Spring IS Coming

I think we can imagine ourselves paddling this canoe right about now. This photo was emailed to me by Seagull customers Ann and Steve. This is a "fog" shot on Ottertrack Lake. They are currently preparing for their 101 day canoe trip. Can you imagine that? How many of you would want to spend 101 days out in the woods? Or better yet, how many could afford the time to do so.

Temperatures have moderated and maybe this long cold winter is coming to a close. It has been a tough winter for everyone around the country. Maybe it is time for you all to enter the March Photo Contest on the Discussion Forum from the home page of our website. This month the photo theme is "Wildlife". Or, think about entering the Ice Out contest on the discussion board. The winner gets a $100 credit towards canoe rental or a cabin vacation at Seagull Outfitters. You can watch the winter ice disappear from the webcam shot on the home page.

Rental cabins are filling fast. We have changed our marketing for our cabins to accommodate shorter stays. You can also come and go any day of the week. You will find our current availability online on the website under the cabin site navigation.

Canoe trips are booking well too and we think it will be a great paddling season ahead. We are enjoying a little down time fishing in south Florida waiting for the snow to melt! Please email or call with any questions about your trip this summer.

Deb

Winter at Seagull

Quiet, serene, peaceful and calm! It is a great winter and summer wonderland in the canoe country. And the night sky is magnificent. Last week with the cool crisp nights, the stars were out in all their brilliance. We can star gaze from the upper level of our house on Seagull. It is spectacular. You can do the same thing if you head north this winter. The Gunflint Trail festival called Winter Tracks happens this Feb 4-13, 2011. Drive north and enjoy the Gunflint Trail winter.

Deb

January 2 at Seagull

It is January 2 at Seagull and we are watching the last Vikings game of the season. The weather has turned cold and we had minus 1 degree this am. The pine grosbeaks are happily eating in the feeder on our deck. The lake photo is shot south from our deck. The sun gives the illusion of being warmer than it actually is and that is a good thing!

It is time to start thinking of hiring staff, going to gift shows and planning for 2011. With that in mind, I wanted to give you an update in regard to the permit reservations for both the Boundary Waters and Quetico. We are still submitting Boundary Waters Permits into the lottery through January 15th. We can submit BW permits online after the lottery on January 20th. The phone lines for Boundary Waters Permits open on February 1. The Quetico Park is working with a new reservation system after the fiasco last winter/summer. The Quetico Park says that the new office equipment has arrived in Atikokan, will be installed this week and then they will be trained. I would expect that we will be reserving Quetico Permits by mid January if not earlier.

Therefore, for those of you headed to the Quetico Park this summer, please try and call me this week so we can get what you need. The same is true for any Boundary Waters paddlers that have their dates already. Or, just fill out our online reservation form on our website at your leisure and we can take care of things that way.

My stepdad Gene is headed off on a 110 day world cruise this week. I would love to hop on that boat. Instead, I am here waiting for your calls!

For those solo boat/kayak paddlers, we have added the Wenonah Canak to our line this summer. It is a solo kevlar prism with the capacity of a canoe with bow and stern storage compartments yet the touring ability of a kayak. It should be a great watercraft for any solo paddler.

Happy New Year to All!

Deb

Back to work at Seagull

Our vacation to South America is over and it is back to work at Seagull. We flew into Buenos Aires, Argentina and enjoyed the culture, warm weather and tango. We hopped on a ship and cruised to Uruguay, the Falkland Islands, the south tip of Argentina and back through the Glaciers and Chilean Fjords to Valparaiso, Chile. The scenery was outstanding. We loved Argentina and Chile and really enjoyed the king penguins in the Falkland Islands. We had 30 hours on the ship that make any day in Cache Bay seem quiet. We left the Falkland Islands on a very windy late afternoon headed towards Cape Horn. The hurricane force winds got the best of us and for 30 hours we endured 90 foot waves coming over the 12th deck of the ship and 110 mph winds. The captain sent us to our staterooms and it was one of the longest nights of my life. I didn't sleep a wink and really thought this was it! The ship was creaking and groaning with huge vibrations when the back or front of the ship would come out of the water and slam back into the sea. Surprisingly, my blackberry email worked throughout the whole ordeal and I was emailing my family and friends my last wishes! We couldn't see the horizon for many hours on end. Dave being a navy man, was more accustomed to this than I. I was never so happy to see land. Despite the storm, we had a great trip. We spent a couple days in Santiago, Chile at the end of the trip and enjoyed wine tasting at a Chilean winery.

Now it is back to work at Seagull. We are back in the office and happy to take your calls. I will be posting again soon with some permit/reservation info.

We hope you all had a great Christmas with Family and Friends.

Deb

Happy Winter at Seagull

Winter arrived with a vengeance and I don't feel like it has let up much in the past week. I was out in Phoenix and Mpls for a week and came back the night before it all started. Since Sunday, we have had snow and blowing wind every day. Evening temperatures have ranged from 0 to 16 degrees. Dave snowplows every day and I get to shovel the deck and steps. Life in the woods that most people dream of eh? It is very beautiful for sure, but I do like the more moderate temperatures and less white stuff. There is nothing quite like a Northwoods fireplace though and we are enjoying that nightly.

Check out our Christmas Tree in the webcam photo daily. We like to bring you all a little Northwoods Cheer and Holiday Spirit.

2011 Rates have been posted to the website. Reservations are coming in good already and know that we are here to help you. Call or email with any specific questions.

Deb

November at Seagull

High 50 degree temperatures in the woods on November 8th....unheard of! I like this kind of winter. Having lived on the Trail since I was a kid, I have had my fill of snow and cold. These temperatures are like May at Seagull.

I am busy working on 2011 cabin rates and changes. We will be offering published rates this year on cabin rentals of less than a week with a 3 night minimum. Johnse is working on the layout and doing a great job of it as always. We hope to have the 2011 cabin info live on the site soon. We are already getting lots of cabin interest for next summer.

Dave is busy electrifying the new garage and upstairs loft. Actually the loft will turn into some extra guest quarters with a pool table!

Our off season will take us to see the penguins in South America and the Falkland Islands. Just as you all come north to see the moose, we are headed south for penguins. It should be a good time and one of those "1,000 things to do before you die trips".

Dave and I were at UW Superior over the weekend to watch summer staffers Katelyn and Kayla play ice hockey. They play for Concordia Moorhead and we had to come watch since they were so close. (3 hour drive). Katelyn will be returning in 2011 for her 3rd summer with us at Seagull and we are very happy about that. We are hiring now for 2011.

The starry night sky has been incredible and Dave enjoys watching the stars each night. They sure do fill up the sky! Stay tuned as we update for 2011.

Deb

Time to Relax at Seagull

September was one of the coolest fall months we have seen. October is making up for it and we have had really nice weather. The fish are all confused and suspended all over the place and not biting. Dave and I have been out the past 2 days with no fish. We can't even find them. However, the sunny blue skies and calm water make for a relaxing, lazy afternoon on the lake and who cares about fishing. We are closed for the season and it is just nice to not be on a clock.

The otter has returned to our quiet bay and I enjoyed watching him playfully dancing in the lake today. Bears are still around and hungry and we have seen a moose or two as well. The animals enjoy the off season too.

Dave, Nick and Jake have been busy building and finishing a garage at our house on Seagull. They did a great job and Dave installed the garage door openers today. Our staff are all back to school now and on to other jobs. We had a great staff this summer and a good season as well.

Deb