8/14/12 – All of us here at Sawbill are very proud to be the recipient of a very lovely review provided by The Paddle Junkie. The Paddle Junkie is a website dedicated to all things related to paddling. They take trips into the Boundary Waters each year testing different gear and routes. -Jessica

8/11/12 – Over the past week or so I have noticed a variety interesting caterpillars navigating their way around Sawbill. Up until now I have not taken the time to notice these sometimes brightly colored or hairy blobs of goo. This week I made it a point to pay more attentions to these little guys. -Jessica

Anna snapped a picture of this Fawn Sphinx caterpillar a few weeks ago.

This Virginian Tiger Moth caterpillar was found wondering down a path.

This Polyphemus caterpillar looks like it would be a tasty morsel for Timon and Pumbaa. A big thanks to the customer who helped me identify it!

8/9/12 – Chris Monnens was kind enough to send along this photo he snapped from the fishing pier here at Sawbill early one morning a couple of weeks ago. – Bill

It looks like the “Hallelujah Chorus” should be playing.
Here is this week’s edition of Cook County West End News from WTIP, North Shore Community Radio.

8/8/12 – The Ross family from Merrillville, Indiana, has been camping at Sawbill for many years. This year, the three Ross sisters spent a hard day fishing to provide a fish fry for their extended family.

Michelle – 21, Jill – 19, Julie -17 with their impressive catch. They report that they never fight with each other while they’re fishing because it is too noisy and scares the fish.

8/5/12- Though it has been busy up here, we have still found time to make it down to the dock for sunset watching and fish catching. – Anna

I took this photo down at the dock the other night while fishing with former Sawbill Crew member Nathan, his wife Belinda and their son Lucas. What a beautiful night!

8/1/12 – Well its that time of year again. Time to get your blueberry picking on. A few crew members took a trip down the trail to participate in some good old fashioned gathering. Sadly I can not brag up the crop this year, but if you are patient, it is possible to get a respectable amount of berries. -Jessica

Tyler shows off some of our blue treasure.

7/30/12 – Yesterday evening Sawbill crew members participated in a festive dinner after closing up shop. The theme was dress like another crew member. The prior week we all drew names to see who we would impersonate. Lets just say the night involved lots and lots of laughing. -Jessica

From left to right; front row: Snowbaby as Roo, Sarah as Roy. Middle: Anna as Anna, Cindy as Jessica, Meg as Cindy, Britta as Snowbaby, Luke as Britta, Roo as Bill, Ellyn as Crista. Back row: Bill as Tyler, Leif as Carl, Carl as Leif, Nils as Luke, Crista as Ellyn, Jessica as Meg, Tyler as Nils. Wow did you get all that! Try saying that three times fast.
Some of my many favorite pictures of the night include…

7/29/12 – Cindy noticed a spike buck deer under the basketball hoop this morning. He was looking at the hoop, then looking around the ground just like he was looking for the ball. When the rest of us went to look at the buck, it turned out that his twin brother was there too. When they couldn’t find the ball, they wandered into the clearing right in front of the store, in spite of barking dogs, cars driving by and people carrying canoes. – Bill


Looking west from the porch of the Sawbill Store.

Twin brothers think about shopping in the store.

7/27/12 – Wednesday evening everyone here at Sawbill got the opportunity to listen in on some very talented musicians jam. Songwriter/performer Jerry Vandiver, as well as local musicians Bump Blomberg, Eric Frost, and Bill Hansen entertained us for hours.
Some of you may recognize some of Jerry’s work. He has co-written chart topping songs for country superstars such as Tim McGraw and Gene Watson. Fellow paddlers may enjoy one of his latest albums titled True and Deep – Songs for the Heart of the Paddler. -Jessica

Music being played on the front porch of the store.

The jam session eventually migrated to the campfire. From left to right: Luke Opel, Bump Blomberg, Jerry Vandiver, Eric Frost, and Bill Hansen.

7/25/12 – Britta and I went up to Kelso Lake this morning. We saw lily pads, loons and these pitcher plants!


Pitcher plants are carnivorous plants that trap flies in their pitcher like cavity that is filled with liquid. The flies are lured in and drown in the liquid. They are then broken down by bacteria and used as food. -Anna