Deer Park Lodge

Sunflowers, fall colors, bears and salmon on the run.

Even though our temps have held pretty steady in the mid to upper 60's, the fall colors are starting to take over.  We took a wonderful drive yesterday on the Curly Lewis Highway - up to Paradise - checked out the Tahquamenon River Mouth campground, down past the Tahquamenon Falls and home again. In some areas, especially the Tahquamenon River Valley, the fall colors were really coming on nicely.  Lots of the small maples already were bright red. Some of the Birch were getting yellow and even the Tamaracks  were already showing signs of needles changing colors. We haven't seen a frost yet and it appears no freezing temps are being projected into the near future. [NOAA forecast for Deer Park]

Salmon are starting to show up in the Two Hearted River. The people fishing at the mouth are doing pretty good early in the mornings. Fish in the river are pretty limited yet. However, we have picked up almost an inch of rain over the course of the last few days and this will certainly help stimulate the run. It's only going to get better. After a very cold front came through last week the lake fishing slowed down a lot. However, the fishing reports the last couple of days have shown that fishing has indeed picked back up and the pike are being much more active than what they were.

Bear hunters are now out and about the woods. Heard of a big one taken off the CCI road last week that went 480 lbs. Three others were taken fairly close by this past week with those running between 160-180 lbs. Deer reports have been fairly steady.  Interesting thing is that at lease three different bucks were seen still in velvet. Seems a bit late for that but all that can change real quick. Bird hunting has been and remains very slow.

Talked to a friend that picked blueberries yesterday who was very happy with the quality of berries. And we're getting a lot of pleasure out of our sunflowers - peaked out in height and color.

Tourism sure has slowed down since last week. Weekends will remain busy with all the different user groups coming in. This week in the cabins we will have moto-cross riders, agate pickers, color peepers and fisherman (both brookies and salmon). It's a great time to come up north with a lot of options on things to do. If nothing else you can just sit back and enjoy the beauty. 

 

Hope to see you up north.

Mike & Monica

Book signing, loon sighting, and all the news that fits.

The weather man said we'd see rain yesterday, but it never showed up. Our records show that we have gotten 1.5 inches of rain since July 16. We are really dry. Surprisingly the blueberries seem to be holding up pretty good, as long as you look in the shaded areas there's still plenty of berries to be picked.

But, the upside is we have had nothing short of beautiful weather. A typical day has been in the upper 70's with bright skies and little wind. Last week we had a day that the agate hunters like to see in which the waves on Lake Superior were big and turning over alot of stones. (NOAA forecast)

Our neighbor, Keith, spotted a lone Common Loon on Muskallonge Lake, and got these great shots. The loon shows adult breeding plummage, and may be without a mate, or was visiting the lake to pick up a meal to take back to the family.

Nothing spectacular to report on the fishing front. Fish are being caught and fresh dinners are being had, but up to this point the big ones are still out there. We did hear a couple of reports that a few chinooks were already in the river. As for hunting, folks are running dogs on bear and also setting baits - a good indication there are a lot of bear signs around. Most hunters are very optimistic about the upcoming season.

Looking forward a few weeks.  We want to remind everyone of the fourth annual "Rock On With Lake Superior Agates" show coming up September 17-18 at the State Park.  We are told a lot of vendors have signed up to participate, including the usual folks cutting and polishing rocks. 

On Saturday, the 17th, Deer Park Lodge will participate in the weekend show by having a couple of special events taking place in the Deer Park Lodge General Store. First and foremost we are extremely excited to sponsor two local authors in a book signing day. Our friend Joseph Heywood will be signing his new book, "FORCE OF BLOOD".  His eighth book in the very popular "Woods Cop Mystery" series finds Grady Service nearing three decades as a Wood Cop with his team furloughed, partnered with a young Conservation Officer, and facing both a forest fire in northern Luce County and the "bleeding sands" mystery on the shores of Lake Superior.

Many of you will probably know our second author,  our neighbor and owner (with her husband) of the   West Bay Diner in Grand Marais, Ellen Airgood. She'll be signing her first novel "South of Superior". This is a rich novel full of heart and celebrates taking joy in the simple things, and the deep reward that comes from caring for others. The characters and the setting are so real and heartfelt that you will be drawn immediately into their world, and remember them long after you have turned the final page. Booklist says, "Airgood's engaging debut is the novel, brimming with quirky characters, that everyone who moves to a small, tightly knit town imagines he or she might someday write."

Joe and Ellen will be at the store from 11:00 until 3:00 on the 17th. Come on over and meet two authors who write about our beautiful northwoods, and find out why folks love their books. And to double up on this special day, we will have "everything rock related" on sale and priced to go out the door.  Please swing in and check us out.

Please note: after Labor Day weekend, the store will move to our Fall schedule: Open 9 am to 7 pm every day but Wednesday (closed) and Sunday (12:00-5:00 pm). Thanks, as always, for your business.

That pretty much wraps it up for this week.  Get outside and enjoy the weekend.

Mike and Monica