Spring Fever

Rivers and creeks broke wide open across the arrowhead region the past few days. Water is flowing from every nook and cranny as it thunders from higher terrains down to Lake Superior. What a site to behold, absolutely breathtaking! Air temperatures can vary widely from location to location this time of year. The popular saying “cooler by the lake” comes into play here. High pressure has settled in this last week or so and when the wind comes in from the north or northeast off the lake it has been in the upper 30’s, low 40’s along the shoreline. At the same time, temps of upper 50’s and low 60’s have been reported at inland locations. This is a unique phenomenon indeed. Use caution when traveling in lowlight conditions because thousands of deer are staged along the Highway 61 corridor feeding on open vegetation. These deer are patiently waiting for all the snow to melt at their summer getaway spots. Birders in the area are pleased that the northern spring migration of our “feathered friends” is well underway. Hundreds of different bird species are being identified around the area. Recently, this blogger happened upon a pair of Golden Eagles perched atop Lookout Mountain. The couple was watching for dinner down in the Cascade River Valley when I scared them off. The wingspan on these beautiful birds of prey is over 8 feet in length! A big gaggle of bright blue-wing teal ducks was seen swimming by the resort shoreline yesterday. This group was enjoying a sunny spring day with the rest of us. The ducks were already decked out in the rich hues of their summer plumage.
In staff news, David and Lek have returned to Cascade Lodge after spending the last 5 months in Thailand. David kept us posted via email all winter about their adventures in travel, food and way of life in Thailand. We are very happy to have them back. As you may know David is a great cook over at our restaurant so a very welcome addition again. Matt and Michael Jr. went to Lutsen Mountains last weekend to take part in the “Mountain Meltdown Festival.” It was the last weekend the hills were open, the crowd was huge, and the skiing was fantastic. Some years Lutsen can only open about 10-15 runs because of a lack of snow in March and April. This year however, that massive dumping of 15-20 inches of fresh snow on April 1st prolonged what was already a great ski season. Over 50 runs were still open and all the skiers and snowboarders could not have been happier about it! An outdoor BBQ and live stage music by local bands capped off an awesome weekend.