Woodpecker Hollow

Checking In

2011-03-14T10:51:00.004-05:00

Well, here it is the middle of March in Minnesota and there is still quite a bit of snow on the ground. But, the days are getting longer, the sun is getting warmer and soon, it'll be Spring again!

John and I trekked up to camp last month and spent the night when temps got down to around 4°. But, even though it was mighty cold outside, our woodstove kept us snug and warm inside. It was quite difficult cutting through the hard snow just to get back in, but John's jeep made short work of it and once in, we were, afterward able to come and go as we pleased.

This past weekend, we again made a run up, just to see how things looked and to site-in our new Bear Charge bows (see picture left) which we had purchased with our tax refunds. And, as with the previous week, there appeared to be no human disturbance in the area at all, and everything was just as quiet as you can imagine. We had one smallish tree-fall that had to be moved off the road, but otherwise, there were no further issues.

The bows perform magnificently! I found I couldn't miss my target once I got used to using a site with a bow. John still needs to do a mite of adjusting on his to account for his eyes, but otherwise, they are spot on. I can't wait to put mine to use on turkey, deer, whatever!

Lastly, when we were up during the last weekend of the hunt last year, we had lost the canopy from our gazebo. Well, I ordered a new red one and it is ready to install at camp, once the weather gets a little more into the rainy season and less the snowy one.

Happy 7th New Year!

2011-01-04T11:19:00.003-06:00

Happy New Year Folks! Nothing much to report as of now. Mostly just to let you know that today marks the 7th anniversary of our ownership of the property! This is most exciting to us, as you might image, and we are really looking forward to ramping up for the Spring runs. What with all the work we have to do around camp and of course fishing and camping and trail riding, it sure looks to be a busy Spring and Summer for us.

A question has already risen about the Summer Get-Together and Yes! We are going to try to put this on as an annual event, so mark your calendars, family and friends! We are looking at potentially trying again for the second week in August -- the weekend of the 13th and 14th -- and I promise, we will get the road fixed long before then and will have many more activities to do, as well. And hopefully, even more sleeping space.

Fall Hunt - 2010

2010-11-21T11:28:00.002-06:00

Well, the hunt did not go as well as we had hoped. The first wee was OK, not being to very cold or having too bad a weather situation, but it seemed like the neighbors, who were camped right on the State Park Line were shooting every thing that came up out of there and we hardly saw a thing. I let a little wee one go and never even saw another all season. John shot a smallish button buck which we turned into some really tasty ground meat and sausage, and on the last day, Tom pulled off a nice shot and got a spike.

W are planning to try some differant stuff this coming year which should put us back on track, including starting out in archery season which puts us there long before the neighbors and should give us a fighting chance and some Spring and Summer plantings that hopefully will create a draw for the deer across our property from a different direction from the State Park and make it fair for all concerned.

Family Get Together

2010-08-15T11:26:00.003-05:00

As noted in my previous posts, there was much work to do. Rob and Vicki came out early last week to both settle in and get started on some of the tasks. Rob and John did some major clearing around what is now being called the camping area, or camp grounds. This is the area directly to the south-west of the cabin, in amongst the trees of what might be called the side yard. Rob also stabilized ans built on to his 10x16 platform creating a small front porch for it, as well as a real nice step for the side door. Later on, due to weather issues, we were forced to also add a big 18x20 tarp over it to protect it from the rain and wind.

Rob, John and I finished the 10-foot section of the Pavilion Deck and mounted the Gazebo irons and roof to it. John had to welt it in a couple of places where it had broken. Then we set about putting up a somewhat sturdy, if not very pretty guardrail around it finish it off, at least for this year. Rob then set about assembling the 10-foot picnic tables which he later painted in a nice green. He also painted the smaller picnic table and the front door. Rob also built a ridiculously sturdy little coffee table that I may just keep as a firepit table or something. John continued to work on the roads as much as the weather would allow and he also welded the futon bed up that I brought with me when I arrived. Mom, Vicki and I, when I wasn't mowing, made further preparations for the upcoming party event.

Mom hung her curtains which look fantastic! They have a real nice deer print on them. Mom and Vicki also organized the cabin and picnic areas and Mom bought a nice canopy for to cooking area to protect from the rain. Dan came up later in the week and he and John worked on the signs for the party. We ended up having to hold all of the cars at midway down the Pine Hill Trail and had to go out with Our 4x4s to ferry folks in. This was due to the rains that simply wouldn't stay away and left us with nearly car-sized, foot deep puddles to wade through for most of the road back to the driveway.

The Party was a blast! We had a fireside bar-be-que on Friday night with cake and beverages and music. The Helseths were represented in fine style by Mom-Irene, Donna, Deanna and Al Kunitz and their daughters. Speaking of whom, Emily came with her new husband Keith Miller. Thanks guys! Also my kids came and Dad and Ma and Janell were there. Of course, along with my turning 50 this year, Ma turned 73 on that following day and so we carried the festivities on into that Saturday with Bar-be-que ribs and chicken, cold salads and fruit. We finished off the day with another bonfire and some wind-down time as most of the party goers had gone by that evening.

Unfortunately, due to the limited number of beds we have and the rough camp grounds and the weather we were having, many of our folks had to stay in hotels for the night. Next time, we expect to have a bunk house completed, along with smoother campgrounds, more tarps to cover tents and a better road down which to travel. Also on the docket, a Finnish Sauna and possibly, a 8-10 person Spa. But first, a well.

Building the new Pavilion Deck

2010-08-02T09:53:00.003-05:00

Well, we are at last in the process of rebuilding the gazebo. Actually, as you can see by the title, we have taken to calling it the Pavilion Deck, or simply just Deck. This is due to the fact that the "gazebo" portion is only going to be a small part of the deck itself and will more resemble a rectangular pavilion than a polygonal gazebo. On the first weekend of July, I began digging 9 of the overall 11 3-foot holes that would be used to hold the poles for the deck. The first row of these I managed to get cemented in by the end of my stay.

Two weeks later, John, Mom and I went back up north and while Mom started working on cleaning the cabin and measuring the windows for the new curtains she is making, John and I finished leveling and cementing in the remaining poles. Then we laid on our outer frame rails and the inner cross rails and made ready to receive the primary joists (see first image). We, John and I also added a project to our weekend to slightly move, widen and deepen the firepit. Now, in its new location, it is more visible and accessible to the front of the cabin, while remaining a safe enough distance from it. Also, it is now roughly five feet across, 1 foot deep and is surrounded by 1 ring of stones. This will allow us to have some really lovely bonfires this Summer.

Another two weeks has gone by and this time Dad joins the three of us and helps John and I finish the lower (or main) deck. John and I had also built a rather sturdy set of steps to front the deck and provide easy access to the platform. We installed joist hangers and used pressure-treated wood to create the structure. We used 16-foot deck boards to clad the deck with and built a special joist setup so we count wrap the entire deck in mitered decking boards to give it that "picture-frame" look.

Preparing for Summer

2010-07-14T08:30:00.003-05:00

Not much to report from the property up north this Spring. In April, John purchased a Camp Shower Tent for our Zodi Camp Shower unit and set it up next to the cabin, on the unused tiles from the Gazebo, which we took down to make room for clearing the front and side yards around the cabin. He even built a little sidewalk to get to it from the Cabin porch.

We also, by request of brother Rob, built a 10x16 platform for under his big tent that he is bringing with him this year. We are planning a big get-together reunion of family and friends to celebrate my 50th birthday. So we are working madly, to get the camp ready for the big weekend. While my birthday is on Friday, August 13th, and yes we will be partying a little that night, we are having the big party day on Saturday, the 14th.

We have also begun work on the new Gazebo, which will be a rather large affair measuring 16 foot square on the main landing, roughly 3 feet off the ground, and having a step up to a 10 foot square situated on and hanging over the corner of the bigger platform. To this square, we will rebuild and recover the metal gazebo structure that we have stored away. Eventually, there will be a roughly 5-foot staircase off its back side that leads right down to the trail that goes over our little creek bridge.

Finally, we have 2 big 10-foot picnic tables to construct, and trails and clearings to mow to get ready for the big weekend. Much to do! Much to do!

The 2009 Hunt

2009-11-14T07:39:00.005-06:00

Sorry guys! I did it to you again! I keep letting the posts trail off after awhile. I promise I will endeavor to do better in the future.

Anyway, on to the hunt. November came in quite beautifully, if a bit chilly. We had, sometime in the months previous, picked up a Zodi Camp Shower unit, so we felt we were pretty much better prepared for a week-long stay in the cabin, so long as we had a way to keep ourselves clean. Opening day looked full of promise. We -- Dad (Harve, Sr), John, Tom and I -- had spent the previous night settling into the cabin, having had a great meal and told many bad jokes and old stories and generally preparing, with great anticipation for the upcoming day.

Morning came far too early, but we were up and into all business mode as we donned our gear, packed our lunch cans, loaded our guns and capped off our hats with trail lights. Tom and Dad had the furthest to walk, so they left fist, followed closely by John, who decided to hunt neighbor Jeff Jarosz' place, as he had given us permission to do the night before. He and his wife were dealing with some health issues that, as he explained, would prevent his coming up for the hunt this year. I followed last making sure to turn down the lights and creep very quietly and very carefully to my perch. Given all of the gear with which we were encumbered, I think we did a pretty good job of settling in without really making much noise.

Quietly and patiently we sat, calmly waiting for the break of dawn. We could here the early morning critters awakening. We even saw shapes moving about, but it was just too dark to make out anything. Suddenly, just as the sun is getting ready to pop up over the eastern horizon, to light the sky, down the lane come a crashing, squeaking, rumbling noise of a big 4x4 as our western neighbors came bumbling in to their property. Then, of course they whack-crashed through the brush and bramble as they left their truck, having made sure to very loudly slam its doors, to stumble out to the stands, which they made certain to rattle quite a bit before climbing into them!

Not a very auspicious start to the hunt! Any way, later on that afternoon, we got a visit from a couple of very cute DNR officials (hey ladies!) who were checking on a flyover report that said we were baiting. We showed them that we had recently been clear-cut and what looked like corn from the air was really sawdust shavings from the lumberjack's blades. That was our Saturday, pretty much in a nutshell.

Sunday, however told a different tale. Again we crept quietly out to our respective perches. Again we suffered the noisy intrusion of our lower neighbors' entrance into the area. but an hour or so after full light John spots a beautiful 3/5 spike and shoots it as it is running away from him and drops it on the first shot! His first deer, a buck and running away! A guy couldn't ask for much better. So I got down out of my stand and helped him haul it back to camp. By then Dad had come in so the three of us, dressed it out and hung it.

Later on that afternoon, I was sitting in my perch when I heard a crashing coming from the north part of the property, right along the line. At first, I couldn't see anything. Just then, a tree seemed to move. Then I saw that it was a deer walking cautiously up the border. His nose was in the air and he was being extremely careful about each step. Practically, in slow-motion, I raised my rifle and peered through the scope. I laid the cross-hairs right on his left-front shoulder, took a slow, steady breath and squeezed the trigger. I had heard many stories about the first deer. Buck fever. Nervous reloading. Freezing up and watching it walk right on by. But I experienced none of that. Rather, I felt calm and focused on the task at hand. And that little button buck dropped like a stone, dead in its tracks. My very first deer. At 49. I was elated. Oh, and he tasted good, too!

Tom would go on to close out the week collecting 2 more, one right on top of the other within a 1 minute period of time. So with a harvest of four, 1 doe, 2 buttons and a spike, we had a great hunt for 2009.

Deer Fort

2009-09-19T13:35:00.004-05:00

For sometime now, John and I have been working on building his new deer fort. Basically, it's an 8ft by 6ft cabin, with balcony, 9 feet in the air. It has a fantastic 360° view of the entire property and will act as a great summer tree house shelter or overflow sleeping cabin for Spring and Summer camping activities.

We located it behind the cabin, on the other side of the creek where deer stand #1 sits. This cabin will replace that deer stand. Next Summer, we hope to add a lower platform with a nice picnic table and chairs and some hooks for lanterns and hammocks. It sits just 5 feet from a beautiful twin oak tree so ought to be real nice in that setting.

Next time up (10/3) I'll be doing a little work on my tree stand to get it shored up a bit, put some weather walls on it and make a new ladder so I can easily access it. It was a stand we were contemplating for removal, however given the way my knees are acting up and the close proximity of the cabin and the basic traffic patterns of the deer, we made the decision instead to shore it up for use this year and then rebuild it a little higher up in the trees next year.

We picked up a couple of trail cams from Gander Mountain and have been using them to monitor our deer plots and trails. We have caught a lot of does but the big buck, whose hoof-print is nearly the size of my palm has not yet shown up on the camera. We left the cams up north for the last 2 weeks to see if he gets in the shot. Will let you know if we get a picture of him.

Wood Stove

2009-09-05T13:31:00.006-05:00

Well, we finally did it! Due to some rather creative financial dancing and careful shopping, we managed to get a wood stove, pipe and crown, along with the protective wall board. It cost a little under $1000 for everything which makes it 1/3rd the cost of the entire cabin! Still, it works like a charm and sure heats up the place. Too much so, if you ask me. Still, it'll be nice for hunting season and trips made this Winter.

In previous week-ends, we had purchased and installed insulation. We bought R11 for the whole cabin, but to date have only managed to get the downstairs and half the upstairs finished. We got the hard half of the upstairs done which means the vaulting part. All that remains inside is to do the loft ceilings and back wall. And then the under floor which is the porch ceiling.

Also, we have to fix the spring arms of the loft ladder. John and I took one side off and noticed that we could easily pull it down a good inch and a half or so, so that'll be done, hopefully soon. We also rearranged the furniture and shelving in the place to get everything in its proper long-term place. We have a little clean-up to do yet, but it's shaping up just fine.

Robbed!

2009-07-21T08:31:00.003-05:00

The nerve of some people still gets me! After learning, two weeks ago, that our favorite breakfast spot had been robbed, along with 2 other restaurants in town, we strove to do a better job of locking up our own stuff by cable-locking the generator, putting the tools away in the shed which is normally padlocked and separating the keys to our equipment from where it is normally located.

Never the less, upon arriving at camp, this past weekend, we discovered that we had been robbed! (pictures to follow) The villains had kicked in one of the panels of our cabin door and unlocked it from inside by reaching through the hole they had made. From here they stole John's new $80 fish-finder, Dad's tripod and a battery-operated lantern. Fortunately, they were either too busy or too stupid to lift up the air mattress that was on the downstairs cots, or they would have gotten his $1250 brand-new .3006 rifle.

Next, they took one of our own axes, and chopped through the half-inch cable holding the generator to the cabin and made off with that -- about a $500 piece of equipment -- but anyone who runs a raw camp like ours will tell you, a nearly indispensable one!

We found that they had lifted the tarps on the four-wheelers, but never noticed the keys in the cabin, so we were fortunate there, as well. However, they took our sledge-hammer, which I was using to hold the tarp down on my four-wheeler, and smashed the lock on the shed hard enough to take the lock and the entire bracket assembly completely off. From there they had a bonanza. 2 $200 chainsaws, 1 air compressor and 2 air-nailer guns all worth over $1000. plus several other power tools we are still attempting to identify.

They even managed to break into the back of the old pickup we keep on the property and tried to take Dad's table saw, which we were storing in there until later, but apparently, it was too cumbersome to carry off with them so they dumped it into the weeds near the end of the driveway.

Altogether, we figure, in equipment alone, we've lost over $2500 in goods and suffered damages to the tune of roughly $500. Of course, there is always a silver lining. As it turns out, these thieves have hit many, many places in the area recently, and their standard modus operandi (method of operation) is to vandalize and sometimes even burn, which thankfully, was not the case for us.

We have, of course reported the theft to the authorities, who will be sending out a loss-list to my home to report all the missing items and their values and to issue us a blue address tag for our property to make it easier to locate us in the event of another emergency. We also gave a preliminary list to the local pawn shop in the area. And we contacted our neighbors, only to learn that some of them, too have experienced similar assaults on their camps recently. And now having exchanged contact info, we can get in touch with each other in case something like this ever happens again.

Spring Thaw

2009-03-07T11:59:00.001-06:00

March is here and while it is quite a beautiful day, it is never-the-less still quite chilly. The Kettle river is as yet mostly ice-covered and snow continues to litter the ground. The sky is a brilliant cobalt blue and the sun is pleasantly warm on the face. We've come up again for just the day to kind of keep an eye on things until we can see some growth to cover up the openness left by the removal of the trees.

We have at last received our check and hola! it is for much more than we originally figured it would be. This means that very likely, we will be able to afford to do all of the things we planned for back in February.

Oh Happy Spring!!!

Day-Camp

2009-02-17T11:07:00.002-06:00

It's February now and Dad and John and I decided to do a Day-Trip up to the cabin. Just to sort of check things out and to see if the loggers did anymore clean up since John and I were last there in January. We haven't seen any sign of the funds from this venture yet and are apprehensive of the outcome of that given the amount of detritus they have left for us to clean up. The only good thing of which is we won't have to worry about firewood for awhile!

It's a pretty bleak and grey day out, but we take the time to walk all over the property just to get some different photo angles and to fully appreciate the extent of the clearing. After a bit of exploring and walking about, we sit down in the cabin to discuss plans for this year's work and what we intend to do to complete the cabin project.

Our basic plan for now is to repair the creek bed(s) and put in ditches to divert the overflow water caused by the damage of the loggers' heavy equipment back into the main stream outlets. Also, do a little road maintainence to make it easier to access the property. Then, move on to the cabin, with wiring via an off-the-grid 12v-110v Battery system with various recharge methods (solar/wind/gas generator). Next insulation and wall boarding. Then flooring -- carpet in the loft -- and closeting off the compost toilet, wood-burning stove in the back-right corner and mini-kitchen in the back-left. A futon and dresser for the main living area and futon matts for the cots in the loft. Finally, partially rounded cedar or pine log-style siding, to complete the look. If we have time, maybe we'll even get a well dug, as well.

Loggers

2009-01-24T09:30:00.007-06:00

Well folks, I must apologize for once again neglecting my blogging duties and leaving you all in the dark as to the status of Woodpecker Hollow. Here it is January of 2009. We have a new president, the market needs financial crutches just to keep from completely collapsing and the loggers have come and stripped my land of nearly all of the birch trees. This leaves me with -- and I am basing my calculations purely on visual guessing -- approximately only 5% - 10% of my total tree count.

At first glance, it looks pretty bleak, but there are some real benefits here that need to be taken into consideration. First of all, the areas we were thinking about clearing for various reasons, are now cleared--less work for us. Also, you can now see all the way across the property, making hunting lanes easier. We can now map out and make our trails and access roads as we like. And finally, it is easier to walk across the property with less brush growth to fight through.

Here is Panoramic image of the property from the southeast corner. For best viewing, zoom(Ctrl++) it all the way in and use the scroll bar to pan left-to-right and vice-verse.

John And Dad

2008-10-03T18:54:00.007-05:00

John went up north to spent a few days and nights up at camp and Dad decided to join him for the first couple of days. They cleared the stumps from around the cabin, pulled out and cut up several trees that we had felled last year and built a lean-to to house the longer logs as they dry.

John also cleared a space for his own future cabin down near the big Red Pine. They also took the time to finish the loft floor and wrap the cabin in Gorilla wrap, not to mention seal the open cracks with spray foam. John reports that the cabin is now pretty air-tight and easily 10 degrees warmer inside than outside. They also managed to get some decent fishing in.

Finally, A Roof!

2008-09-27T07:50:00.002-05:00

Well, we pulled a back-to-back pair of weekenders and the roof is on! We had enough 3-tab red shingle to do about 75% of the roof before moving on to other colors and then even other styles, but never-the-less, the roof is finished. We have soffit of a sorts to put in and we need to finish the Gorilla wrap in the peaks. Then, window trim and finally, siding and the exterior will be finished. But those things can wait until next Spring. The most important next task is insulation and interior wallboard.

The Big Blue Hoody comes off!

2008-09-21T09:55:00.001-05:00

As the title suggests, Yippee! The Big Blue Tarp has been removed and we are finally moving forward with shingling the cabin!

Tom brought us a truckload of shingles, felt and nails, not to mention his log-splitter, and John brought his expertise. And while John and I were working on removing the tarp and doing all of the prep-work for shingling, Dad and Tom split our entire pile of logs and re-stacked them. Then they set about chain-sawing and splitting up the Big pine that had fallen over last Spring during a very nasty storm. On Saturday, John and I got the fascia up, the Gorilla Wrap on the cabin and some of the felt down.

In the afternoon, our neighbor Jeff came into camp on his 4-wheeler (Man, we've gotta get one of those!) and so we stood around and jawed for awhile. He's got some really great stories! Anyway, he told us about a spot on the Kettle river, just below us where we might find some pretty decent walleye fishing.

Toward the end of Saturday, Tom's splitter broke and he had to leave to get it fixed. Dad, John and I finished up and made plans for a small hike and fishing trip for the next day. These last pics show a couple of guys really enjoying the day and the beauty and bounty of the great north woods.

New Porch Swing

2008-08-23T09:21:00.003-05:00

John, my youngest brother, and I decided that, at last we needed a front porch swing for our cabin. Earlier this year, Dad had helped me refurbish an old "A-Frame" style swing I have standing, at home, on my front deck. And, like I am commonly known to do, I, of course bought waaay too many materials for the task. In fact, I bought almost twice what I needed. So, since I only needed 1 or 2 other things to create a second swing, without the A-Frame, John and I worked together to build it modeled roughly after the first one. Then we bought about 20 feet of chain and some other hardware and made plans for a Duluth trip up north with Mom and her dog, Sheila.

We hung the swing, after learning we had made a bad cut and had to now use some of the chain from our front gate, and just as we were getting ready to finish it up, In comes my daughter Amanda and son Josh and Amanda's puppy Marley Moo. I use the term puppy very loosely.

Anyway, it was a big surprise they all had planned for my birthday, which they couldn't celebrate with me as I was on vacation over the week of my birth date. It was a great time of barbeque, hiking in the woods with the dogs. John, Amanda and Josh took turns shoting the 16-guage shotgun at targets, and of course, there was fishing.

After Amanda and Josh went home, that evening Mom, John and I (and Sheila) settled in for a cozy night over in the cabin. Then, the next day, it was off to Duluth and points north! What a fun weekend all around! It was one of my favorite times and I'll remember it always.

Take a look at some of the beautiful sights of the great Northwoods and the Superior basin.

Late Spring/Early Summer

2008-07-19T09:09:00.002-05:00

Summer is here and the Spring storms are over. But not without some casualties. The big old Red Pine that I used in my 2004 Christmas Card has been blown down. I am sad to see it as I was truly hoping to save it. Oh well, that's how it goes in the woods!

Tom lent us his mower. And boy did we need it! Thanks Tom! We have about 700-800 feet of driveway to mow, not to mention the main yard around the cabin. As you can see, Dad is just tooling around finishing up the driveway. I ran the outside edges while he cleaned up the middle. All-in-all, a good days work! Then, more fishing!

Spring Fishing

2008-03-15T09:05:00.000-05:00

Here it is March of 2008 and it still looks pretty bleak outside. Never-the-less, we endeavor to enjoy the "Great Outdoors" with an early year fishing trip. There wasn't much caught, but we saw some more eagles and quite a bit of wildlife. Mostly though, I think it was just the need to get outside again and get some much-needed fresh air!

Tree Stands

2007-10-13T12:18:00.000-05:00

We caught sight of a pheasant in the area, but seeing as how it appears to be a loner, we are thinking to wait until we get more nesting in the area. I got it on digital film, but the images are too blurry. We fixed up a couple of the tree stands and did some hunting to no avail. We saw lots of sign of deer and even kicked up a small herd or 3-5 in the woods.

Fall Colors

2007-09-22T12:08:00.000-05:00

Fall is one of the most spectacular times up in the Northwoods. The colors are extraordinary and the air has that clean crispness to it that makes you think of warm apple pie, hot cocoa or cider and something roasting on the fire. Mm mm-mm! Dad and I are beginning to get our supplies ready for the fall hunt. We are going deer hunting this year, for perhaps the first time in 30 years! But we are looking forward to it. I bought myself a nice 12-gauge, 5-round pump combo shotgun. It comes with both a slug barrel for large game and a longer bead barrel for birding or other small game. Dad got himself a new 30-30 rifle for hunting deer. He will use his old 16-gauge for small game.

Family Reunion 2007

2007-08-11T11:42:00.000-05:00

Well, we did it! We had our first reunion of sorts up at the camp. Mostly it was a way of celebrating birthdays and family and just a darn good reason to get together. Uncle Al, Aunt Ruth and Rosie came out from Pennsylvania and Rob and Vikki came up from Michigan. Tom and Susie and his kids also stopped by and Deb and her kids William(and his girlfriend) and Janelle were there as well. My own kids, Amanda and Josh also made it up along with John a good friend of Josh's. Of course Dad and Ma (it was her 70th birthday, my 47th) were there and Mom brought Sheila up to join us.

On the evening before the big Saturday get-together, Uncle Al, Dad and Rob went up early to get the camp area prepared. Uncle Al and Rob wanted to throw in their own effort to helping with the camp, so due almost solely to their efforts, they virtually doubled the cleared area around the camp. A new picnic are was established. All of the logs were shortened and re-stacked in a neat stack. The grass was all mown and the fire pit relaid so it was more stable. The fire pit area was cleaned up and space for up to 8 cars was made! It was fantastic work and I am very grateful.

The party day itself was a huge success with food and music and stories and conversation all around! And the best part of it all was that no-one got hurt(which is often a common occurrence at family get-togethers)!

Green Green!

2007-06-01T08:43:00.000-05:00

Here it is! Another beautiful green, green June day in the North woods. How wonderfully lush it is here. And how peaceful. This really is an idyllic place. We have decided however, to have some of the timber taken off the property as most of the birch is quite mature and we are getting far too many broken trunks. So rather than risk our newly built cabin, before it is even finished, we are going to have the birch and some of the poplar logged off the property. Have no fear, however. Birch grows like weeds out here and the woods will be full again before very long. And we are keeping all of the Pine, Oak, Basswood and much of the Maple. We will also be trying to plant some fruit trees here both for our own uses, and to attract more wildlife.

Loft Ladder

2007-05-05T08:03:00.000-05:00

We finally found a good, sturdy loft ladder to put up in the cabin. We chose a loft ladder because it really gave us the best of all worlds. We could tuck it away when not in use to maximize cabin space in the daylight hours and then pull it down for easy access to the loft for the night. And, best of all, it doesn't take up so much room that we can't keep it down overnight.

Ahhh! Spring!

2007-04-20T07:41:00.001-05:00

The snow is out and the creek is running! We hiked back to the meadow and found the pond full and running. It's nice to hear the bullfrogs at night again. I took some photos of some of our more prominent pines and we burned up some logs on he fire pit. We also got the loft window in this weekend. This composite shows some of these things and just what it looks like in the dark.

Woody

2007-03-10T07:35:00.000-06:00

This weekend was a particularly clear and sunny Late Winter-early Spring weekend and the hairy woodpeckers were playing all over the place. We named this one "Woody", of course.

Three Years

2007-02-10T09:10:00.000-06:00

January 5th marked the 3 year anniversary of ownership of Woodpecker Hollow. Unfortunately, I was sick for the third time this year. Twice, bad enough to bring on my Bronchitis. Plus, Dad was still recovering from his Fall and Winter-long illnesses first due to Shingles, then to Anemia brought-on by stress, diet and the medication he was taking for the shingles. Now, here it is February 10th, and finally we are both in decent enough condition to go up and see what we can do at camp.

Mom has moved into her new home in Blaine and has purchased some pre-made shelving kits for her library and craft room. Inside the kits the panels are padded with polystyrene (Styrofoam) blocks and sheets to protect the shelves. I got the idea and called Dad to see if we could use this to block off some of the holes in the cabin, at least until we can afford to get some real insulation. So we headed up north to pack in some Styrofoam and see if we can't get the cabin to heat up a bit.

When we set out, it was -18 degrees. By the time we returned home, it was 10 degrees above making the day swing a full 28 degrees in temperature. We had to buy some more Kerosene for the heater, but we still had troubles getting it started. So, we took it apart to see what was up and found that while it had been setting in the shed last winter, mice had managed to get in and build a nest up under it, hindering airflow and causing the unit to smoke very badly. Once we cleaned it out and put it back together, it worked just fine.

We built a fire out in the pit and did a little rifle shooting at which we both did fairly well. Dad tried the tractor, but it was plainly too cold for it to start. We managed to get the cabin to warm up inside so we decided to call it a day and head back. We found a nice quaint little hamburger shop in downtown Pine City that was fairly reasonably priced. Other than the cold, we had great weather and it was just great to get back out of doors again!

Christmas 2006

2006-12-26T08:26:00.000-06:00

Sunset on the Kettle River is quite spectacular! I think most wild places share that same allure. Here at the close of 2006, one day after Christmas, our Minnesota branch of the family enjoys the gift of a visit by our youngest brother/son. John came out to spend some time with us this year and what a wonderful time it was! For the first few days, he spent some time with Mom and with Dad and Ma while I was away in San Francisco for a brief business trip.

When I got back, he, Dan and I spent a day at the Mall of America shopping for Christmas gifts and dining at the Rain Forest Cafe (Thanks John!). It was a blast! Christmas Day came and there was much ballyhoo and opening of gifts, food, fun and laughter. It was a great day. The next day, John Dad and I went up to camp and we happily showed him all around the area. He and Dad did some pistol shooting with Dad's Western style .45 and we hiked to the prairie meadow and took a tractor ride all the way back to Eagle Bluff where John became the first one of our family to walk out on the island. We took loads of pictures (too many to be added here) before going back to camp to settle in for some foil fried Hamburgers over the open pit fire.

In the insert at left are just some of the activities described above. First there is me wading through the meadow like a prairie prowler. Then Dad and I take turns at chopping up some logs for the fire. Next we see the little wooden bridge Dad and I made a couple of years back covered in snow. And then John, holding up the wall like a young Atlas! There is Dad and John checking out their bullet clusters, and Dad pulling another Paul Bunyan with the logs.

But the picture at the right is the money shot. While focally it isn't a terribly good picture, it does highlight one of the main reasons why we have this place and why we love to come up here. We watched two eagles hunting and fishing for food along the Kettle just upriver from the Sandstone Quarry Park area. And here through the trees you can see one of them, roosting for a moment in a tree across the river.

Man! What a day!

Autumn in the Hollow

2006-09-30T08:09:00.000-05:00

October is almost here and there is a definite chill in the air. The leaves have begun to turn in the southern part of the state, while they have nearly all fallen away up north. Dad and Ma had gone up to camp last week and he took the opportunity to pack away the Gazebo and to get some of the other tools put away for winter, while I picked up a 26x40 tarpaulin for use as a cover for the cabin. Then, just this past week, Dad was able to pick up a really nice door that was being replaced and was going to be thrown away! I mean, sure it's a little old, but it still has plenty of life in it yet!

So, this weekend we hung a door -- a green door on our cabin. Also, we pulled an enormous tarp over the top of the building and tack-nailed and stapled it down as a protection measure against the coming winter. Then we cleaned up the camp even more, moving all of the remaining heavy tools to the shed and all of the camping supplies into the cabin. We spent a very cozy night in the Cabin by the heat of our KeroSun heater, even though a slight draft still managed to squeeze beneath the window sills. And, even though it rained for much of the night, we remained worm and dry and comfortable. What a fabulous thing it is to have a cabin!

While we were up here, we took some time for a long walk down to the River and along its banks. I hope you enjoy the collage of images we made of our beautiful northland hideaway.

Labor Day

2006-09-04T07:55:00.000-05:00

Well, it's Labor Day weekend and here is what we have accomplished thus far. On the weekend of August 26th, Dad and I went back up and put on 1 half of the roof. It was extremely slow and labor-intensive work as about 70% of it is wrapped up in building scaffoldings and moving ladders. As Dad is the lighter of the two of us, he ended up doing nearly all of the sheeting while I did the ground work which involved moving equipment, cutting wood, stopping and restarting the generator (to conserve fuel) running ladders around and handing up material. At the end of our weekend, we were both too exhausted to do the second half, however we did manage to retain enough energy to put in the two windows we have.

This weekend, we finished off the other half of the roof and laid the felt over it in as much as we had enough to cover all but the last 3 feet or so on either side of the cabin. We also cleared the campsite a bit to make it more presentable. We used an old 4x8 sheet of plywood to cover the door opening and just tacked it into place. Boy, I can't wait to get a door on the cabin and start using it for real!

Coming Together

2006-08-21T07:27:00.000-05:00

On the weekend of the 11^th a bunch of us came together to spend the first night(s) in the cabin. Even though there was no real roof, we threw a couple of tarps over the open spaces and slept in the cabin for the first time. This was the weekend of the Sandstone Quarry Days so we went into town and watched the parade and shopped the booths at the street bazaar. Mom and I went back home on Saturday while Dad and Ma (Mary) stayed up for another night.

This past weekend, brother Dan joined Dad and I up at camp and together we put up the rafters. Since we only have two 6-foot ladders and no real scaffolding, we were forced to get creative. On a previous weekend, Dad and I had taken some of the rafter materials and used them to make a rudimentary scaffolding ramp to span the space from the loft edge to the back gable. We threw about 4 sheets of OSB upon this ramp to give us something to walk on. You can see it in the composite picture on the left. Then we made the decision to build the roof in 4 sections. We figured (and as it turns out correctly so) that that was about as big as we could handle by ourselves.

Dad notched the rafter bottoms to which we nailed 1x4 base plates so they would rest upon the wall top plate and then cut 45 degree angles in the rafter tops to receive a 1x6 crown plate. These we built up on the loft. Then while Dan manned the ladder below and Dad walked out across the scaffolding and I worked from the loft main, we walked the first of the back roof sections into place on top of the southwest-facing side wall and the back gable. Once we had it flushed down, we nailed it into place. Then we turned around and repeated the process for the northeast roof section. After that we had to make some adjustments to get things to fit properly and then we nailed the two 1x6 crown plates together. We did make sure to make 1 of the crown plates 2-feet longer than the other so we could create an overlap for the front roof sections. Finally, we dismantled our rudimentary scaffolding and created the 2 sections for the front repeating the process we had used for the rear roof sections. At last our rafters are up and ready to be sheeted.

Lofty Days

2006-08-05T11:35:00.000-05:00

As part of installing the roof, we first needed to lay on the loft. This was no easy task for just two guys. We put together 9 2x6x10' joists plust 2 2x4x10' stabilizer beams and 2 16 foot 2x6's as front and back plates. This was the loft, weighing in at around 300-400 lbs. It took quite a bit of effort just to get it stood up against the front of the cabin. Then after a couple of aborted attempts at using a come-along to lift it up, we settled upon the fact that if it was going to get up there, we were jut going to have to lift it. And so we did. It took just about all we had to lift it up over our heads to where part of it was on the edge and part was still in our hands. Then Dad ran into the cabin and began cranking like mad to get it pulled up. Just when it left my hands, I reached down and grabbed a short 2x4 and used it to shove the platform up level so the come-along could more easily pull it along. Finally, after some body-wrenching jerks of movement, we were able to wrestle the loft frame into place so it could be nailed down.

As we were getting ready to put the sheet down, just overhead two eagles winged into view doing what I suppose was a sort of mating dance in the sky. The larger one would appear to stall out and fall tumbling and then catch hisself to ride the thermals back up to where the smaller one was soaring aloft. It was quite a site.

The next day we got the two gable ends framed and the rear one sheeted. Then we lifted them onto the loft where we then built a rudimentary scaffolding. After that we slid the rear gable end out to its position, lifted it up and nailed it down. Finally, we added some supports to hold it into place until the next build day, cleaned up and headed home for the weekend.

Ready To Roof

2006-07-28T21:38:00.000-05:00

This makes the second or third construction weekend in a row with temperatures in the 90's. We even weathered a 4-5 hour thunderstorm overnight.

The first night (Thursday) we managed to get the 2 front wall sections built and ready to install. Then we made camp and turned in.

The next morning we installed the front wall and proceeded to lay on the sheet. We sheeted all the way around the cabin leaving only a very small section under the front wall window which will come from a piece also cut for the roof.

Finally, We capped off the day with the final top plate and porch posts. At last, we are ready to put the roof on!

Three Walls And A Floor

2006-07-15T13:20:00.000-05:00

This week we managed to get the floor down. It was great to sit on the new porch for the first time. We also got three of the four wall frames up. Short text this time. More later.

Platform Base Is Complete

2006-07-04T08:43:00.000-05:00

This weekend was a big one! We came up on Sunday afternoon after dealing with some minor car trouble that Dad had right after church. We had to stop at 2 different Menards stores to get the stuff we needed and settled mostly on getting the remaining cement we needed to finish off the pilings (Dad decided that we should cement them in even though the ground seems plenty rocky enough) and a picnic table with 4 chairs and an umbrella that I gave him for Father's day. On Sunday afternoon we fished, put up the table, mixed and poured all of the cement and hung the solid panels for the gazebo that Debbie gave us so we wouldn't get too wet when it rains (which, of course, it did!).

On Monday we began with the platform and by Noon had the sections directly under the cabin completed. After lunch we got right back on it and built the remaining porch sections completing the platform all in one day by 4:30pm! I personnaly think that for 2 guys, who normally do not do this kind of work, using 2x8 green-treated wood and doubling up on the cross-sections, that's a pretty decent feat. We did a little more dirt scratching and weed cutting this weekend. We also went for a short swim in the lake that the dam at Willow River forms, and caught some baby fish there (again, nothing big enough to eat). That night, I heard a bear in the distance. Dad suggested that it might have been a moose, but as it happens, I caught a wildlife show on Tuesday which featured bears and it was clearly those noises that I heard.

Next week, we intend to purchase all of our remaining framing supplies and bring them up. Also, it is our plan to lay the base floor and erect the walls then, as well.

Putting in the Pilings

2006-06-24T08:16:00.000-05:00

We put in the Pilings this weekend. It was a goodly bit of work, but it went well and there were little or no interruptions. We saw some herons mixing with some cows in a local farmer's field. We also caught a couple of fish, but not sizable enough to keep. We decided to use the Gazebo as our impromptu tent until the cabin is built. We weathered a late-Spring thunderstorm overnight by moving our cots into the center and keeping an eye on the grommet holes in the nylon top. By morning, the storm had passed and we were ready for breakfast at our favorite restaurant in Sandstone.
This week, it's mostly about the pictures. The first one shows the pilings in various stages of development while the second one shows the completed work (at least for this week). Take note that we also managed to get all 10 trees that were directly surrounding the cabin site cut down, so we are currently looking for volunteers who like to use chansaws to help cut them up into stacked logs for firewood.

Gazebo

2006-06-18T06:50:00.000-05:00

Dad and Ma bought a gazebo for up at camp so we could both have a nice place to relax from the mosquitos and have a comfortable sleeping area other than a low-to-the-ground, leaky, dome tent. Deb says she has solid panels for 3 sides of the gazebo which we will get from her and put on later. I want to also mention that Katherine's Husband Scott and son Bryan wanted to take a look at the campsite so Dad took them up to have a look.
This would be about a week or so ago. Not only did they get a look, but they got a huge surprise in that they found that bigger equipment had been brought in and the road had been worked on so much that it was drivable all the way back to the far back properties. They also decided to help us out with the cabin and so they dug all of the holes for the foundation pillars that we will use for our cabin! And believe me, that is no mean feat! This ground is as hard and rocky as you might expect from land used to quarry sandstone blocks.

Thank you so very much boys!

So, since we had a nice gazebo to put up, we decided to get some nice floor stone patio tiles to put it up on. There were 64 of them each weighing in at around 42 pounds each. We also picked up 27 cement blocks for the cabin foundation piers and a few bags of quick-crete to solidify them into the ground. Once we had all of this stuff sitting on our trailer, we realized there would be no way we would be able to take all of this stuff up to camp at once. There were over 3600 lbs of material on the trailer! We managed to get across the parking lot and into the next one and made the decision to go and get the pickup to carry half of the load. So, Dad and Ma went for the pickup and I stayed behind to watch the load until they returned. Then we transferred half the load to the truck and the next day took both vehicles up north.

We had Mom, Janelle and myself in the wagon pulling the trailer and Dad and Ma following in the pickup. After a nice breakfast at Pam's Place in Sandstone, we went back to camp and found that the road had been worked on even more since the last time. We had no trouble just driving right on into camp with our loads and taking them all the way back to the campsite (Yeah! No more parking at the top of the road and hiking back).

Dad and I attached the plow to the tractor and he proceeded to scrape a nice area in front of our growing cabin materials pile. Then we raked and laid out the square tiles for the patio. Finally, we unloaded the remaining materials from the trailer and pickup and began putting up the gazebo. Voila! In just 3 hours we had scraped and leveled the area to build on, unloaded all of our material, laid out our patio and erected our gazebo!

Later on, Mom and I went further north to Virginia, MN to the Craft Festival they had there and Dad, Ma and Janelle went back home. We decided to leave the trailer up north and retrieve it on our next trip.

A Day of Surprises

2006-04-08T21:20:00.000-05:00

Oftentimes when coming up north, as we are driving down Ed's road and approaching the lane that will take us back to camp, we find ourselves thinking wistfully, "wouldn't it be nice if, by some amazing miracle--or shoe-maker elves, we should find the driveway magically repaired". Well I'm here to tell you folks that dreams and wishes can come true! For on this day, as we arrived we found that a bulldozer had been used to plow the road, two cars wide, all the way back to the very end of the lane.
It looks as though either a developer has been brought in to build some cabins in the back, or the folks who have property back there have decided to expand or maybe even build a resort. There is much dozer work completed back there in patterns that suggest multiple cabin placements are imminent. If that is, in fact the case, they will require a decent road for access which means that the ruts will likely be filled in this Spring or early Summer by professionals (or at least those with the equipment and know-how to do so) and we won't have to do it ourselves.

This was, as you might imagine a very exciting find for us, since up to now, we were in the belief that we were alone in the desire to fix the lane and make it passable for normal cars so we wouldn't have to keep parking half a mile away and hiking back into our campsite.

We put in about 4-5 miles of hiking today, going all the way back to the Eagle Bluff area and snapping some photos and then coming back and hiking down to the meadow to do some scouting around there. An eagle flew directly overhead the campsite again, so I am convinced that its eyrie is very close by. No campfire today as it was in the mid fifties but we did get some target practice in. We put the new adjuster bar on the tractor and ran the tractor up and down the lane a bit.

After a day of hiking, shooting and filming we decided to see if the Munger Bicycle Trail is paved all the way out to Duluth. And wouldn't you know it, I made a wrong turn and we lost the trail. But it was such a nice day we just kept on driving and eventually ended up on highway 23 heading north. There, we found ourselves again surprised as we came across the old Lake Duluth Reservoir region which is now known as the St. Louis River Valley. There was an overlook there that offered an amazing view over the valley (see collage). After taking some photos there we continued north along 23. At the point where the road crosses over the river and just after entering the outskirts of Duluth, we turned left and followed the river road up, down and back up the mountains of Jay Cooke State Park and shot photos of the St Louis River rapids and falls. We saw much deer in this area (and nearly hit a couple) and the views were spectacular!

Eventually, we did come back across the (yes!) paved Munger Trail running along highway 210 out of Carlton. We followed it back, for the most part into Moose Lake and found where I'd made my initial error in direction. Then it was, fill up the coffee mugs, and head back home. All-in-all a long, yet surprisingly satisfying day.

Winter in the Hollow

2006-01-09T21:04:00.000-06:00

There's nothing like the peace of a bright winter morning in the woods. Making the first human tracks in the snow, listening to the stillness in the air disturbed only by the few snow-birds that hang around all winter long. If a deer moves in the woods, you can hear it. If a rabbit squeaks, you know. The air is so still and the countryside so quiet you can hear the dogs barking a mile away.

Nothing special to report today. Dad and I just got out for a little quiet time and to make sure that the campsite remains undisturbed by other humans. We also got a little shooting practice in--which really sounds deafening on such a quiet day. We basically just hung around, drove the tractor up and down the lane and simply relaxed. It was good to get away.

Happy Holidays!

2005-12-09T08:27:00.000-06:00

Well, Christmas 2005 is nearly upon us and I want to wish everyone the merriest one possible! I made my own Christmas cards this year for the very first time. I like the way they came out so well, that I will doubtless do it that way from now on. I used the camp as my inspiration and just to show that one man's ugly is another's beauty, I featured the big red spruce on the corner of the main campsite clearing. Dad and Rob (among others) gave me quite the hard time about wanting to keep my "ugly" old pine tree, but I saw much more to it. What do you think?
I apologize that the posts here have been kind of sparse, but that became a necessity once I realized that while Dad and I (or someone and I) have been up to camp many times in the past 2 years (2 years! can you believe it???), and while we have always tried to do some improvement on the place each time, quite often very little changed from one visit to the next. if fact, it's not until you look back at the early pictures, that you can get the sense of all of the changes that have occured. That shows the gradularity of the work we have done thus far.

However, that is about to change in a very dramatic way. In the past month or so (Around Thansgiving) we purchased a 5' x 10', 2000 lb capacity flatbed trailer with a ramp gate (for ATVs) . With this we bought and hauled all of the green-treated lumber we will need to build the base of our first cabin. Also, over the Summer, my neighbor across the street purchased new windows for her house and gave us (no charge) a combination Picture window with sliding side-lites and a regular casement style window. Furthermore, Dad purchased a pretty decent air compressor, and I bought a 3500 watt gas-powered generator and a 6-way extendable air hammer gun. All of these materials and tools have been taken up north. We have also chosen the site for the first cabin (pretty much right about where the tarp and tent sit in the previous post--except a little further into the corner).

I have to pick up a few more things such as blocks and flooring/decking and we can begin building the base. Once it is up we can take our time and put up the walls and roof. I still have about $2000 remaining for this last bit of material, but it should be plenty enough. We already have a kerosene heater so once the cabin is up we can begin using the property as we like. The road and the well will be our next projects, and then probably another cabin. I also want to cut and clear some trails in the woods to make movement more easily managed. But these are all future projects. First, the cabin.

This will likely be the last 2005 post so I want to wish everyone a warm and happy holiday season. See you next year!

Cabin Materials

2005-11-27T20:37:00.000-06:00

Last week we purchased a trailer and a plow for the tractor. We also bought and hauled up enough pressure- treated 2x8's to build a 16' x 18' platform. This will be the base for a small cabin (12' x 16') which will be built over on site 2.

I am still holding out hope that I will be able to pull together the funds (or at least arrange the financing) to purchase one of those heirloom or vintage log cabins that Cabin and Timber are selling for the main site. Cabin and Timber is a company that collects and restores old log and timber frame structures and resells them. It's a unique way of recycling old material so that less new trees need to be cut and the old timbers don't go to waste on someone's fire.

This week, we got lucky in that my neighbor across the street was installing new windows and graciously permitted us to take her old ones. So we hauled them up as well. We found that the plow blade doesn't quite fit so we have to buy some longer pins or at least spacers for the existing pins to push them out further. We also need a longer top-rod and at least one new adjuster bar for canting the blade. Eventually, we will get an adjustment bar on both sides, but for now we only really need the right one.

There is an eagle eyrie very near by us as we saw one flying just overhead the camp. I managed to get some pictures, by the eagle was up very high and the pictures do not do it justice. All-in-all we have had a pretty dry winter here so far and this late in the season, when we should have snow on the ground, we find the ground bare. No need to complain too hard though as the temperatures are mild enough to make us not mind the missing snow.

2005 Get-Together

2005-08-27T20:21:00.000-05:00

Rob and Vicki came out to visit and we all got up to the camp together. Rob was so excited he wouldn't let anyone else do any chainsaw cutting! Recently, we had begun using a tarp and pole lean-to construction to cover the Picnic table and/or tent area. We set that up and built a nice fire in the firepit. Rob set to cutting down and clearing out the area where Dad and I want to set up the first cabin. He did such a good job, I only had a little bit left to finish up.

The picture above _{(click on it to see it full-size)} is a composite of 2 camera shots showing the main campsite from between the tractor and my Explorer with the outhouse and shooting range behind me. The inset image is that of the outhouse.

Dad, Rob and I went hiking all over the grounds just to give Rob an idea of the size and shape of the land. I think he was well pleased. There are plenty of places for setting up cabins, for hiking and for hunting. Not to mention that we are only about a little over 1000 ft from the Kettle River. We also went down there to show Rob just how close it is. The water level was incredibly low then, but it was still quite picturesque. All in all, it was a great time.

First Multi-Nighter

2005-07-25T20:11:00.000-05:00

Dad and I had the first multi-night campout this past week. I had Wednesday through Friday off so we packed up and headed north for a couple nights to see how we liked it and to pick up our tractor and see just how much work we could get done in 2-3 days.

We got the tractor alright (see picture inset), a 1952 J I CASE DC with 37 hp, 2WD, LH, LPTO and an eagle hitch. It is an antique, but runs pretty well. We may have to do some work on it as the carburator leaks a little and the oil is slightly sludgy (possible blown head gasket), also the lighting is not wired properly. We did get a new carb kit with the deal and an oil change, but if it is a head gasket, then we will have to get that changed before we do a whole lot of work with the tractor. It's in such good shape I'd hate to do anything that could cause it permanent damage.

The guy was offering it for $1500, but Dad not only talked him into giving us a fresh oil change, but also the new carb kit thrown in and delivered to our site, for $1300! So if it needs a little work, that's no bother since we ended up getting it for such a great deal.

Already, with the number of passes we've made on the tractor going up and down the lane, even without attachments, just using the front wheels as cutters and the rear wheels as packers, we've made such an improvement to the lane that we could very likely bring my car back there again as most of the deepest ruts have been flattened out some. The ruts were really the only reason my car had any trouble because the 4 wheel drive handles the mud just fine. But the ruts were so deep in some spots, it left my wagon hung up on its belly with wheels spinning.

We also took the opportunity to begin clearing out the secondary cabin site and have most if not all of the trees cut, stripped and de-brushed. This site is not quite ready for use as a campsite yet, but maybe another working weekend will bring it around. I don't have any pictures of it finished but will likely have something on the next post. Meanwhile, here is a panoramic composite picture of the main site from the end of the driveway _{(click on it to enlarge)}.

Property Site Map

2005-06-27T08:55:00.000-05:00

I have decided to do a pictorial history of our experiences at Woodpecker Hollow from the first time we ever laid eyes on it. I will try to post it so that it follows the proper dating of the posts, but failing that will at least create the diary and provide a link to it from here. Also, I am going to open up (as much as the host service will permit) the blog to others so that all who use our land may be able to share and express their experiences here.

The picture inserted here (click on the image to see it full size) is a site map of the property showing the trails and creeks and other features. This map will be updated soon since over the past year and a half, many changes have already occured.

The Name

2005-06-10T09:00:00.000-05:00

Woodpecker Hollow is the name I have finally decided on for the property up north. For some time now, we have affectionately been refering to the property as "the camp" or "the land" or even simply "up north". However Dad informed me that a proper "camp" has to have a proper name and so, with considerable discussion on the subject and much advice from everyone I have been trying to come up with one.

There are many things prevalent in the woods up north, not the least of which are flickers and woodpeckers. In fact, just south of the property the Audabon society has land set aside for the birds of the northwoods. There are eagles and owls, cardinals and jays, finches and flickers and yes, woodpeckers as well as many other varietis of feathered beasts living in the area. There is even a land feature named Woodpecker Ridge not far from this site.

Considering how many flickers and woodpeckers we see everytime we go up north, and the fact that our property is located on the side of a gradual descent to the Kettle river bottoms, I chose Woodpecker Hollow as the name for the camp.

Raptors

2005-02-05T19:10:00.000-06:00

Its a new year and the great birds are already out. Majestic in their beauty, they soar over the woods and the meadows in the Northland like patrolmen walking the beat. Today, we got up close to a Great Owl _{(left image, click to enlarge)} freshly arrived from the Canadian wilderness to nest. Come Spring, it will be gone back North in search of wilder territory and more plentiful prey.

We also caught sight of one of our other great raptors, the American Bald Eagle _{(right image, click to enlarge)}. It soared over the meadow for quite awhile hunting for critters to gnosh on, I suppose.

As white as it was, and for all it being only February, it wasn't really very cold.

One Year Anniversary

2004-10-02T22:02:00.000-05:00

What a difference a year makes! See how beautiful it is here.

Last year at this time, the land looked brown and deadfall was everywhere. We were just recovering from one of the longest dry spells we had had in recent memory and it showed.

This year, we had an over-abundance of moisture -- to the extent that the driveway was impassible most of the year! Also, the warmer weather stood longer this year from last.

We took the time to revisit the bluff down at the end of our driveway about a half-mile back that overlooks a bend in the river which has an 18 inch drop over stony rapids. There is a cute little island in the middle of the bend and a couple of caves undercutting the banks along the river. We were buzzed by several Eagles nesting and feeding in the area, thus prompting us to name it Eagle Bluff. It really is quite gorgeous around here!

Sandstone Quarry

2004-06-05T19:12:00.000-05:00

Dad and I took a trip into Sandstone today to get a glimpse of the quarry. It is no longer used as a source for the unique pink sandstone blocks that come from this region mostly because the businesses that owned and operated the quarry folded up long ago. Now it is a very nice picnic park situated at the base of some mild rapids and just up-river from the Hell's Gate section of the Kettle rivere where the Blueberry slide and Dragon's Tooth and other colorfully named water hazards can be found. Here is a brief slideshow of the park.

The creek was full and in some spots overflowing today and the pond on the meadow is very high. Everything is so green and overgrown we have to practically wade through the weeds and ground cover just to get anywhere. We plan to bring up the mower next time and get the grass cut and do some further clearing on the site later this month.

I took some photos down by the water's edge of the Kettle just below our camp using the binocular today, but they don't turn out real well without alot of touch-up work. I caught a great one of Dad doing a little fishing while sitting on a hummock over-looking the river. I also did a "green" shot of the view down-river. This is a touched-up image that highlights the green-ness that we found this trip.

Spring Camping in the Northwoods

2004-05-22T13:10:00.000-05:00

Is there anything as satisfying as a warm fire on a cool Spring morning just hangin' out with your brother in the Northwoods? This was our very first Spring camp out and man was it ever uplifting!

The quiet of the woods...The damp chill in the air...The Trilliums bursting forth like newborn babies. The creek was running and gurgling down to the pond in the meadow and the wildlife was everywhere.

Dan and I hiked all over the land on this trip and explored alot of the same areas that Dad and I had discovered. We even found a couple of deer-stands that Dad and I missed previously. There was abundant evidence of wild berries growing up there as well.

Aside from getting a bit wet when the tent failed us, it was an altogether satisfying trip.

Picnic Table

2004-03-13T09:26:00.000-06:00

Began building our first picnic table today (see picture inset). Got it nearly finished too. Just need to get a couple of planks for the seats. We've done this winter camping a few times now (just day trips) and are thinking about our first over-night. I can't wait!

After our day trips this past winter, we've been trying out the various restaurants in the area to see if we can come up with a few favorites. Today, we decided to go in to Moose Lake which is located about 20 miles north of camp. There is a restaurant there called the Blue Bear which Dad keeps mis-pronouncing as Blue Beer. Guess I'm not gonna let him live that one down anytime soon! Ha ha! Anyway, here is a picture of its interior.

Eureka! The Property Is Ours

2004-01-17T09:49:00.000-06:00

As of the afternoon of January 5th, 2004 the land is ours! Mom came up north with me while I did the paperwork so she could get her first look at the property. Hopefully soon, we will have a cabin so we can all come up and enjoy it together.

On January 17th, Dad and I came back up and made our first improvements to the campsite. We cut down some extra trees that were blocking the view of the driveway a bit and it allowed us to first open up the main camp area and second create a store of cut wood for the firepit. See the picture at the left.

We also created the first firepit on the property. One rule we are going to enforce is that no fires occur on the porperty without some sort of encloure. The timber is often very dry in this area and a fire would be enormously disastrous. However, a little simple forethought and common sense will allow us to be safe while still having a great time.

Additionally, we got a chance to get down to the river for a nice shot of that on a clear blue Minnesota January morning (see picture at the right). It really is so very peaceful here. I'm so glad we chose this spot.

First View of the Property

2003-10-24T10:34:00.000-05:00

The first time I saw the property, I was completely convinced that it was not what I was looking for. I really wanted direct waterfront or at the very least, water view. I also wanted something a little further north, say along the North Shore of Lake Superior somewhere. Dad, however fell in love with the property almost immediatley and eventually convinced me to take a second look.

This time we hiked over much of the acreage and took pictures of the land and some of the nearby features, such as the Kettle River. After that, I was pretty much hooked and began the process of trying to get the financing in order. Attached here is a JPG file that contains the photos from that day's adventure.