. Voyageur Brewing, Grand Marais, voyageurbrewing.com

Live Music 7 p.m. Lutsen Resort, Lutsen, lutsenresort.com

Live Music Grandma Ray’s, Grand Marais (218) 387-2974

Live Music 10 p.m. Red Lion Smokehouse, Thunder Bay, redlionsmokehouse.ca

The North Shore Dish

Don’t Eat Meat? You Have Options

By Maren Webb

When I came back from my first year of college a vegetarian, I quickly realized the North Shore was not a very friendly dining scene for those not eating meat. I remember one server trying to reassure me saying, “We have lots of options with chicken.” Luckily for vegetarians and meat-eaters alike, in recent years many local restaurants have expanded their menus to include delicious vegetarian options. Whether you don’t eat meat, are looking for a healthier option, or just like good food, try eating vegetarian your next meal out.

When Michael and Maureen O’Phelan purchased Cascade Lodge and Restaurant in 2004, Michael couldn’t eat at the restaurant as it didn’t have any vegetarian options. They sought to change that and over the years they have become known for having a nice assortment of vegetarian dishes, even winning a few Northern Wilds Restaurant Awards in the process. While many restaurants may feature one vegetarian entree, Cascade Restaurant has two sandwiches, a burger, two salads, three dinner entrees, and many breakfast dishes that are vegetarian.

One of their most unique vegetarian items is the O’Freuben sandwich; a vegetarian take on a reuben. Not only is it a tasty sandwich, it is also noteworthy in that it contains tofu. Tofu is a staple of many a vegetarian’s diet, yet it is quite rare on restaurant menus in the northwoods.

The O’Freuben took one and a half years to develop, with the original inspiration found in a recipe from a blog. It also happens to be one of my favorite sandwiches on the North Shore.

Cascade Restaurant’s most popular vegetarian item is their Veggie Bennie on the breakfast menu (available until 2 p.m. daily). Two basted eggs, served atop tomato slices and sauteed spinach on an English muffin, with hollandaise sauce and hash browns. One local customer decided to try her own vegetarian mash up by ordering the Veggie Bennie with Cascade’s black bean and wild rice burger patty as the base. Veggie brilliance or insanity? Only those that try it will know.

This year, Cascade Lodge and Restaurant is celebrating its 90th anniversary. If you are looking for a place that is “healthy, tasty, and with reasonable prices,” the O’Phelans look forward to seeing you.

Cascade Restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, seven days a week; 7:30

Cascade’s Veggie Burger is handmade with black beans and wild rice. | CASCADE RESTAURANT

a.m.-8 p.m. weekdays and until 9 p.m. on weekends. Starting Memorial Day, it will be open until 9 p.m. weekdays and 10 p.m. weekends (3719 W. Highway 61, Lutsen).

In Duluth, the vegetarian options may be more plentiful, but one restaurant has become a vegetarian favorite over the years: the Duluth Grill. Not only is the Duluth Grill popular for its multitude of vegetarian entrees, it is also known for its commitment to local food and growing its own produce for the restaurant.

Choose from a variety of juices and shakes at The Growing Season, such as the Big Red. | THE GROWING SEASON

When you pull into the Duluth Grill’s parking lot, you see right away that something is different about this restaurant. Container gardens and berms dot the landscape, making use of the space to grow food. The Duluth Grill’s goal of producing as much food as they can from their location becomes apparent with this landscaping. While you might be impressed by their on-site operation, they also run an urban farm at two houses nearby in the Lincoln Park hillside. Overseen by their full-time farm manager, Francois, the op -

eration is producing a broad range of foods from mint and basil to berries to rabbits for the Grill.

With a large menu and a busy restaurant, they are not able to meet all their produce and food needs. Instead, they support many other local growers and producers, last year spending close to $500,000 with local vendors.

General manager, Dan LeFebvre, explained, “It’s about figuring out why you do what you do, not the what (serve food).

The Growing Season’s Garden Grill Sandwich uses zucchini, onions, roasted red peppers and feta. | GROWING SEASON

The why, for us, is about producing amazing food with local ingredients with a good, knowledgeable staff.”

Some of this amazing food includes the Buddha Bowl with chimichurri wild rice, roasted red peppers, grilled onions, housemade kimchi, broccoli, wild mushrooms, marinated kale, avocado, falafel, infused pepper oil and fresh cilantro—all in one bowl. The Thai-Ghetti, with fresh zucchini noodles and Thai flavors, is also popular.

The Duluth Grill is known for more than vegetarian food, as “we still sling burgers, onion rings, bacon, and sausage: it’s our bread and butter,” said LeFebvre.

This is the perfect location when you have a mix of herbivores, carnivores and omnivores in your group. The Duluth Grill is open seven days a week, 7 a.m.-9 p.m. (I-35 & 27th Ave. West).

Just over seven years ago, four women saw that there were not many dining options for vegetarians in Thunder Bay. They sought to meet this need by opening a restaurant serving vegetarian and vegan food and pressed juices: The Growing Season. Today, they continue to serve nutritious, colorful and refreshing food.

“We are a casual, comfortable, and friendly neighborhood eatery that makes simple, good food fairly quickly,” said one of its owners, Amy Kelterborn.

With several vegetarians and a vegan on staff, they understand vegetarianism and what people are looking to enjoy when out for a meal. Their signature dish is the vegetarian Season Sandwich, made with local Thunder Oak Gouda cheese in a grilled, open-faced sandwich with avocado and homemade pesto. The Chipotle Tofu Unwrap and the Venus Rice Bowl are two other veggie favorites, mixing fresh, healthy ingredients with bold flavors. The Growing Season partners with many local farms and vendors, using locally grown items to create their menu.

This past summer I finally stopped in to try out The Growing Season after it was recommended to me countless times. It is a smaller restaurant with a strong take-

out business, so we put in our order and then took our delicious veggie-laden lunch to nearby Boulevard Lake. A perfect option on a beautiful day. The restaurant is also a great spot to eat, with nice decor and lots of light. The staff help make it a warm and lively environment. The Growing Season is open 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday through Saturday (201 Algoma Street).

Individuals who are vegetarian, or eat partially vegetarian, do so for a variety of reasons; these restaurants are similarly varied. Each brings its own flavors and ideas to vegetarian cooking, yet all are serving up delicious food for vegetarians and meat-eaters alike. Enjoy a meal, get a few extra servings of vegetables, and support a local business. Sounds like a win-win-win.

The Buddha Bowl at the Duluth Grill is chock full of vegetables and flavor. | RACHELLE RAHN

Recipes

Enjoy Spring with Spring Greens

By Kim Falter

The official first day of spring was March 20, but along the North Shore, spring tends to blossom a little later. While most gardening books say we can begin planting spring greens in early spring, we know for us that could be as late as early May.

Spring greens are a lovely crop for those of us antsy to get our hands in the soil after a long, cold winter. A typical spring green is described as a member of the cabbage family that does not come to a head. This includes kale, bok choy, spinach and mustard greens, as well as dandelion greens, mizuna, arugula and some lettuces if an early crop is the goal.

Spring greens prefer cool weather as warmer climates can cause plants to bolt (which means to flower and go to seed) early. Mild weather promotes leaf production, which means plentiful garden salads for your dinner table. Harvest times may vary based on the type of spring green you plan to grow, but all are an easy crop to start in early May, or as soon as the soil is workable and the chance of a hard frost has passed. A hard frost is a period of around four hours with temperatures below 25 degrees F. This is definitely a possibility in May, so keep an eye on the weather, or try planting in a small hoop house to ensure crop protection. Here are some common spring greens for you to try in your early garden.

ARUGULA: Originally found in the Mediterranean, arugula, or rocket, as it is otherwise known, is a delicate green with a peppery bite to it. Arugula loves to be thinned to approximately 4-6 inches between plants and can be harvested at full growth around 6-8 weeks.

BOK CHOY: A member of the cabbage family, bok choy forms a loose white stemmed head with rich green leaves. A great addition to salads, stir-fry, or in homemade kimchi—this is a green that loves the cool weather. Thin to 8-12 inches apart, depending on the size of your bok choy variety. Entire heads can be harvested, or individual leaves, at around 6-8 weeks.

KALE: Kale plants are profoundly cold hardy; although you still want to be mindful of the potential for a hard freeze, you can plant kale varieties before the last frost. This is one of those rare crops that can actually be harvested in the snow. This is a crop well-suited for the northern gardener, and incredibly nutritious to boot. Kale likes to be thinned to two feet apart depending on the variety (and there are lots of varieties), and you can begin harvesting the leaves at around eight weeks.

MIZUNA: Also a member of the cabbage family, mizuna can tolerate both hot and cool temperatures. Almost mustard-like in flavor, the mizuna plant prefers to be about 6-12 inches from its neighbors. Individual leaves, or the entire head, can be harvested after about six weeks from germination. This green makes for a special, flavorful addition to any salad.

SPINACH: Rich in nutrients, spinach is an excellent addition to the northern garden, as it loves cooler temperatures. It can be planted in early spring and leaves can be harvested as early as six weeks from germination. Planting a crop every 10 days can ensure a constant crop throughout the summer and early fall.

It is difficult to find a match, nutritionally, to the green leafy vegetable. Not only are they excellent detoxifiers, they are very rich in vitamins and minerals. Our motto with greens should be “the greener the better” as the nutrition content will be much higher in your kales and spinach

than say your lettuces. All green leafy vegetables contain a healthy dose of vitamin A and C, magnesium, potassium, iron, calcium and folic acid. As most gardeners know, thinning plants as they grow is beneficial to vibrant growth. When thinning spring greens, the pulled sprouts can be used as micro-greens in sandwiches and salads, or simply eaten as is—so don’t throw them out. They are just as delicious and nutritious as their full-grown counterparts.

Spinach Salad with Ginger Dressing

ƒ 3 tablespoons of onion, minced

ƒ 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

ƒ 2 tablespoons of white wine vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)

ƒ 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh ginger, grated

ƒ 1 tablespoon ketchup

ƒ 1 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari

ƒ 1/4-1/2 teaspoon garlic, minced

ƒ salt & pepper, to taste

ƒ 10 ounces fresh spinach

ƒ 1 carrot, grated

ƒ 1 red bell pepper, sliced

To create the dressing, blend first eight ingredients until well combined. Toss the spinach, carrot and red bell pepper together. Then, gently toss with dressing until dressing is evenly distributed. Serves 4.

Easy Miso-Chicken Ramen

ƒ 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil, divided

ƒ 1 bunch green onions, sliced, green separated from white parts

ƒ 4 cloves garlic, minced

ƒ 1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger

ƒ 4 cups water

ƒ 3 tablespoons white miso

ƒ 1 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce

ƒ 1 1/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed, cut into bite-size pieces

ƒ 8 cups chopped bok choy

ƒ 4 ounces dried Chinese noodles, broken in half

ƒ 4 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add green onion whites, garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add water, miso, soy sauce and the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil; bring to a boil. Stir in chicken, bok choy, noodles and mushrooms. Cover and return to a boil. Uncover, reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring, until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender, 3-5 minutes. Serve sprinkled with green onion greens. Serves 4.

Sleeping Giant Northern Logger

By Eric Weicht

Sleeping Giant Brewing Company, located in the heart of Thunder Bay, is a brewery that stands out from the rest for more reasons than just their northern location. With a wide selection of year-round and seasonal brews—ranging from a special coffee-vanilla porter holiday release to a uniquely hopped English Pale Ale with their 360 Ale—Sleeping Giant has a beer for every occasion, and, judging by the couple of styles that I’ve tried so far, a delicious beer for every occasion at that.

I sat down to try one of Sleeping Giant’s beers on a warm, sunny April evening after a long day spent hiking and taking full advantage of the spring waterfall season. Naturally, I was in the mood for something smooth and refreshing after a day spent in the woods, so I went with the Northern Logger Golden Ale—how could I not choose the blue can with the bearded lumberjack riding an angry grizzly with antlers? Also fitting was the description on the can, “Made to be refreshing after a day of taking on the world.”

Smooth with a pronounced malt flavor that leaves a pleasantly sweet after taste, the Northern Logger Golden Ale is an excellent, versatile beer that serves well as both a refreshing pick-me up after a hot afternoon, or a warming malt-driven brew for a cold winter’s day. Or after riding a grizzly bear with moose antlers, I suppose.

Move it in May

By Bailey Wolding

“Increasing physical activity can lead to a longer life and improved health. Every hour you’re active, the experts say, adds one and a half hours to your life,” reads the press release from the first fitness week in Cook County, 13 years ago.

Movin and Groovin ran from June 12-19 in 2004. The goal was to encourage more North Shore residents to be active and to help participants see that exercise doesn’t have to be work. The week included sample classes, allowing residents to find the right type of exercise for them. The classes covered a wide range of topics, such as stretching, organizing a walking group, yoga and water aerobics. There was a bike ride to Naniboujou for brunch, and Wisdom Steps, a walking campaign in Grand Portage, organized by Minnesota’s American Indian tribes and the Board on Aging.

The push for a more active community was one of many happening at the time to combat the rising number of obese and overweight adults in the U.S. Heart-disease, type 2 diabetes, and some forms of cancer are all related to obesity. Currently, more than one-third of adults in the U.S. are obese, though Minnesota is below the national average, with 25-30 percent of its adult population qualifying as obese, according to the Center for Disease Control.

One of the reasons Minnesota may be

below the national average is due to campaigns like the Movin and Groovin week that promotes healthy lifestyles. Since 2004, the Sawtooth Mountain Clinic, along with other sponsors, have broadened the week-long event into a month-long event; Move it in May.

To encourage people to participate in Move it in May, a website (sawtoothmountainclinic.org/moveit) was created that allows people to register their “minutes/ miles of healthy activity; for example: physical exercise, massage, or preparing healthy meals.” Each month, a destination is selected, and the miles logged by each person pool together to show how far Cook County residents as a whole have traveled. In February, the destination was Chena, Alaska, with “stops” at the hot springs along the way. Extra incentives have been added too. For example, when someone registers their minutes or miles they become eligible for prize drawings at the end of May.

Businesses and organizations are encouraged to form teams to participate. A piece of paper can be pinned on a bulletin for employees to log their miles, allowing them to see how their activity compares to others, and hopefully encouraging them to walk an extra mile or swim an extra lap. All of those miles can be logged under the team name on the Move It website.

This year’s Move it in May will include sample classes and prizes for those participating. The YMCA is also encouraging residents to utilize its facility.

“The first Sunday of the month at the Y is free for community members that want to take advantage of an open swim, cardio equipment, or open gym, so that’s always a great option to move-it,” said Emily Marshall, executive director for the Cook County YMCA.

The Ham Run, organized by the YMCA, has also become a May tradition in Cook County. Residents can register for the half marathon, a 5k, or the Little Runts Run. With its extensive hiking trail system, ski trails, and waterways, Cook County is a place many people flock to for exercise. However, as a resident it is easy to overlook these opportunities. Move it in May encourages residents to get off the couch. Your mind and body will thank you, and you might even win a great prize.

Take advantage of the outdoors during Move it in May. | BAILEY WOLDING

BEAVER HOUSE

Family Fishing Festival

S Minnow races

S Scavenger hunt

S Maritime exhibit

S Games and food specials all around town

S And more!

Walleye & Splake Fishing Contests!

1st place $500, 2nd place $200, 3rd place Hug From Tyson

• Sign up Friday, May 12, 10 am - 6 pm, No exceptions. $20/person.

• Follow all MN fishing laws

• Register fish at the Beaver House by 5 pm Sat., May 20.

Contest runs May 13th - May 20. For more info visit: www.visitcookcounty.com/entry/fishingfestival/

• Winners decided by stringer weight: Walleye: 6 combined no more than 1 over 20 in. Splake: 5 combined, no more than 3 over 16 in.

Get Active Cook County!

Register online to log your minutes and /or miles of physical activity and help our community MoveIt! back home from our February Virtual Destination: the Hot Springs of Chena, Alaska!

For more information about all the exciting events that are Move It In May, be sure to check out: SawtoothMountainClinic.org and click the MoveIt! icon.

May Events

Tues., May 9 Hot Potatoes –Parenting with Strengths in Mind For families of tweens and teens FREE 5:30 - 7:30 p.m., Cook County Community Center Baked Potato Bar provided.

Wed., May 10 Tree Roots Grounding Screening of the first installment of Caring for our Whole Selves, simple meditation and massage for kids. FREE 5:30 - 7:00 p.m.,

Sawtooth Mountain Clinic Classroom RSVP appreciated.

Tues., May 16 Tater Tots –Parenting Positively For families of preschool and elementary age kids FREE 5:30 - 7:00 p.m., Sawtooth Mountain Clinic Classroom Baked Potato Bar provided.

Thurs., May 18 Bike Safety Rodeo FREE 3-5 p.m., Cook County Community Center Featuring: Bike & Helmet Checks, Ride the Course & Bike Safety, and More! Signed permission slip required to participate.

For more info. and RSVP: hartley@sawtoothmountainclinic.org or 218-387-2330

Northern Trails Canoe Fishing in Small Lakes

By Gord Ellis

If you like to fish small lakes, whether it be for bass, walleye, trout or pike, it’s pretty tough to beat fishing from a canoe. I know kayaks are fun too, and they have become all the rage. But I really haven’t had a lot of experience fishing from them. One of these days...

In the meantime, there is the canoe. They really are a great craft for fishing. Plus you can do away with about 90 percent of the stuff boat anglers have to worry about. There is generally no trailer, and if you have a motor, it’s small. The layout of a canoe is such that you can’t overload it with gear. You won’t find 10 fishing rods and five tackle boxes laying in the bottom of a canoe. You scale down the gear and do just fine. Canoes are also highly portable. Even the heaviest, gnarliest old aluminum scow is half the weight of a 14-foot boat. A person of pretty average strength can generally carry a canoe a little ways. If you are in reasonable shape, you can likely carry it a long ways. This portability allows you to get a canoe into some pretty amazing places, and find fish that other people miss.

I’ve had so many great experiences fishing from a canoe that it’s hard to pick out just one. I recall, a couple of decades ago, exploring a little jewel of a spec lake that was within sight of the bush road, but lacked trail access. Getting into the lake required more dragging than carrying, and it was not super fun. However, when I finally got to the lake I could just tell it was going to be good. The water was cold, clear and teaming with life. Bugs were hatching, frogs were croaking and big schools of minnows were swimming about. And did I mention the trout that were swirling? Brookies were up in the Labrador tea, feeding heavily and being very noisy about it. My partner and I quietly got into the canoe and paddled to within casting range of the fish. The first trout came on a small spoon and weighed about 4-pounds. The second one, which nailed a large panther martin spinner, topped 8-pounds. Those two fish were it for the morning. But you haven’t really lived until you’ve seen an 8-pound brookie laying in the bottom of a canoe.

One of the great things about canoe fishing is that you can angle with a partner very successfully. With one person casting at the bow and another at the stern, there is little worry about crossing lines or hooking each other. It is possible, of course, but a little mindfulness in the canoe goes a long way. You can, of course, choose to

take turns, with one person paddling and the other casting. This technique can be very rewarding, as it give ones person the chance to focus on fishing, while the other person keeps the canoe in prime areas. You take turns after a certain period of time, or after each fish, whichever comes first.

There are also times when fishing from a canoe can be a real challenge. This comes into play when big fish are on the menu.

When I think about landing large fish in a canoe, my mind always turns back to a canoe trip with my father on the Albany River. I hooked into a mammoth pike and remember it swimming under the canoe. The snout could be seen on one side of the craft, the tail on the other. At the time, it was the largest pike I’d ever seen, never mind hooked. Both my father and I had serious trepidation about putting the huge fish in the square stern. Yet I somehow

managed to grab it from behind and lift it up. It was 44 inches long and is still the biggest fish I’ve ever landed from a canoe. Be warned though, a fish of that size can cause some serious mayhem in a canoe if it decides to go bonkers.

That big fish story makes a good segue into talking about safety when fishing in a canoe. It’s my belief that the simplest way to keep a disaster from happening on the water is to wear a Personal Flotation Device (PFD). Although tipping a canoe is relatively rare, the odds are high it will happen at some point in your fishing career. Sometimes, you tip for the weirdest reasons. Having a life jacket on helps to avoid drowning. Just wear it. You should also be very wary of standing in a canoe. Most of the time, standing is a really bad idea. I’ll never forget being on a fly-in trip with an angler who kept insisting on standing up in the canoe every time he hooked a fish or got a snag. I told him he was going to flip us. Somehow, we avoided that fate, although he did end up falling right out of the canoe and into the lake. Luckily, he was wearing a PFD.

Fishing from a canoe is largely a silent undertaking. This allows you to blend in with the surroundings. You can generally sneak up on feeding moose or loons, and get quite close before they become wary. Silence is also your friend when fishing, of course. There is no better way to get close to feeding fish.

Canoes allow people to access some of the north’s most beautiful lakes. | GORD ELLIS

A nice spring brookie caught by Richard Brochu. | GORD ELLIS

WISCONSIN Waterfall WEEKEND

BY ERIC CHANDLER

When we first moved to Duluth, I bought a book called True North: Alternate and Off-Beat Destinations in and Around Duluth Superior and Shores of Lake Superior by Tony Dierckins. We paged through the book and built little family adventures in our new neighborhood. The North Shore was filled with star attractions, so we took a lot of trips northeast of Duluth. After a few years, we came up with our own ideas. The book disappeared on a shelf.

One sunny weekend, I scrambled through the house looking for that book. I was out of ideas and the beautiful day was slipping away. Weren’t there some waterfalls on the South Shore? Little low-key ones not too far away? I was so desperate for adventure I was thinking about going over the bridge into Wisconsin. Madness, I know. I found the book and we salvaged the day. Wisconsin waterfalls to the rescue.

Electronics Recycling Collection Event

Bring in your old computers, TVs and other electronic equipment and have them recycled properly.

June 3rd, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Cook County Recycling Center, Grand Marais

Sometimes, you just want to jump in your car with sneakers on and go for an easy walk. Not a giant expedition. Just a one-hour drive to the east from Duluth, there are three easily accessible waterfalls. This triad exists in a 15-mile stretch of road between Port Wing and Cornucopia, Wisconsin.

First, we stopped in Port Wing at Twin Falls Park. More correctly, I drove right by the entrance and had to backtrack. We parked and walked up the short path to the falls. When we were there, the Larson Creek flow was just a trickle. We got a look from the platform above the falls. We ended up walking behind the falls and observing the curves and potholes in the rock carved by higher waters. Our dog, Leo, dunked himself in the creek. We need to visit again when the water is rushing.

- Unique access by train and

plus 6 remote fishing

route

Canoeing & Fishing Outfitters

Siskiwit Falls below the road. | ERIC CHANDLER

Standing behind Lost Creek Falls.

| ERIC CHANDLER

After this brief stop, we drove farther east on Highway ed to follow south for one mile. (I think lots of U-turns are a symptom of a healthy road trip.) We found the yellow gate to the ATV trail we planned to hike to the east. It was a two-mile walk into Lost Creek Falls. We crossed Lost Creek #2 and Lost Creek #1. Then we found a path to the right that led down through towering pines to a really magical spot. We thought we were close when the kids saw several little cairns along the creek. We were the

The Lost Creek Falls themselves were quite scenic. The foot sheet of falling water. It took some effort, but I kept myself from jumping through the falls like Daniel Day . It was such a pretty spot that we hung out for quite a while. My son built a small cairn while my daughter found a little frog. We found our way back to the car and headed off in search of waterfall

Siskiwit Falls was completely different than the first two narrow cascades. We found Siskiwit Falls Road. The only bridge on this short road crosses the Siskiwit River.

Once again, we were the only car and parked next to the bridge. We found a barely visible path on the east side of the bridge and walked downstream. There was a long and wide riffle of water that was surprisingly loud, yet gentle. We bushwhacked back to the road. We went upstream and found a much smaller, more heavily visited set of falls. Clearly, most people visit the smaller upstream falls since they’re visible from the bridge. Don’t miss the bigger falls downstream.

By now, we just wanted snacks and some gas from the local filling station. We drove into the setting sun back toward Duluth. I thought about the three waterfalls we saw. Only one of them even had a sign. Each was unique. It was a small adventure, but a fun one just the same. Part of the excitement for me is comparing the guidebook description to real life. The books and websites talk about more Wisconsin waterfalls. I wonder what they look like?

Find other Wisconsin waterfalls in Waterfalls of Minnesota’s North Shore and More by Eve and Gary Wallinga, available at northernwilds.com

Above Twin Falls (observation platform to the right). | ERIC CHANDLER

Michelle Donio-King Loves Fishing

By Kim Casey

Michelle Donio-King’s most defining feature is her laugh. It accents her playful charm and is the key to understanding her adventurous and giving spirit.

Born in Toronto, around age two Donio-King and her family moved to Northwestern Ontario, just outside of Jellicoe. She was the youngest of three children. Her mother Ann was the executive director of the Thunderbird Friendship Centre for many years, and was the first Aboriginal woman in the province of Ontario to become a Justice of the Peace.

Raised in a remote area, Donio-King spent a lot of time studying her surroundings. She learned what cloud formations meant a storm was coming, what kind of plant helped her grandmother’s arthritis, and what berries were safe to eat. Donio-King loved to pick wild flowers for her mother. Ann was allergic to them, but not wanting to discourage her daughter’s curiosity for the natural world, she’d keep them in the house. Many of Donio-King’s childhood companions were her male cousins. They nicknamed her “boxer,” because she could hold her own in physical matches with them. Donio-King shared, it was all about proving herself. Something she learned from her hardworking mother.

Donio-King jokingly spoke about the time her mother taught her how to shoot a pellet gun. Around nine years old, she’d sighted a partridge and just pulled the trigger, when Ann accidentally ran in front of the gun. Hit in the arm, the lead pellet had to be surgically removed because it was close to her bone. For many years after, Ann kept it in her purse as a souvenir.

Another significant rolemodel in Donio-King’s life was her grandfather.

“Baba was a quiet man, so when he did talk, I listened,” she said.

He told her she should never hunt or fish for something she didn’t intend to eat. She learned from her uncles, that whenever a wild animal is harvested, it is to be shared with the rest of the family.

These childhood lessons have stayed with her, and as a member of the Robinson-Superior Treaty, she has the option of netting fish. But not wanting to take more than what she needs for herself and her family, Donio-King prefers fishing with a rod and reel.

“There’s no sport to netting,” she said.

Donio-King presently resides in Thunder Bay. She is a victim witness liaison worker for an agency that assists Aboriginal victims and witnesses in the criminal courts. She loves helping people and has found that the best way to destress from the demanding work is by fishing. Every weekend, during the warmer months, she and her family return to the Jellicoe area. Donio-King won’t name the lakes where they go fishing—what she will freely disclose is that “fishing is good for the soul.”

Too humble to boast about her skill level as an angler, it is through Donio-King’s engaging stories that it quickly becomes obvious she has acquired a lot of knowl -

and her

edge about catching fish. Several years ago, a friend taught her how to make spinners. It takes Donio-King an hour to make a dozen of them. Each one involves two complicated knots, 10-pound test line, a spinner, clevis, assorted plastic beads and a hook. She also knows which color spinner work best in sunny or overcast conditions. Donio-King explained that the reason spinners are so attractive to the fish, is because of the noise they make as they travel through the water.

Donio-King prefers pickerel (walleye) and will only catch pike in the cooler months, provided they don’t have spots on their stomachs. She’d been taught this meant they weren’t well. And the only way Donio-King will eat pike is if it’s been prepared into patties, a recipe her grandmother created and perfected.

The biggest pickerel that Donio-King caught was in the Atikokan area. It was so large that the only way it would fit in the cooler was by folding it in half. Then there was the time she was sitting in the boat, just offshore, waiting for her fiancé to come back. Every time she cast her line in the shallow water, she’d reel in a fish. By the time José returned, she’d landed five.

The story Donio-King loves to share the most is when she took her granddaughter camping. Three years old at the time, Crystal caught her first fish with one of Donio-King’s customized spinners. It was a deeply connective moment, to be able to share her love of the outdoors with the next generation.

Donio-King blissfully confided, “We are truly blessed to live where we are.”

FEATURED SPEAKERS

Donio-King

niece Tanesha Donio in the background. Michelle is holding a pickerel she caught in Sioux Lookout. | MICHELLE DONIO-KING

Wild Traditions

Native Plants: A Wise Addition to Your Garden

By Julia Prinselaar

I’ll be the first to admit that I used to think plants from around my region weren’t very exciting—maybe even a little boring or aptly commonplace. I asked myself, why would I plant spindly stalks of yarrow or clusters of goldenrod in my yard when they can be found so easily along ditches and roadsides? I wanted to adorn my garden with varieties that appeared to be special and unique.

The truth is, the world of native plants around Lake Superior was largely unknown to me at the time. And as I flip through field guides and identify more species, I’m discovering just how big and beautiful that world really is.

Take wild bergamot for example. Monarda fistulosa’s showy purple petals look like shaggy fireworks that grow up to three inches across. Bees love bergamot and other like flowers, which are classified by gardeners as “bee balms.” So if you’re looking to bring pollinators into your green space, Monardas are a must-have.

That’s the great thing about native plants: they attract hummingbirds, bees, butterflies, beetles and other insects—species that are vital to maintaining the habitats and ecosystems that many animals rely on for food and shelter. Humans also rely on pollinators to propagate the majority of foods we eat that come from flowering plants; these include certain fruits, nuts, legumes and vegetables.

Supporters of pollinators argue that invasive or non-native species can disrupt the structure and function of these ecosystems. According to the David Suzuki Foundation, pollinators are more attracted to native plants than to other horticultural varieties or cultivars.

“One study showed that native plants were at least four times more likely to attract native bees. Why? Many ornamental varieties have reduced rewards for flower visitors (pollen and nectar), often as a result of breeding for larger or showier flowers,” reads the foundation’s website.

Native pollinators in a particular watershed or region have co-evolved with the plants native to that area, making them best-suited to successfully pollinate these flowering plants and retrieve pollen or nectar.

Another reason to use native plants in your garden is that they’re already adapted to local growing conditions. These types

of grasses, wildflowers and other perennials also establish deep root systems, which break up the soil and carry water deep into the ground, often for several feet.

On the other hand, many non-native varieties, including rhododendrons and certain roses, require rigorous upkeep like fertilizing and keeping covered during winter. Others, without their usual competitors to keep them in check, innocently begin as garden ornamentals but eventually escape into neighbouring properties and wild spaces. Showy plants like dame’s rocket, Japanese knotweed and Himalayan balsam can aggressively out-compete native plants for sunlight and nutrients, spreading by seed or by their root systems. The majority have proven to be nearly impossible to eradicate without the use of chemicals or costly excavation.

Back to native plants, there’s an impressive list of species that are also edible and medicinal. Plants that grow in our area also help us to heal. Echinacea purpurea, or

purple coneflower, is a garden favourite for bees, herbalists and horticulturalists. Its root in particular is used to strengthen the immune system and prevent the common cold and flu. Other helpful medicinals include St. John’s Wort, boneset, butterfly weed (pleurisy root) and blue vervain.

While native plants are still an uncommon find at most nurseries and greenhouses, they are gaining in popularity. Each year, EcoSuperior in Thunder Bay has a one-day native wildflower and perennial sale to promote the planting of native species in local gardens, and it’s always jampacked with customers. This year’s event runs from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. on May 27.

If you’d like to see more varieties of native shrubs, grasses, wildflowers and other perennials at your local nursery, the best thing to do is ask for them. As consumer demand grows, these businesses should respond by adding more native species to their inventory. Help support pollinators, one plant at a time.

Native plants, like the blanket flower, attract bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, and other vital species. | ECOSUPERIOR

Wild columbine. | ECOSUPERIOR

Maltese cross. | ECOSUPERIOR

Blazing star. | ECOSUPERIOR Black-eyed susan. | ECOSUPERIOR

Strange Tales

Speaking Canadian, eh?

By Elle AndraWarner

Recently, an article “Look North for Real Canadian English” appeared in the National Post (one of Canada’s two national newspapers) quoting Toronto linguist Sali Tagliamonte as saying, “Northern Ontario shelters a brand of English not seen in Toronto since 1970s. It’s like linguistic time traveling.” Tagliamonte was referring to changes in language, giving the example of “I’ve got a cold” vs “I have a cold.” Apparently, the first one falls into the Northern Ontario time travel category, the second is today’s urban Toronto talk. Which words you use might tell a linguist where you are from. So, what other words tell the world we are from the Northern Wilds of Northwestern Ontario (NWO) and/or Canada?

Let’s start with the word, “camp.” In NWO, especially Thunder Bay, the weekend country getaways are starting and people are asking, “Have you been to camp yet?” Never the cabin, cottage, the lake, chalet, summer house or shack. Linguist professor Charles Boberg of McGill University asked Canadians in a survey what word they used to describe “A small house in the countryside, often by a lake, where people go on summer weekends.” In NWO, a whopping 78 percent said camp, but in the rest of Canada, under 10 percent did. (Apparently in Minnesota, it is a cabin.)

In an article “Camp, cottage or cabin? What do you call your weekend getaway?” (Globe and Mail, 2012), Katherine Barber, editor of Canadian Oxford English Dictionary said of the hinterland retreats, “The whole phenomenon is such a central part of the Canadian experience. And yet I can’t think of any other item that has this much variation in terminology.”

Then there’s the word “shag.” When in Thunder Bay, you might get asked to buy a shag ticket for around $5 or see advertising to hold a shag at a facility. While shag may mean many things in other parts of the world, here in Thunder Bay the word shag means only one thing—it is a fundraising party, a celebration, to raise money for a couple about to be married. The word takes the first two letters of “shower” (bridal shower) and last two letters of “stag” (bachelor party) and combines them for shag.

Another term used uniquely in Thunder Bay is “packsack,” a combination of knapsack and backpack. Urban Dictionary has packsack as “only used and understood in Thunder Bay,” but we’ve seen the term beginning to be used elsewhere. Nonetheless, Thunder Bay lays claim to originating packsack.

And who doesn’t have a pair of the famous “Nipigon Nylons?” The thick, grey, wool work socks with a red stripe at the cuff are named after the town of Nipigon, located 74 miles/119 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay. Dubbed affectionately the “lingerie of the north,” according to local lore, the ‘nylons’ got their name over a hundred years ago when the town’s women would put the men’s heavy work socks right over their shoes to keep warm. In 2008, a business women’s group in Nipigon, New Beginnings Circle, trademarked Nipigon Nylons and sell Nipigon Nylon packages as a fundraiser. Truly a Canadian outfit when topped with a tuque, a knitted winter hat.

As for food words, some unique Thunder Bay food words have gone, like the Stan’n’Si (half hot-turkey sandwich). While Persians (oval cinnamon-swirled

baked item topped with secret-recipe icing available only in Thunder Bay) are still big sellers, hardly anyone orders a toasted Persian anymore. There’s still a couple of places that serve the delicious Finnish-style salt fish sandwich, suolakala.

Speaking of food, in Canada they sell chocolate bars, never called candy bars like in the U.S. There are more than 10 different chocolate bars that are made and sold only in Canada, including Coffee Crisp (alternating layers of vanilla wafers and coffee-flavored candy, covered in a milk chocolate outer layer), Eat-More, Jersey Milk, Malted Milk and Smarties (M&M’s in the U.S.). Other unique-named Canadian food treats include Nanaimo Bars; potato chips with ketchup or all-dressed flavors; donairs; poutine; the butter tart (classic Canadian traditional dessert); double-double (ordering coffee with double cream, double sugar); and timbits (doughnut-holes at Tim Horton’s).

Two of the silliest “only in Canada” words have got to be “loonie” and “toonie,” the names of Canada’s $1-coin and $2-coin respectively. Thirty years ago, when the government switched from paper to coin for the $1 currency and featured a loon on one side, it became the loonie. Eight years later, the $2-coin was launched with a polar bear image and became the toonie.

One word that distinguishes Canadians around the world is “eh.” Tagliamonte said “Eh is the quintessential thing that we think of as being so Canadian.” It is such a part of Canadian culture; saying it comes so naturally that most are unaware they have just said it. It is an interjection, added to the end of a sentence, like “Great hockey game, eh,” “I know, eh,” or “That was really something, eh.”

There’s even a name for uniquely Canadian words: Canadianism. Awesome, eh?

Hiking the Inca Trail

By Micaella Penning

We had just crested Dead Woman’s Pass, Warmi Wañusqa, at nearly 14,000 feet. Blasts of icy air swirled around us, entombing the landscape in thick, gray clouds. Groups of neon-clad porters perched on boulders, eating sandwiches. A 6,000-foot descent would follow, to the Sun Gate above the verdant, terraced slopes of Machu Picchu, and I couldn’t bend my left knee.

“Sometimes people must hire horses or porters to carry them out of the Inca Trail,” our guide Jonathon had said at our orientation. “So bring extra soles (peruvian currency), just in case.” I had shuddered to think of it then, and now a chilling wave of panic enveloped me as we started to descend, knives of pain searing through my knee.

My husband Matt had told me about his travels in Peru on one of our first dates. He’d gone on a service-learning trip in medical school, spending three weeks at a mission in the northern desert before heading south to Cusco to hike the Inca Trail. I’d been dazzled. And now we were here together.

Just one day previous, we had begun the hike full of energy, joined by a social worker from Germany, two Parisian engineers, our guide Jonathon, and seven porters. The Urubamba River had thudded softly beneath us, as we crossed a footbridge by the trailhead. The last section of road had been bone jarring, narrow and gravelly, our bus weaving left and right on tight corners over skimpy-looking bridges with steel rebars splayed out sporadically from their sides. Little farms dotted the roadside; a naked plastic doll peered out from a tilted hovel’s window, held up by piles of junk.

Cactus plants lining the trail grew ovoid fruit on the tips of their prickly pads, covered in little green nobs, with skin ranging from red to orange. I thought I had seen the fruit in Cusco’s San Pedro Market.

“Ah ha!” Jonathon said, when I asked about them. “Tuna, not like in the sea, but yes, they are called tuna.”

“Are they edible?” I asked.

“Oh yes. Just wait a few moments, then we’ll try some. But first, look at this.” He picked off a few white spots from the cactus, half the size of a pea. We gathered around,

sweating and panting. “This is a parasite. See? Cochineal. Watch though.” He started to grind the white lumps in his hand. Within seconds, it looked as though his palm was covered in blood. The white was gone, only liquid the color of cherries remained. “This is used to dye wool,” Jonathon said. “But it’s also used in lipstick. You know, like Pamela Anderson?”

We stopped at a trailside shack with a roof made of straw, where a woman had piles of tuna fruit (I later learned their English name: prickly pear). “Does anyone have a sole?” Jonathon asked. I dug into the coins in my pocket, and handed him one. He gave it to the woman who proceeded to deftly peel and chop two of the prickly pears, after carefully selecting the

reddest ones from her basket. She handed us a lid from a plastic bucket with the fruit chunks resting on it. It was seed-filled, but deliciously cool and sweet. “These are very good to help you survive in the desert,” Jonathon said. “They have a lot of water and sugar in them, which you need.” As we walked away, I saw Jonathon slip the woman another coin, and leave with juice dripping down his chin.

Streams of porters passed us, most wearing sandals or smooth-bottomed tennis shoes. Each trekking company had their own uniform, usually in bright neon hues: green, purple, yellow. Winding ahead of us would be strings of vibrant rectangles with matching legs poking out below. Every time a group came up behind us, Jonathon shouted “Porters!” and we all learned to instinctively move to the edge of the trail, next to the rising slope. Five hundred people are allowed on the Inca Trail at one time, 300 of which are porters. Some carried blocky boomboxes in their arms, twanging and thumping out pop music with a chorus of pan flutes.

Toilets were windowless structures, pitch black even during the day, with porcelain holes over which to squat. I was never the first to miss the opening entirely. With a hole only four inches in diameter, aim was critical, and I found it remarkably difficult. My legs, already tired, started to shake with the strain of squatting.

But I was glad not to be my husband, who took so much Imodium that all attempts over the next four days were unsuccessful, even after I taught him the modified telemark stance, in which one knee is bent further than the other, easing strain on one leg. I had learned it many years before, from reading my brother’s copy of Allen and Mike’s Really Cool Backpackin Book, complete with illustrations.

We passed Incan ruins silhouetted against the gray sky, and orchids whose petals looked like the ruffled skirts of flamenco dancers. Yet there were also similarities to home—tall stalks of tarwi (an Andean species of purple lupine), ferns sprouting through rock, and carpets of wild strawberries.

But the wrenching pain in my knee made home feel all the more elusive. It had been injured off and on over the last six months, and now I couldn’t bend my knee while putting pressure on it.

At first I pretended I was fine, and didn’t tell anyone of the pain. But that didn’t last long. “Is your knee injured?” Jonathon asked, a few minutes later. I nodded. Matt stopped and gave me his walking stick. Hobbling slowly, I limped down one stone step at a time, bending only my right knee. The rest of the group bounded on ahead. Thick fog ensconced our campsite at Chaquicocha when we straggled in that night,

The author [RIGHT] reaches Machu Picchu after a four-day hike.

| MICAELLA PENNING

Vacant–Lake Front Property–

Lake of the Woods - Canada

20 minutes from Baudette Minnesota & Rainy River Ontario. Road Access – surveyed deeded property includes water frontage.

Prime Walleye, Bass, Northern Pike, Crappie & Muskie fishing. Premier deer, bear, moose & bird hunting.

Bird watchers paradise. A very quiet place with spectacular views of Lake of The Woods.

Price: $79,500.00 U.S. Phone 807-597-4253 or 807-597-1519 for more info.

long after everyone else. I gobbled down pain medications, wrapped my knee in a lacey white cloth bandage, and inspected the grape-like blisters blooming on my feet. Frogs erupted simultaneously into song as darkness came, croaking and creaking all night long. Rain thundered against our tent. By morning, what had been empty grayness the night before was now a deep, expansive valley leading to snowy peaks, illuminated against a glowering sky.

Soft light remained through the morning, as we passed more orchids, begonias, tumbling waterfalls and trees covered in neutral shades of moss. Though I felt guilty, we hired a porter to carry my pack that day, and I was grateful to ease the strain on my knee. At times the trail was barely a foot wide, its outer edge a precipitous drop into the valley below. As the sun rose, the mountains became blue in the distance, a blue nearly as rich as the ocean’s. Snow and clouds melded on their summits, like cresting foam on a choppy sea.

We woke in wintry cold and darkness on the last day of our hike, so we could leave at half past three, to reach the Sun Gate by sunrise. I soon tired, the pain in my knee more than adrenaline could keep at bay. Still, I hobbled as fast as I could, not wanting to be left behind. At each crest it seemed that surely we had made it.

The sun was still hidden behind the mountain peaks when we arrived at the Sun Gate. Below us lay Machu Picchu—old peak—and I felt strangely disjointed, seeing a place so famous and known, emblazoned in my brain from photographs.

Situated on a spine-like ridge, the ruins were bright green and dull gray; of grass and stone, edged by thick tree-cover on its boundaries, stretching down the mountain slope to the river, over 1,000 feet below. Lightness crept over the surrounding peaks, and struck the mountainside to the west, slowly engulfing the dark shadows. By the time the sunlight oozed across the terraces and stone structures, the sun was so high in the sky that the light was jarringly bright.

Buses disgorged tourists and soon Machu Picchu was no longer the soft neutral shades of greens and grays, now covered with a prism-like scatter of t-shirts, umbrellas and backpacks. The air buzzed with a Babel-like assembly of languages and chattering excitement. I found a shaded spot to sit down, and felt an overwhelming sense of relief. I had arrived, on my own two feet.

Two and a half acres of well maintained recreational property on Lake Nipigon. Breath taking scenery overlooking magnificent mountains with beautiful waterfalls.

Two all season residences, plus three furnished guest cottages. Excellent fishing and hunting opportunities.

Currently operating as a guest camp.

www.mccollumsresort.com

$575,000 CND. Best

View from Chaquicocha in the Peruvian Andes. | MICAELLA PENNING

MALCOLM CLARK, Broker

BLANKET ISLAND, ROSSPORT

Your own private island located in the south of Rossport Harbour. Sheltered by the main land, Whiskey Island, and Nicol Island. Approx. 1/2 mile from the town of Rossport. 764 ft of Lake Superior shoreline. Really neat 1 1/2 story cabin with water, shower, cooking facilities with woodstove. Gravity water feed from tank on roof. $199,000 CDN

NICOL ISLAND ROSSPORT

Tremendous Lake Superior building sites. Lakefront and interior lots for sale with docking facilities. Causeway opened year round. Power and phone. Starting at $55,000CDN

LAKE SUPERIOR LOTS

Little Trout Bay, 20 minutes north of the Minnesota/ Ontario border, 3 large estatesized lots, very sheltered with southern exposure. Tremendous views. Power and telephone available. Priced beginning at $199,000 CDN

New Levels of Service

640 Beverly Street, Thunder Bay, Ontario, P7B 0B5 Canada

Phone (807) 344-3232

FAX: (807) 344-5400

Toll Free 1-888-837-6926

Cell: 807-473-7105

mclark@avistarealty.ca www.avistarealty.ca

Black Bay. Lake Superior. 98 acre piece with 4700 feet of shoreline facing south. Beautiful property between Superior

OLIVER LAKE

North shore. 215.5 acre parcel with 3900 feet of lake frontage. Rugged property-water access. Southern exposure, ultimate privacy. $169,000 CDN

Northern Light Lake

Ontario

Rustic

SIBLEY PENINSULA

Ripple in Still Waters, It’s Fishing Opener! The Ice Is Open, Hurry North!

SUPERIOR SENSE OF PLACE! Meander the tree lined driveway along Lutsen’s Rollins Creek Road, stumble upon the connecting ponds with Fountain and Sculpture celebrating the Sounds of Springtime! Over 8 acres of rolling terrain, experience the manicured path to the ponds, or stroll down the rock steps to the Tumultuous Shoreline, the Waves Pounding the over 600 ft of Rock with plenty of Splash! Inside the Fabulous home your guests will enjoy the Cascade of the Creek to the Big Lake just outside their bedroom window. The master bedroom Welcomes the Sunrises via huge windows overlooking the drooling shoreline… 0r Says Goodnight to the Sun while watching the flickering of the fireplace from bed. All the other parts of the home are Magnificent, from the gazebo with hot tub, to the large library, to the gourmet kitchen with function and charm. See it to Believe it is the Best! MLS# 6019683 $1,197,000

enjoy! Two plus car garage, with an awesome Man Cave with views of Lake Superior! Gorgeous Landscape, Gorgeous Lake Superior Home. A Must See, including the Little House! MLS#6026723 $799,900

LAKE SUPERIOR AT CUT FACE CREEK! This home is waiting for YOU to personalize this home and make it your OWN! Mint condition, well maintained, it’s just waiting for you to mold the master bedroom of your dreams in to this lovely setting and home. Plenty of Lake Superior shoreline to afford you lots of privacy! And the location just can’t be beat! Walk to the Cut Face Creek wayside park to look for agates, and come home to Comfort! Minutes to Grand Marais OR Lutsen! A Must See home! MLS#6023379

DREAMY LAKE SUPERIOR CABIN, ACCESSIBLE SHORELINE! Sparkling Little Cabin tucked among the Mature Spruce trees, it’s the perfect getaway cabin or year round living in a convenient location. Walk to the CoHo Café at BlueFun Bay for a bite to eat, or bike to the Temperance River State Park from your front door! Super garages can store all your toys for North Shore Fun. Great potential for Vacation Rental, a Must see to Understand the charm of this home! MLS#2270954 $375,000

NEW! OVER 300 FT OF COOL SHORELINE TO CRAWL OVER! Super Lake Superior Home with a huge Prow of Windows showing off Excellent Lake Superior views! The home has a fantastic layout for year round living or for your getaway home! Main level master suite, gourmet kitchen and a Great Room to Wow your friends and family! MLS#TBD $699,900 SUPER VALUE!

NEW! FINE LIVING ON LAKE SUPERIOR! Welcoming main level living space has awesome views from every room. Kitchen is large and functional, great for entertaining! Dining area features birch flooring, and overlooks the Great room and beautiful Lake Superior! Sweet master suite! One car attached! Nice low maintenance living on the Big Lake! MLS#6027026 $374,900

NEW! WELCOME TO THE LAKE SUPERIOR DREAM! Just a lovely home with updated kitchen and very functional living spaces! Sprawling Lake Superior shoreline meant to Meander! Stroll on the paths leading to the walking bridge over the creek, and enjoy the Sunset over Superior! This home has it all, great for year round living with three car garage for the toys and an attached garage too! MLS#6027633 $599,900

CUTE, FAMILY CABIN ON POPLAR LAKE. 200’ of level GORGEOUS frontage, secluded, cedars, swimming, walleyes, relaxation. Super Cabin if we didn’t already say it. MLS#6025737 $219,000 GUST LAKE CABIN IN LUTSEN! Tons of value on a spectacular piece of shoreline! Super fishing cabin on a peninsula point overlooking peaceful Gust Lake and the Boundary Waters a hop skip and jump away. MLS#6020330 $219,000 REDUCED! CONDO IN THE WOODS! Cross Country Skiers Dream! Centered in the midst of

End of the bay bordering USFS lands and some Super Shoreline! Call today for details! MLS# 6027279 $224,900

NEW! CARIBOU LAKE SUNRISE SERENITY! Meander down the long driveway to explore this beautiful

NORTHWOODS

SUPER LOCATION!

Minutes to BlueFin Bay on Lake Superior, this home has it all! Gorgeous interior, featuring dream kitchen with tons of cabinetry and spectacular granite counters with built in breakfast bar. A great home for hosting family gatherings, let the kids play on the lower level and enjoy main level living with wrap around deck and upstairs loft bedroom/office space.

MLS#6020313 $319,000

Ripple in Still Waters, It’s Fishing Opener! The Ice Is Open, Hurry North!

HEY HANDYMAN! Come take a Look at this Tofte home with acreage! Lots to offer, the home is solid and has a nice flow. The kitchen has been upgraded! Large windows allow for lots of light, and accessory buildings are perfect for a workshop and garage! Curious? Give us a call to see this gem!

MLS#6022904 $177,500 NEW ROOF! REDUCED!

BUNGALOW HOME OVERLOOKING LAKE SUPERIOR, WITH ATTACHED GARAGE AND ACREAGE! Perfect location between Grand Marais and Lutsen, the best of both worlds! Two bedrooms, open kitchen and family room, with a large deck overlooking the lake! Great for year round living or a perfect low maintenance getaway home! MLS#6025328 $195,000

BIG VIEWS OF THE BIG LAKE! Tiny Home on a Gorgeous Chunk of land in the Hovland area! Functional, MUST SEE!

MLS#6025583 $108,900

CUTE LITTLE LOG CABIN IN TOFTE, A MINUTE FROM BLUE

FIN BAY! Year round access, nice land, and a very habitable cabin! Enjoy as year round living or a getaway cabin!

MLS#6026035 $84,000 REDUCED!

NEW LUTSEN FAMILY HOME! Fabulous starter home with large back yard. Heart of Lutsen, walk to Clearview! Attached garage. Lower level potential duplex use! Owner is Licensed Salesperson.

MLS# 6027475 $224,000

Lake Superior Lots

57XX

4.10A

Homes & Cabins

MLS

MLS 6024403

Gunflint Trail - $97,500

Electricity and phone, abuts Federal land providing access to incredible amount of land. MLS 2308865 $59,900 PENDING

North Rd 20A, very private, year round access. Power, phone and broadband available at the road!!

MLS 6024552 $39,900

Coyote Ridge Three 5A, private, beautifully wooded parcels close to town. Babbling, gurgling creek for your boundary.

MLS 6021224 $45,000 - $65,000

Rosebush Hill Lane Nicely wooded 5.40A with shared driveway only minutes from town. Identified septic sites and fully surveyed! Approx. 430’ of creek frontage. OWNER will consider a Contract for Deed! MLS 6024624 $49,900

78 Squint Lake Rd 5A surrounded on 2 sides by government land. Convenient mid-trail location. MLS 6020283 $62,900

Railroad Drive 1.7A in the heart of Lutsen. Gently rolling topography, mature trees. Convenient location. MLS 6023743 $49,900

Gunflint Trail Cross country skiers, hikers; this property is connected to the Pincushion Cross Country Ski Trail system with the Little Devil Track River flowing through it MLS 2313364 $69,000

Broadway Ave Wonderful location, oversize lot is open to many opportunities for development and use. MLS 6025787 $48,000

Co Rd 67 2.24A, year round access, directly abuts State Land to the

Stonegate Rd 2A on public portion of desirable Stone Gate Road with lots of potential uses. Power, phone, and broadband are a stone’s throw away. MLS 6022528 $19,900

County Rd 7 Oversize lot on Co Rd 7 but inside the city. The obvious benefits of broadband and other services. MLS 6024916 $65,000

Silver Fox Rd Two peaceful and quiet 5A pieces close to town with easements onto Federal land. MLS 6025690 $39,900 - $69,900

9th Ave W. Lovely .28A, corner, buildable lot in the heart of town. Heavily wooded with a gentle south facing slope.

MLS 6026196 $67,900 PENDING

Camp 20 Rd 28A located off of the Camp 20 Rd. Surveyed, septic sites have been identified and there is even a wetlands delineation!

MLS 6027375 $27,900 NEW

of the lake without the cost.

Year round 6.46A on county maintained road with plenty of privacy. The cleared path up the property will help you visualize your future home on the North Shore! Also in close proximity to hiking, biking &

MLS 6026498

MLS 6026821

Raven Feather Rd - $119,900

6.65A of nicely wooded land just west of Grand Marais. End of road location with federal land to the west with incredible views of Lake

Inland Lake Homes

391 Gunflint Narrows

Historic Lutsen Lockport sites

Great Lutsen location tucked up behind the Lutsen general business district, yet private with 5+ acre lots. This is a very nice opportunity. Buy and build today, or hold for the future.

Lot 1 Steam Engine Road 5.03 acres MLS 6028102 $39,000

Lot 2 Steam Engine Road 6.54 acres MLS 6028107 $45,000

Lot 4 Steam Engine Road 5.01 acres MLS 6028110 $39,000

Lot 5 Steam Engine Road 5.31 acres MLS 6028108 $39,000

Lot 6 Steam Engine Road 5.16 acres MLS 6028111 $39,000

Tofte Land Listings

371 S Shore Drive

Springdale Road and Tofte Airport. This is a nice parcel just under 5 acres bordering both the Springdale Road and Aero Drive. Multiple build sites. MLS 6028119 $39,000 525 Poplar

The owner has put in the driveway and cleared for a home-site. There is power and WiFi on site. In addition, there is a recently built

2 car garage, a 1 bedroom guest house , 3,800 sq. ft cement pad for either a large motor home or foundation for a home,

51 Moose Ridge Road

suite is a lovely open space with a private office. The master bath suite is exceptional. Upgrades throughout, beautiful maple flooring. MLS# 2308811 $699,900

SPECTACULAR LAKE SUPERIOR LOT. Framed by palisades, the nicely wooded property has two or more

shore on a point. Many custom features and built-ins, 3-car detached garage with a fantastic upper level apartment, lrg storage sheds, plus a very unique and rare sand beach! MLS# 6026327 $529,000

NEW! DEEP CEDAR FOREST – GUNFLINT LAKE. Large cabin features 2 bdrms plus loft bdrm, 2 baths, native stone fireplace, and huge windows. Beautiful, easily accessible 200' lakeshore overlooking Canadian hills. Great bunkhouse with bath and laundry. Feels like the primeval forest! MLS# 6028242 $375,000

CABIN ON SEAGULL LAKE. Lovely 2 bdrm, 1 bath cabin with 233’ of gentle shoreline with breathtaking views of the lake and islands. Wrap around decking sets only 35 feet from the water’s edge. Sold furnished. Many crafted built-ins and storage space. MLS# 6023785 $355,500

WILDERNESS SETTING - TUCKER LAKE. A perfect place for your cabin or home with unspoiled views and lots of Gunflint Trail privacy. 3.68 acres and 554’ shoreline. Tucker Lake is a protected lake with added setbacks to protect the lake and views. Direct BWCAW access. MLS# 2309237 $224,900

SECLUDED AND PEACEFUL - MCFARLAND LAKE.

LEVEL LOTS, NICE WOODS, EASY SHORE. These three Devil Track Lake lots have easy access from a county road, with power, phone, broadband and great building sites.

PRIME PIKE LAKE. Wilderness, woods and lakeshore. Pristine views of Superior Nat'l across the lake, towering white pine overhead. Virgin pine and cedar are unique here! The 252' frontage and 3 acres have gentle shore, crystal clear water and great privacy. Driveway and drilled well. Power and Broadband available. Fishing, wildlife and easy access to Lutsen or Grand Marais. MLS# 6028197 $192,500

A-FRAME ON POPLAR LAKE. Classic 2 bdrm, 2 bath A-Frame cabin in a beautiful setting overlooking Poplar Lake. End of the road privacy with year-round access. Very nice, gentle path to the 156’ of lake shore. Nice mix of trees. MLS# 6024438 $187,500

THREE PRIME PIKE LAKE LOTS. Three lake lots with wilderness, woods, and lakeshore are waiting for your dream lake home or cabin. Pristine views, towering white pine, +/- 200' accessible shoreline each with crystal clear water and great privacy. Good driveway in place, ideal location, power and broadband available. Four total lots can be purchased together at a discount. MLS# 6028199, 6028230-31 $179,900 ea.

NORTH FOWL LAKE

CABIN. Only a lucky few get to own cabins here. Remote water access from the US side, or drive in to the landing on Ontario side. Stunning views, easy access to the BWCA. The 2 bdrm cabin is one of the nicest remote cabins you'll find. Includes a great sauna. MLS# 6023214 $168,500

POPLAR LAKE-BWCAW ACCESS. Nice 2.11 acre lot with beautiful west views of the lake and 244’ of shore tucked in a quiet bay. A small, updated 1 bdrm cabin sits right at the water’s edge. Plenty of room for a main home and garage. MLS# 6021031 $169,900

AFFORDABLE CABIN ON CLEARWATER

LAKE. Cute 2 bdrm cabin on very special Clearwater Lake with 180’ frontage. Very affordable for up north cabin life. MLS# 6023119

$169,000

CLASSIC POPLAR

LAKE CABIN. Sweet, older 2 bdrm cabin on a bay of Poplar Lake with 100’ frontage. Great location! Charm in

SUPREME

CARIBOU LAKE - HOME SITE. New price is well below tax assessed value. Magnificent old-growth cedar and maple trees. Great, high build site on Sawmill Bay. 5.34 acres and 185’ lake frontage. MLS# 2203572 $95,000

LOTS ON NINEMILE LAKE. Two beautiful, large lots on Ninemile Lake in Finland. Lots adjoin Superior National Forest and Cabin Creek Unit Roadless Area with excellent shoreline and views. Power and year round access! MLS #6019489 $89,300 & MLS #6021813 $69,000

SNOWSHOE RUN LOTS. Set along a high ridge overlooking Hare Lake in a mature northern hardwood forest. Year-round plowed and maintained county roads, power at each property and a clear water trout lake. MLS# 60194906019496, 6019498 Lake lot prices start at $48,800 END OF THE ROAD PRIVACY ON TOM LAKE. This beautiful wooded lot has its own bay/cove. There is a long curved driveway to a nice cleared build site. MLS# 6021553 $47,500

SALE PENDING

CONDOMINIUMS

SUPERIOR LIVING ON THE LAKE. Gorgeous 2 bdrm, 2 bath condo with unobstructed Lake Superior views! This unit has had everything redone and replaced. Convenient location with access to many recreational opportunities. MLS# 6026577 $147,000

SOLITUDE ON LOON LAKE. These 1-2 acre lots are located on the south side of Loon Lake and offer great lake views, 152-218’ beautiful shoreline and many nice trees. The main road is in place and power is on the lot line. MLS# 2093855, 2159458, 2309227, 2309228 $159,000 and up

HOMES & CABINS

someone who loves the outdoors, but wants the class of an elegant home at the end of the day. MLS# 6022895 $575,000 PRICE REDUCED!

BEAUTIFUL LEVEAUX RIDGE HOME. “Mountain top” 3 bdrm home with calming Lake Superior views. Many recent upgrades, 2 wood-burning fireplaces, and a 2+ car heated garage. Private setting and design, perfect for entertaining or escaping. MLS# 6025932 $349,000

EXTRAORDINARY DUPLEX HOME IN LUTSEN. Beautifully maintained 4 bdrm, 2 bath home tucked into its own wooded wonderland. Welcoming, open and updated. Perennial gardens, apple trees, fire pit, and dog kennel/run in place. Trails on the 3 acre property connect to state trails for skiing and snowmobiling. MLS# 6024809 $259,900 PRICE REDUCED!

HOMES & CABINS

HOBBY FARM OR LOTS

OF IDEAS. This large property features open meadows, gardens, orchards, and a beautiful river. The living quarters with 4 bdrms, 2 baths and open living space is located above a 6-stall horse barn. A large pole barn, huge gathering hall, garage and various storage sheds provide lots of sheltered space. Two wells and septic systems. Easy county road access. What's your idea? MLS# 6018972 $253,900

MANY OPPORTUNITIES WITHIN CASCADE STATE PARK. Enjoy being surrounded by and within the boundaries of Cascade State Park while taking in the amazing views of Lake Superior. This 3 bdrm, 2 bath home has been used as a successful vacation rental, a long-term rental and a primary residence. MLS# 2309172 $229,900 PRICE REDUCED!

FANTASTIC GRAND

MARAIS HOME. This solidly built one-level home has 3 bdrms, 2 baths, and attached 2-car garage. Open layout, updated mechanicals, geo-thermal system, new septic, and private wooded back yard with creek. Adjacent lot (MLS# 6022810) also for sale. MLS# 6022803 $199,000

NEW! PEACEFUL SECLUSION NEAR BWCAW. Newly constructed 1 bdrm home nestled in 20 acres of rolling bedrock and young pines. Quality features including granite countertops, slate and cork flooring, and huge windows looking into the land near the end of the Gunflint Trail. MLS# 6027564 $198,500

TIMBER FRAMED LOG HOME OVERLOOKING

TOM LAKE. Charming log cabin on 78 acres with seasonal views of Tom Lake. Large loft bedroom and covered porch with swing. Stone fireplace, hardwood floors, and metal roof. Year-round access. Furnishings and generator included. MLS# 6027412 $177,000

NEW! EDGE OF BWCAW –MID-TRAIL ESCAPE Secluded, upgraded cabin & guest cottage on 19 acres with direct access to many trails. Just a short walk to Nighthawk Lake & the BWCAW. Poplar Creek flows through the property with forestry lands on 2 sides. MLS# 6027902 $164,900

SALE PENDING

HOVLAND HIDEAWAY. Charming 1 bdrm home with knotty pine walls, wood floor, & newer appliances. Designed with smart storage spaces. Large shed with wood fired sauna. All furniture included, only 200 yards from Lake Superior! MLS# 6026367 $89,000

NEW! NORTH SHORE RETREAT. A little one room cabin waiting for you to make it into something. 3.8 acres on the Lake Superior side of Hwy 61 with decent lake views; you'll feel the lake effect. The cabin is kind of rough, but maybe this is the project you've been looking for. MLS# 6027897 $38,000

COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES

RENTAL COTTAGES - GREAT LAKE. Devil Track Cabins is a long standing seasonal resort on the beautiful north shore of Devil Track Lake. The 5 charming, cozy cabins and owner's cabin each have a private setting and lake view. A wonderful family retreat!

MLS# 6026684, 6026686 $387,900

MARKET, DELI, LIQUOR STORE – HOVLAND. A bustling business in a beautiful rural community on the North Shore. Bakery, deli, pizza, convenience store, and liquor store under one roof. Large seating area & outdoor patio. Expansion/home site possible! MLS# 6023742 $349,900

BIG OPPORTUNITY, MANY POSSIBILITIES.

Prime commercial location in Hovland, 1000 feet of Highway 61 frontage. Large commercial space with a small 2 bedroom home and 1 functioning rental cottage. Many new improvements and upgrades. Two more small cabins could be rented, and there's room for many more...or other possibilities. Large 2-car garage plus two sheds. MLS# 6026089 $284,900

COMMERCIAL LOTS IN LUTSEN. Great visibility, nice forest, lake view, and creek. Hwy 61 frontage. Third lot to north is zoned Residential. Bring your business idea! Rare commercial site in downtown Lutsen. Old blacksmith building collapsed on Lot 1. MLS# 6027064 $179,000

COMMERCIAL LOT IN GRAND MARAIS. Good opportunity for a commercial building with a nice second story view of the harbor. Level 40 x 50 lot. A two story vacation rental could be built with a harbor view. What is your dream? MLS# 6024992 $53,500

RIVER/CREEK FRONTAGE

100+ ACRES NEAR GRAND MARAIS. Great location for a home or recreational property just minutes from Grand Marais. Rolling land with creek, borders thousands of acres of federal and state lands. Great investment and subdivision project. Power at road. Seller willing to subdivide MLS# 6027269 $282,900

LOCATION, VIEWS, PRIVACY - 80 ACRES. This former homesteaders property has it all: rolling topography, ravines, grassy meadows, mature timber, flowing creek and expansive Lake Superior views! Minutes from Grand Marais, adjoins USFS land. MLS# 6027073 $279,000

HOME SITE OR BUSINESS DREAM. This 13.4 acre property could be a great home site or resort-type business location. Adjoins Pincushion Mtn. hiking/ skiing/biking trails. Lake Superior view with more land available. Zoned Resort/Commercial. MLS# 6026068 $214,900

LARGE WILDERNESS ACREAGE - LAKE ACCESS. This 80+ acre parcel includes 400 feet of shoreline on McFarland Lake. Building sites are located across the road on the hillside with potential lake views. Rugged property with high topography and old growth cedar and pine. Easy access to the BWCAW and Border Route Hiking Trail. MLS# 6024602 $203,000

OUTSTANDING LAKE SUPERIOR VIEWS Gorgeous 14.69 acre parcel located within the boundaries of Cascade State park. Rolling hills, a variety of trees, and only 10 minutes from either Grand Marais or Lutsen. Many opportunities, potential for subdivision. MLS# 6023971 $175,000

MOUNTAIN TOP - WILDERNESS VIEWS. Fantastic vistas into the BWCA and surrounding rugged topography near McFarland Lake. Located at the end of the Arrowhead Trail with easy year-round access. The 122 acres has a high ridge and a “mountain top” for you to name. MLS# 6024599 $167,000

INCREASINGLY RARE, LARGE RECREATIONAL PARCEL. 190 arces fully surveyed. The perfect retreat. Has a rich variety of trees, ponds, high and low lands, some meadow land and wetlands. MLS# 6023211 $150,000

BEAUTIFUL ACREAGE WITH LAKE VIEWS. Four 80 acre parcels located just south of Schroeder and a stone’s throw from Lake Superior! Each parcel features shared access off State Highway 61. The land features a gradual elevation, tiered building sites, beautiful lake views, and the Caribou River is within walking distance. MLS #6020335, #6021914, #6021916, and #6021918 $149,900 each.

LARGE ACREAGE WITH WATER FEATURES. The headwaters of Irish Creek! Quality 160+ acres, 5 parcels sold grouped or separately. Many great features incl. old growth white pine, ponds, camping and building areas. MLS# 6023457 $149,500

NEW! BIG LAND NEAR LAKE SUPERIOR. Four 80 acre parcels located south of Schroeder off Highway 61 with shared access and approved septic sites. Mix of trees, gradual elevation, nice build sites and lake view. MLS# 6027841, 6027843, 6027844, 6027845 $139,900 each

LARGE TRACT WITH CREEK. This 319 acre parcel has ponds & creek frontage on the Flute Reed River. Has been in DNR management program. Great for hunting or homesteading. Access is by unimproved easement from the Camp 20 Road, near county maintenance. The land may be split - take your pick of "40's"! MLS# 6027384 $258,000 SUGARBUSH, BEAVER, TROUT. Remote 80 acres ,10 miles from Grand Marais with easy access. Surrounded by public land. 700’ of Durfee Creek frontage. MLS# 6024638 $149,000

WOODS, WATER & SECLUSION.Three 40 acre lots with 600 to 1000 ft frontage on Mons Creek. Also includes deeded access to Lost Lake. Private and secluded. MLS# 6021356 $59,900 or MLS# 6021357 $69,900 or MLS# 6021358 $74,900.

LAND ON THE FLUTE REED RIVER. Enjoy privacy and seclusion in a deep 13 acre parcel with over 300 feet of trout stream in Hovland. Easy access with power, phone and broadband. Nice build sites. MLS# 2313215 $49,900

500’ ON MOHNS CREEK. Mixed topography of beautiful rolling land with many great build sites on 25 acres. Old growth cedar, spruce, pine and birch. Abuts state land. MLS# 6021088 $39,900

INTRIGUING PROSPECT. High-quality items already in place include an insulated/heated slab for house/porch, insulated garage slab, electricity, driveway, the well, a time-dosed/heated septic system. Over 18 acres of privacy. MLS# 6021384 $114,900

LARGE ACREAGE NEAR TOM LAKE. 128 acres with good road access and an easy walk to the Tom Lake boat landing. Year-round road, power is possible here. The 3 forties may be split - take your pick. MLS# 6027383 $111,000

UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY. Stunning Little Devil Track River frontage and Pincushion Mtn. trail access make this 6.3 acre property perfect for skiers, hikers and mtn bikers. Zoned Resort/Commercial. MLS# 6026067 $103,900

HUGE POND-HUGE PRIVACY. Large 45+ acre wooded parcel located across from Tom Lake. Huge pond/lake in the very center of the acreage MLS# 6022858 $99,000

NEW! GREAT LOCATION FOR YOUR HOME. Convenient 7.5 acres located just 5 miles from Grand Marais on a Co Rd 7 blacktop, with some lake views, good building sites, driveway and a tiny cabin set up for your camp outs until you build. MLS# 6027933 $84,900

Explore the Gunflint Trail

Loons, lodges, shimmering water, pristine Minnesota forest. That’s what you’ll find along the Gunflint Trail. Watch morning mist caress a glacier-carved lake. Fish by boat or canoe for walleye, smallmouth and lake trout. Take your first Boundary Waters canoe trip with the help of a friendly outfitter. The Gunflint Trail is a gateway to the BWCAW, which has been named one of the world’s “50 Places of a Lifetime” by National Geographic.

The Gunflint Trail has…

• 57 miles of paved scenic byway

• 23 unique lodges

• 227 miles of hiking trails

• 62 miles of biking trails

• 8 campgrounds

• 237,737 acres of BWCAW

• 35 entrance points to the BWCAW

• 547 wilderness campsites (not part of a campground and located within the BWCAW)

Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center Activities

(Hours 11am-4pm; check website for presentation times)

MAY 27 - Opening Day

TUESDAYS, JUNE 27-AUG 22 - Free Kids Day. Chik-Wauk staff will offer a variety of hands-on activities, as well as stories, hikes, journal making and craft projects.

TUESDAYS, JUNE 20–AUG 22 - US Forest Service naturalists present on a different Northwoodsthemed topic.

JUNE 4 - Treasures from the Dungeon by Steve Veit. Take a virtual tour of Grand Portage National Monument’s Museum Collections.

JUNE 25 - Loons by Phyllis Sherman.

JULY 23 - Gunflint & Lake Superior Railroad by Dave Battistel. The story of a Wisconsin logging company whose headquarters was located in Port Arthur, Ontario.

AUGUST 27 - Geology of our area by Don Wendel. A presentation on the Saganaga Batholith for which Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center now stand.

Other Gunflint Trail Special Activities and Events

(check website for times and details)

MAY 13 - Minnesota Fishing Opener

JUNE 17-18 - BWCA Expo – Seagull Lake public landing. Speakers, activities, hands-on demos, shrimp boil and bake sale, and more!

JUNE 19-JULY 14 - Wet your Paddle program, various locations. Want to try out the latest craft models on a Gunflint Trail BWCAW lake? Never ventured out in a canoe? Here’s your chance to try it for FREE with experienced, friendly outfitters with the Wet Your Paddle program. Paddling instructions and lake travel knowledge provided by resident Gunflint Trail Canoe Outfitters. One hour of FREE hand-ons, paddles in the water!”

JULY 19 - Gunflint Trail Canoe Races - Gunflint Lodge