10/25/10 – This years crop of chickadees produced a very rare treat, an albino chickadee. It was a little confusing and shocking at first, to see a mysterious white bird at the feeder, but after having it around the feeder for a few days, it definitely seems to be a chickadee that lacks the normal coloration. Even though he has been hanging around for a few days, he has been fairly camera-shy. These are the best pictures that we have so far. Hopefully he will become comfortable posing for the camera in the near future. -Marc

The chickadee sitting on the ground outside our store.

A close-up of the previous picture.

10/23/10 – Sadly, the canoeing season is almost finished for 2010. Highs in the 30s and snow in the forecast seem to signal that the beautiful fall weather is over. Luckily, we managed to sneak out early last night to go for a paddle under the nearly full moon. All six of us in one Quetico 18 made for a crowded canoe, but I feel that it was more cozy than uncomfortable. Today, we decided to use the last good weather of the week to put our Kevlar canoes in the Dome for winter storage. Standing that many canoes on their noses can lead to problems, but this year it went off without a hitch. No one even ran into the garage door. -Marc

We set out from the landing.

My hat at the bottom of the picture proves that photographing yourself and five other people while riding in a canoe is no easy task.

The moon isn’t full until tonight, but it was definitely bright enough last night to fully light our path along shore as we paddled along.

Bill stands the first of the canoes up in the dome before sliding it into place.

Cindy spends some of her free time while Bill maneuvers the canoes into place tap-dancing around the cement floor.

Liz carries in the last canoe.

10/22/10 – The season is quickly winding down here at Sawbill. We’ve had a lot of sunny, blue days, but also some cold nights to remind us that winter is on the way. We want to sneak out tonight for paddle under the almost full moon. – Bill
We received two interesting pictures recently:

Jon and Denise Ward sent up this great picture of a wolf that they took a few weeks ago just a couple of miles from Sawbill.

Thelma Williams, from Cross Lake, Minnesota, sent a picture of a Turtlehead flower that she snapped in the Sawbill campground back in August. It is a member of the figwort family, which sounds like something Harry Potter would use for an invisibility spell.

10/12/10 – Jeff and Kelly Zwonitzer, from Maple Grove, Minnesota, long time Sawbill campers, sent along a note and few pictures from their recent visit.
I just wanted to let you know what a spectacular trip we just had. My wife and I decided to take a few days off and head to Sawbill for the second time this year. Our goal was to hang around the campfire, take a few day trips and just enjoy and recharge. It’s good to have goals…
We arrived Thursday, Oct 8th and headed back home on the 10th. Just a short trip but awesome to say the least. Absolutely great weather for October!
I also wanted to share some photos of the juvenile loons and some other reflection shots I took. The two loons seemed to be the last remaining ones around, at least on the southern end of Sawbill. I’ll be curious to find out when they leave. The calm winds and warm weather begged us to take one last paddle before we had to pack up and leave. So glad we did.
Jeff and Kelly Zwonitzer




(Photos courtesy of Jeff and Kelly Zwonitzer)

10/10/10 – It’s that time of year again. Crewmembers Leif, Sarah and Jessica and former crew member Dan Seemon came up this weekend for a visit. The four of them enjoyed the glorious weather by going out paddling on the lake and hunting in the woods. Last night, we got out this year’s pumpkins and had our annual carving contest. More pictures of fall festivities will follow as they occur. -Marc

The visiting crewmembers gut their pumpkins.

Luke contemplates what to carve.

Bill got out his headlight and chisels to perform face-surgery on his pumpkin.

Two of Cindy’s blind mice.

My hand-turkey, Jessica’s funny face and Leif’s Two Harbors logo.

Tyler did Sawbill proud and reproduced our logo.

Bill’s portrait of Clare

Sarah’s Jack-o’-lantern pumpkin

The whole group.

10/5/10 – The slower pace of the Fall season allows us to take occasional nights off. Last night we headed down the shore to go bowling at Silver Bowl in Silver Bay. Aside from having tons of fun and eating lots of greasy food, we also managed to bowl some fairly good games, considering our lack of practice. Luke and Andy both managed to bowl over 130 with Bill, Liz and I not too far behind. We have already started discussing building our own bowling lane in the Dome once used as the outfitting department, but we will have to wait until next year, when Andy, our resident carpenter, has enough time on his hands to complete the task. I can’t wait. -Marc

Liz explains how bowling scoring works.

Andy throws one of his many strikes.

Bill celebrates after his first strike of the evening.

Happy and tired canoe outfitters after a night of bowling.

10/4/10 – Yesterday morning, I heard a commotion in the shower house as I was walking in to open the store. A young grouse was trapped in the laundry room. Apparently, it walked in the open door, then decided to fly out through the screens by the ceiling and couldn’t figure it out.
I backed it into a high corner and climbed up on a table. When I reached out, it comically tucked it’s head under it’s wing with a very clear “don’t hurt me” attitude. I got it gently in hand and took it outside. Our two terriers were very interested, so I carefully lofted the poor grouse into the air, so it could fly to safety. To my surprise and consternation, it dropped like a rock and hit the ground with a thud. Phoebe was immediately on it, pinning it down with her paws and ready to have it for breakfast. With some frantic commands, I managed to distract her so I could rescue the dazed bird. I decided to put it on a balsam branch out of terrier reach. It immediately fell off the branch, again was pinned down by Phoebe – and another scramble to rescue it.
I guessed that dehydration and stress were causing it’s disorientation, so I sequestered the terriers in the store and carried the grouse down to the lake shore. It walked off in apparent good health and will be safe from hunters in the campground. – Bill

10/2/10 – Last week, Liz and Luke went on a trip to see the pictographs on Fishdance Lake. The two experienced an excellent trip. Moody weather made for some dramatic backgrounds, high water made for easy portaging and the pictographs gave them a view of history that few people get a chance to see. -Marc

These fallen trees create a natural arch between Townline and Kawasachong Lakes

Luke examines the pictographs

A portion of the pictographs in detail.

The beautiful sunset on Fishdance Lake

9/29/10 – April Knight was kind enough to send along this note and photos from her recent canoe trip.
The Boundary Waters is famous even down here in the Carolinas. I wanted to make the journey north in celebration of my new freedom from debt (years and years of student loans!) I have never overnighted in a canoe and was looking forward to paddling through all the pristine photographs I had seen of the BWCA. I did not picture starting out in windy cold weather but since my entry point was Homer Lake and the wind was due north on that day off I paddled….I was to swamp the
canoe an hour after this picture was taken. After that humble initiation I paid more attention (and respect) to Mother Nature. My four day three night solo journey took me past Homer, Whack, Vern, Juno, Brule, S and N Temperance, Sitka, Cherokee, Ada and last to Sawbill Lake. I camped the first night with a father/son team, Joe and Bobby Whiting of Two Harbors. I was to learn later that Joe attended college in the same town where I grew up in South Carolina- he and Bobby graciously fed me chocolate, soup, bacon and coffee. The next two nights I camped alone. I never felt alone, meeting others at the portages- a young couple out for six days with their fishing poles, a group of four Minnesotan men celebrating their 25th annual trip to the BWCA and the sounds of wolves and loons to lull me to sleep. Truth be told the wolves’ unfamiliar howling may have been the reason for those dark circles under my eyes the next morning! My last morning I made breakfast perched on a rock outcropping high above Cherokee Lake waiting for a beautiful dense fog to lift. The sight of Sawbill Canoe Outfitters was more than welcoming and I may have been responsible for the low supply of ice cream from their store’s freezer on that day! How appropriate it was to spend the fall equinox under a full moon back home but in a canoe out on a local lake! I will find a new reason to celebrate and return for another pilgrimage to Sawbill Canoe Outfitters again next year!
April Knight

Homer Lake

Cherokee Lake

Cherokee Creek

9/26/10 – Tyler’s birthday is tomorrow. To celebrate, his family came up from Duluth for a visit and grouse hunt. The hunting party came home with two grouse to go with mom’s birthday cake. Who could ask for a better birthday present than a successful hunt and two tasty birds in the freezer?

The Campbell Family