Outdoor Life

It seems we may have some new residents that have moved to our neck of the woods this spring. Several moose have been spotted by our crew along Highway 61 between Solbakken Resort and Cascade Lodge. The O’Phelan family has reported seeing, “Moose everyday on the way home for the last week!”They will try to get a picture one these times to post on the blog! Another employee saw a group of about 15-20 loons all in a big circle on Lake Superior just down the shoreline from the Lodge the other day! He thought the reason being was that there is still ice cover on most of their interior lake homes. Seeing that many stately birds together at once is a very rare sighting! Although the ice might not be out on all the lakes by the fishing opener (May 10th), the spring steelhead run is in full effect in the Cascade River! Crewman Michael Jr. caught a nice 5 lb. steelhead on 5/4, but shortly thereafter had to release the fish because it was not clipped-Native; only clipped fish-Stocked may be kept for dinner. Several other non-clipped steelhead were caught by anglers that day. This is a very good sign that native steelhead are making a strong comeback in Lake Superior. Author’s note; Jr's big fish story was indeed confirmed by a DNR trout and salmon official!

One Last Gasp out of Old Man Winter

Last Thursday on April 10th, Cook County was hammered with 8-12 inches of snow! Hopefully it is the last big snow storm, as the great winter 07/08’ now comes to a close. For the season we received a total of over 85 inches of snow, compared with about 55 inches last winter. We would like to thank all our guests, visitors and staff for a terrific winter season! Lodge crewmembers Matt, Michael Jr, Amanda, and young Ben took advantage of the “fresh powder” on Saturday April 12th to ski at Lutsen Mountains for one last time. They reported that the conditions were “Mid-winter like and excellent!” It sounds like they really had a blast out there that day. Well, that snow is almost all gone now leaving just a sloppy mess in its path. The creeks and rivers have opened up and are starting to “roar!” In the next few weeks they will be upgraded to “raging” status as more snow further inland quickly melts coupled with some spring rainfall and temps in the 50’s. Should make for some great waterfall viewing very soon!

Spring Meltdown

Since the last posting, the resort has seen the snow cover shrink from more than a foot to basically nothing. A string of warm, sunny days has expedited the process. However, a nice family from the cities was able to create this “Easter snow bunny” with some of the last wet, sticky snow. Excellent job kids! The stately front lawns of Cascade Lodge and the Cascade House get some of the most direct sunlight in the county; hence they are now snow-free. Several deer all at once can be seen browsing the lawn grass after sunset. This time of year deer metabolism increases dramatically after the long, cold winter. They come down to the shoreline in droves to forage because there is still lots of snow back in the woods. Food along the shore is now readily available for them to feast on. There is still a nice base of snow for spring cross country skiing on most sections of the trails, especially further inland at the Deer Yard Lake system. The conditions should likely hold for a least another week or so. We are keeping our fingers crossed! Lutsen Mountains is skiing great and is open through the weekend of April 4-6th and will be open one last time on April 12 -13th for the “Mountain Meltdown.” Many fun events are planned including an outdoor concert! So get your skiing in now before it’s too late and have to wait until next year!

Early spring and some interesting wildlife encounters

Welcome to early spring on the North Shore! There is nothing better than spring time skiing on Cascade’s fine network of trails. Average daytime temperatures are very comfortable at 30-50 F. The sun shines brightly most days and enables one to enjoy an extended ski or snowshoe outing. It's so nice this time of year to have fun in the great outdoors and not freeze your buns off in the process! March 11th was easily the warmest day of the year with the mercury topping out at a balmy 47 degrees! Michael O’Phelan, the owner of Cascade Lodge had an exciting encounter driving home from work the other day. This handsome timber wolf was perhaps enjoying a nice venison meal along the roadway as he passed by. He paused just long enough to have his picture taken before returning to the woods. Yes, a very rare sighting indeed and during the middle of the day at that! Photo credits go out to Michael. Some early March ice build up along the shore prompted one brave deer to venture out on the ice. With many onlookers watching, the deer tentatively wandered about 200 yards from shore. Shortly thereafter the inevitable happened…the ice broke and the poor thing was submerged in the icy waters up to its neck. After struggling for a while, the deer was able to get its front hooves up on the ice and pull itself out of the hole! To everyone’s delight, the young deer was able to get back to safety with a great story to tell the rest of the herd!
This deer truly had the “Luck of the Irish.” Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Sunny ski weekend at Cascade Lodge

This past weekend was a picture perfect February ski weekend on the North Shore. The conditions were ideal… crystal clear blue skies, temperatures hovering just above freezing, and freshly groomed ski trails. There were many people out enjoying the great skiing, snowshoeing, and sightseeing. Many guests reported seeing lots of deer and other wildlife back in the woods. The shear amount of tracks in the snow reveal that we are not alone out there. It makes one wonder about the nocturnal activities of the four-legged variety that must transpire after the two-legged brethren turn in for the night. A warm fire in our cozy lodge living room and a hot beverage awaited guests and visitors alike after a long day out on the trails. There’s always a lot of good story telling and colorful characters to entertain. It seems like everyone has a great story to share about their personal adventures in the great North Woods. Saturday also brought along a first for Cascade Lodge…an outdoor winter wedding! The Lodge holds many weddings throughout the year, but this one was unique. How cold was it going to be? Was it going to snow? Those questions were answered after hearing the weatherman’s report of mostly sunny and unseasonably warm with temperatures in the low 30’s. The ceremony held at the outdoor chapel was absolutely wonderful with the sun shining down brightly from the heavens. It was followed by a lovely reception in the main lodge living room. All in attendance had a joyous time and let us know about it during Sunday check out. It was very nice to hear about all the great experiences. A truly memorable weekend!