2/15/09 – After two days of rain and above freezing temperatures winter has returned with style. This morning is crisp and clear with every twig and needle covered in snow.

Glorious winter day.

2/9/09 – The other day our terrier, Roy, came home with a Daredevil style fishing lure stuck in his hind leg. Fortunately, it was mostly stuck in his fur and not so much in his skin, so it was removed without much trauma. The question is, where did he find a fishing lure to sit on at this time of year? Of course, everyone immediately started finding humor in the situation with cracks like: “I didn’t realize the Roy season was open right now!” and “I wonder if he broke the line or if the fisherman cut the line when he/she saw what was hooked?”
Many years ago a distraught couple brought in their dachshund with a Rapala firmly hooked in its nose. We discovered that the same quick, painless method used for removing hooks from human flesh also works on wiener dogs. – Bill

Phoebe and Roy inspect the lure that hooked Roy.

2/6/09 –

Today is Frank Hansen’s 88th birthday. Frank and mary Alice founded Sawbill Canoe Outfitters in 1957. Happy birthday Frank!

2/5/09 –

Wilderness Classroom is a successful and innovative initiative founded by Sawbill crew member and guide Dave Freeman. A slide show about their recent Amazon River adventure will be shown in St. Paul, which may be interesting for all of you in the Twin Cities area. Here is the scoop:
Location: The Grand Ole Creamery
750 Grand Ave.
St. Paul, MN 55105
When: Sunday, February 8, 5:00PM
Phone: 773-314-3104
What could be a better way to get rid of your midwinter blues than listening to tales of adventure from the Amazon Rainforest (where 90 degrees is the average temperature) and chowing down on an ice cream cone the size of your head?
Join Sawbill guides, Amy Voytilla and Dave Freeman at the Grand Ole Creamery for an evening of ice cream, images, and stories from their latest expedition. They are back in St. Paul after completing the Trans-Amazon Expedition, a 3,000 mile journey by bicycle and canoe across South America. Amy and Dave can’t wait to share some their favorite experiences from this amazing adventure with you!
The Wilderness Classroom is a nonprofit organization that helps 3rd to 8th grade students expand and explore their world through live expeditions that are interactive on the web. Over the last 7 years the Wilderness Classroom has conducted 10 expeditions aimed at highlighting some of the world’s wildest places.
A $20 requested donation will help fund the Wilderness Classroom’s upcoming program (you’ll find out what it is at the presentation!). If you have any questions please contact Amy at 773-314-3104 or email a_voytilla@yahoo.com
Follow this link to let us know you are coming and to invite your friends!

2/4/09 – Dan Walch sent along these great pictures from his winter camping trip on north Sawbill a couple of weeks ago.

A couple of moose on the north end of Sawbill Lake. The bull will be losing his antlers soon.

A great grey owl blends into the landscape.

1/29/09 – One of the most common questions that we hear during the canoeing season is, “What do you do in the winter?” The truth is, that we mostly work in the winter, although at a slower pace than the summer and with some totally free time for vacation. Thanks to generous family members, we had the opportunity to miss the latest Minnesota cold snap by retreating to the sweet Caribbean island of Anguilla. Soon we’ll back in Minnesota, skiing, shoveling and bundling-up, but meanwhile….

Savannah Bay Beach, Anguilla, British West Indies

Cindy’s feet enjoying the view from their beds of sugary, pink coral sand.

Sawbill Canoe Outfitters business card posted on the wall in 2002 at Nat’s Place, a funky beach bar at Junk’s Hole, Savannah Bay, Anguilla.

1/21/09 – We received this nice email today. Thanks Mark.
Dear Bill and Crew,
Just wanted to say thank you for allowing us to get ready in your shop for our little winter expedition last Thursday. It was amazingly cold that first day & night, especially with the wind howling from the West, but overall, we had a wonderful time right through Sunday. We’ve ventured into the Sawbill/Alton/Beth areas the last couple of years and this area has become a favorite of ours for a winter excursion into the BWCAW. You are so blessed to be able to live and work in such an amazingly beautiful place.
I’ve attached a few of pictures from our trip. I hope you have a warm and fruitful rest of the winter and look forward to our next meeting hopefully later this year.
For the team,
Mark Kingsriter

Heading south on Alton Lake.

Yes, it was this cold!

Looking at Sawbill Lake from the east end of the Alton portage.

1/20/09 – Sawbill was represented at the historic presidential inauguration in Washington D. C. today.

Long-time Sawbill crew member Molly Breslin shows Sawbill pride on the mall in D.C. Molly is from Illinois and traveled to Ohio to campaign for Barak Obama after leaving Sawbill last fall.

1/16/09 – We are emerging from an epic cold snap. We hadn’t seen any territory above zero degrees for the last four days. The warm weather arrived today with a balmy high near five degrees.
Our first crew member for the 2009 season has arrived. Katie “KT” Nulicek graduated from college just before Christmas and agreed to come help us haul wood, shovel snow, price t-shirts, etc. while she waits for the other crew members to arrive in the spring and early summer. She was a crew member during the 2007 season, but had to skip last year to attend summer school.
KT is an artist, so she is not only painting nearly every day, but is enjoying the inspiration of our incredible winter scenery here at Sawbill. – Bill

KT Nulicek – happy to be on Sawbill Lake in sub-zero weather.

I don’t know how a picture can convey extremely cold temperatures, but this one does.

1/8/09 – Wonderful winter weather continues here at Sawbill. Cold, soft snow is falling on a regular basis. The temperatures have been cold and another cold stretch is forecast for the coming week. Of course, being true Minnesotans, when it goes below zero, we stop wearing shorts.
With two kids home from college, we’ve been getting some extra work done. Today, Carl Hansen joined the snow plow driver’s club. He did a good, careful job on his first time.

A common sight this year.

Carl displays wild excitement during his first snow plowing experience.