9/9/15 – A canoeist from came in from a trip to Brule Lake and dropped off theses apples that he picked from a tree on a campsite in Cone Bay. He brought in four apples, but we ate one and it was delicious.
Brule Lake was pretty developed at one time, with several resorts and a number of cabins. There was also a lot of early logging activity on Brule Lake, especially in the 1950s and early ’60s.
Apparently someone planted an apple tree back then and it still survives. Over the years I’ve come across several apple trees that are seemingly planted in the middle of nowhere out in the woods. When I see one, I always look around and invariably find the remains of a cabin nearby.
These feral apple trees usually look terrible because the bears break them down to get at the apples. They end up looking like a low lying, gnarled bush. – Bill

Brule Lake apples.

9/6/15 – Otters have been seen all over the Sawbill area this season. Wildlife photographer extraordinaire, Tim Petricek, captured these playful otters on a recent visit. – Bill

Photo by Tim Petricek

Photo by Tim Petricek

9/03/15 – Everyone is coming up to visit Sawbill this Labor Day weekend- even the wildlife! In the past few days, we’ve had sighting reports of a bull moose, wolf, and bobcat near Sawbill, although completely outside of our store and campground areas. Unfortunately, the animals didn’t feel the need to stop for a photo shoot as they were busy minding their own business so no pictures were taken. The best time to try and see wildlife is around dusk and dawn- the bull moose and wolf were both sighted on the trail before 8 am. And of course, if you happen to get pictures of some of our furrier locals, we’d love to see them. – Britta

This Spotted Tussock Moth caterpillar was a little easier to capture on camera, especially since it decided to hitch a ride on Ana’s arm.

9/02- Last Saturday night, lucky Sawbill campers were able to peer out of their tents and view the smoky orange supermoon lighting up the sky above their heads. A supermoon is when the moon is in its closest orbital position to Earth and also is full, resulting in a moon that is brighter and larger seeming than normal. Coming up this month is the very rare occurence of a lunar eclipse during a supermoon, which is set to happen on the night of September 27th. The last time these two events coincided was in 1982. – Britta

The supermoon peaking out from behind some pine trees.

8/28/15 – This Friday, Sawbill is having a flashback with former crew members. A number of former crew are back at Sawbill working, either for another season, or just for a few days while they visit. It’s great to see what’s going on in their lives now, and their help is always appreciated. Of course, if seeing pictures of the wonderful time the crew is having in the roll and put pile inspires nostalgia in any other former crew, come up and visit! You’re always more than welcome here. – Britta

From left to right- Top: Brian, Nils John with Roy, Cindy, Ana, Jessica and Britta. Bottom: Buck and Andy with Phoebe. Photo credit to Claire.

The former crew members have some fun and laughs in the roll and put pile.

8/25/15 – Although our Kevlar canoes are much lighter than the more traditional wooden and aluminum canoes, the idea of wearing a fifty pound watercraft as a hat still daunts some people. However, we had one undaunted customer this week by the name of Hattie, an enterprising youth who wanted to carry the canoe by herself. She needed a little help getting the canoe up, but after that, she was ready to hit the trails with her new piece of headgear! As Hattie shows, one of the most important parts of exploring the BWCA isn’t your age or experience, but your attitude. -Britta

With her canoe cap and warm clothing, Hattie is properly attired for adventure. Photo by Brian Henry.

8/21/15 – Tom Doremus, long time Sawbill canoeist, sent along this note and picture today:
Hi Sawbill,
I was going through my dad’s things (He passed way last year), and found this. I thought it was cool. Don’t know if you guys still have such a thing.
He did love Sawbill and the boundary waters, and so do I. I hope to see you later in Sept.
Tom Doremus

My dad, Frank Hansen, created these certificates back in the ’70s. He gave them to people who experienced a lot of bad weather on their trip. We still use the embossed canoe on our stationary, although without the gold leaf. – Bill

8/20/15 – We recently received an email from Steve Gendron, who has been volunteering to count loons for the Minnesota Loon Watch, a program through the DNR, for over 20 years. He became well-known by the crew when his dog Bode went missing on his annual loon-counting trip. Below is his email, along with a picture he attached.
Hello Bill and the Sawbillians. Sorry for the slow response on the results of the loon counting, but here goes: Sawbill lake 4 adults, 1 juvenile, Smoke Lake 2 adults, Flame Lake 0, and Burnt Lake 2 adults.
Included is a photo of our dog Bode, who of course ran off from us on the Burnt lake portage June 29. Bode spent 10 nights in the BWCA/Superior National Forest before going into a campsite at Nine Mile Lake, 25 to 30 miles away from where we lost him. Since his return to us, he’s become friends with many dogs at “doggie day care” in Minneapolis and is learning basic commands and social skills- mooching cereal, lounging on furniture, and wearing sunglasses and “chilling”.
Thanks again for all the assistance we received,
Steve Gendron

Thanks for the email, Steve! We’re glad to hear Bode is doing so well. – Elena

8/18/15 – During the summer there are many opportunities to hear music informally at Sawbill – customers often bring musical instruments to play by the fire or down by the lake. In addition to more casual concerts, there are two Sawbill-sponsored events where customers and crew members come together to listen to quality, local music.
First is the Dome Dance, held this year on August 2nd. Crew members give the old dome a good sprucing up and everyone is invited for live music and dancing! If you don’t consider yourself a good dancer, don’t worry – there’s a caller and if you can follow directions, you’ll do just fine.

Partners swing down the aisle during the paddle dance

Ladies waiting in line

A former crew member is carried away during the paddle dance
The second musical event is the Songwriter Circle, hosted by award winning musician Jerry Vandiver. Jerry, who hails from Nashville, has recording credits on more than 15 million records, including songs with Tim McGraw, The Oak Ridge Boys, Lee Greenwood, and more. His songs bring together two of his passions, music and canoeing, with classics such as “Camp Coffee” and “Rocks and Roots.”

Crew member Logan Sheets joined Jerry, Frosty (a former crew member) and Bill for a few songs.

Olive, another crew member, sang a sweet song called “Emmylou”

Logan and Olive were then joined by a third crew member, Claire, and performed “Sittin’ on the dock of the bay,” which should have been “Sitting on the dock of the lake“- Elena

8/17/15 – We’ve had a couple of nice notes from Sawbill canoeists.
Adam Lindquist sent along this beautiful photo of a solo canoeist ending their trip at the Sawbill Lake canoe landing.

Photo by Adam Lindquist.
We are privileged to meet so many interesting people here at Sawbill and Adam sure falls in the interesting category. Aside from his real job as an investment banking consultant, he is a well known Teddy Roosevelt impersonator. Check out his cool website at: http://teddyrooseveltlive.com/.
Gary Hamer sent us this link to a slide show of his recent canoe trip starting at Kawishiwi Lake. Thanks Gary! – Bill