8/18/06 – Fishing seems to be picking up some as the summer draws to a close. Aaron Parkinson, a third generation Sawbillian, proudly displayed this large bass outside our store one evening last week. Just one of many big fish caught out of Sawbill this summer.

Great catch Aaron

8/18/06 – Ed and Chelsea Dancek arrived today along with uncle David Monos. The trio gladly posed for a picture to commemorate Chelsea’s first BWCA trip (Ed has been coming for 12 years). We expect to see six-year-old Aubri up here next summer.

Chelsea’s doing great mom!

8/15/06 – Another beautiful day rolled by as the summer draws nearer to completion. Carl boarded his flight to Norway this morning at 7 a.m. and is expected to arrive in chilly Hamar in about a day.

The last glimpse of Carl as he left for Norway.

This picture commemorates the union of former crewmembers Jeff Green & Laura Smith, just the latest Sawbill romance that resulted in marriage. Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Greensmith

The warm sun drew this little Garter snake out of his home and into the store, this snake was under one foot long.

8/15/06 – The fire ban will be lifted starting Thursday, August 17th. Fires will be allowed at any time within the BWCA Wilderness in the fire grates provided at the campsites.
The Cavity Lake Fire, the largest in modern history in Northeastern Minnesota, is all but out. The Forest Service is officially calling it 95% contained, but we don’t even smell a hint of smoke from it any more. The hard, soaking rain that we had two days ago certainly helped and it raised the stream levels a little bit too. – Bill

8/14/06 – Today marked the beginning of an exciting new adventure in the life of our youngest crewmember and Hansen family member Carl. Carl has left Sawbill to spend a year of high school abroad in Hamar, Norway. It was an emotional moment as Carl said his goodbyes but we all take comfort in the knowledge that Carl’s charming personality and winning attitude will contribute to an excellent school year in Norway, even if does not know the language! In other news the Sawbill area received some much needed rain yesterday and has only sunny skies in the forcast- Johnny

A picture of Carl from this last winter, Carl will get plenty of winter this year in Norway.

A map of Norway, note close proximity to Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea.

The Norwegian Flag. Red, White, and Blue are all present on this flag!

8/10/06 – Today was another beautiful day in August. The bugs were virtually nonexistent, the temperature was exceedingly pleasant, and everything else fell perfectly into place. The day also brought excitement in the form of a fish. – Johnny

This 21 lb. 45” Northern Pike was caught on an undisclosed lake in the BWCA Wilderness by fisherman Jonah. The crew has affectionately referred to this beautiful monster as “Jonah’s Whale.”

Another shot of the amazing fish.

A sunset over Sawbill Lake (not the pole that caught “Jonah’s Whale”).

8/10/06 – As of today, the route to Little Saganaga Lake through Mora Lake has been reopened. This was the only route that is commonly used by Sawbill canoeists that was closed due to the Cavity Lake fire. The fire is now 95% contained and is not expected to cause any further trouble. Below is the official notification about open and closed routes from the Forest Service:
Open Lakes/canoe routes:
The following lakes/routes are open for paddling & overnight camping. Not all campsites on these lakes are open. Closed sites will be posted as a closed campsite. There is no camping on Jap and Jasper.
– Alpine to Jasper (no camping), Jasper to Kingfisher, Kingfisher to Ogishkemuncie.
– Flying, Fay, Bingshick, Glee, Elusion, and Glossy.
– J A Paulson (JAP) is open for paddling through, both campsites are closed.
– Crooked, Tarry, Mora, Little Sag, Rattle, Gabimichigami, Agamok, Mueller and Ogishkemuncie.
Closed Lakes:
The following lakes are closed for the remainder of the season:
– Fern, French, Powell, West Fern, Peter, Virgin, Howard, Elm and Warclub.
Kekekabic Trail: The Kek Trail is currently closed due to the Level 2 Fire Restriction. When the restriction is lifted, the Kekekabic Trail will be closed for the remainder of the season from the Gunflint Trail traveling west to Strup Lake (near Kekekabic Lake).

8/9/06 – Ron Holtman and his friends have been customers here at Sawbill for many years. They sent along these great pictures from their trip last week.

A gorgeous sunset is the reward at the end of a long paddle.

The Holtman party relaxing at their campsite.

8/5/06 – The temperatures have finally cooled off a bit and we’re experiencing beautiful 80 degree days and cool evenings. We’ve even had a little rain during the past week which has put an end to the spread of wildfires.
Yesterday, Carl’s band, Freakers with Speakers, played in Grand Marais for the annual Fishermen’s Picnic and tonight Bill’s band, The Splinters, will take center stage. The crew is heading down for the party! -Corey

Homer models his new rainsuit.

Here we are in a 5 person frisbee circle with Carl in the middle.

Freakers with Speakers on the main stage at the Fishermen’s Picnic in Grand Marais.

8/2/06 – The sun rose with good news today as it brought both pleasant temperatures and increased containment of the Cavity Lake fire. The weather today was in the 70’s with a refreshing breeze from across the lake. The Cavity lake fire was also upgraded to 85% contained – although the limited fire ban remains in effect. This truly was a day sent on good intentions.

A rainbow that appeared above the store captured the eyes of many.

This friendly Dragonfly was nice enough to sit on my finger and eat Mosquitoes, which are near to being completely gone.

Today marks Homer’s sixth birthday. Homer is seen with his mother Daisy Mae, sister Cedar, and personal friend Izzy. Happy Birthday Homer!