Campfire - yes or no?

A lot of us are able to get into the woods for canoe trips each summer and we are grateful. It's fun to talk about, look at photos, and share the journey with co-workers when we return to the office. One of the things that I'm guessing a majority of the people do is have a campfire. I know some think that camping is not camping without the evening fire. You may use it for cooking and that probably means that you have to have one. But, have you spent an evening without one?

My uncle and I rarely have a campfire on our trips. Is it wrong? Of course not. It's our decision in the way we enjoy the passing of the evening. We are now accustomed to it and it's part of the routine on our trips. A campfire is now an "extra" if we decide to have one. Try just sitting on your Crazy Creek chair sometime and watch the sunset and be a part of the quiet. Without the firelight in your eyes, you can see beyond the fire ring. Watch darkness arrive and perhaps hear the last of the birds as they settle down. Then all of the sudden, you get to see and hear the neighborhood beaver slapping its tail as it makes its evening rounds. Sitting still, softly talking, and relaxing has given us many memories. Otters swim by, loons and mergansers float along the shore, and then you have that friendly red squirrel from the campsite checking you out. The northwoods is something special, indeed.

Some of you may say that this kind of stuff happens to you with a campfire and I'm sure it does. But try it without sometime. It's a different feeling. Use your stove for at least one meal and try this out.

What about all of you trippers that read the Piragis Blog. Fire or no fire? Any reasons why? There is no wrong answer, but it will be interesting to find out how people feel from both sides of the fire grate.

Drew (Iceman)

Out and about Ely in November

Today on the way to work I noticed a flock of Bohemian Waxwings busily feasting in the top of a Mountain Ash tree.

They eat together and fly off together.  Returning from lunch they were in a taller tree above the Ely Public Library and the flew off over the Post Office, no doubt looking for some more berries or a crab apple tree.  Often I'll see large groups of them de-fruiting a tree later in Winter when snow and ice blankets the trees.

It is a shirt sleeve day here in Ely with the untimely high temperature near 60 degrees.  Yes, that is sixty above zero, thank you.  The birds are out and loving the balmy temperatures and so are the people.  We are making lots of energy here today at Piragis Northwoods Company.  Our solar panels are running the few lights we need on in the store and most of our computers.  We definitely don't need the heat on.

For any of you who traveled up North and visited Ely this Summer, you'll remember that Central Avenue was torn up for all of the season causing detours and such around town.  Today it looks like the project is getting its final touches as they pave the edges and clean up.  New and improved drain tile underneath and nice new black top, new curbs and beautiful sidewalks on top.  No more road blocks and detour signs.  Hope the weather is as nice where you are!

Hiking the Northcountry (Steve Schon finally has time to leave his busy desk)

On a beautiful fall day last week a few of us decided to get in one last long day hike before the snow started to fly.  Nancy Piragis, Tobi Mackey, Sharon Svatos, 3 dogs and I headed out for the trailhead of the Snowbank/Kekekabic trail system off the Snowbank Lake road some 20 miles east of Ely.

Although not as warm as the week before and with a few light drizzles in the afternoon, it was still great hiking weather.  We started off through mixed woods and soon crossed a clear cut with great views of moss covered cliffs.  We also passed a huge beaver lodge with what looked to be lots of recent activity.

After about 4 miles we entered the Boundary Waters and headed south on the loop to Becoosin and Benezie Lakes.  There were folks at the first campsite on Becoosin and shortly after that we came upon a dead Bald eagle.  All that was left were some feathers and bones a few of which were sampled by our canine companions.

On the way back we checked out the short trail north to Pickerel Bay on Snowbank and came upon a fire ring that had either gotten away from someone or been left unattended with a large circle of charred ground cover and many burned trees.  It was a graphic reminder of what can happen to any of us when we are careless with fire.

While backtracking to our vehicle we again came across the large beaver lodge only this time there was a large beaver on top of it!  Of course I couldn’t get my camera ready in time to capture it before it ambled back into the water but did catch a shot of Buddy returning from his failed retrieval after getting away from Tobi and pursuing his quarry in the pond.  It was quite exciting for all of us on land and even more so for those participants in the water.

After 7 hours and aprox. 13 miles (at least twice as far for the dogs) we were treated to Nancy’s homemade pumpkin bars back at the vehicles.  Yes it was a tough job hiking on a beautiful day with 3 lovely women but someone had to do it.

Steve Schon

More Books Online at the Boundary Waters Catalog

 

Our Bookstore at Piragis Northwoods Company has some of the best reads you'll find.  Many of you might not know that for the last decade we've operated an independent full-service bookstore on the second floor of our retail store.  Piragis Second-Floor Bookstore is well known for the best of the best material on the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and Quetico Provencial Park.  Our local interest selection is unmatched.  Our best-sellers are cutting edge.  Our Adventure Literature is not only well-travelled, but many of the titles are books you just cannot put down once you've started reading.  We've also got strong titles and a great variety of selection in the following categories:  Adventure, Audio and Video, Book Accessories, Boundary Waters/Quetico, Canoeing and Kayaking, Children's, Cookbooks, Fiction, Home and Garden, Local Interest, Miscellaneous, Native American, Natural History, Outdoor Skills, Renewable Energy, Survival, Young Adult/Avid Reader and more.

In short, we've got fantastic books to satisfy the taste of each and every one of you.  If you don't find something you've been longing for you can even contact Anna in the Bookstore and she'll help you out.  Call 1-800-223-6565 to place an order or click the picture links to shop online.

This Wednesday if you listen to WELY online or in town, you'll be able to catch our new weekly Radio Show entitled "LET'S TALK BOOKS"  with Anna Shallman.  We'll go over best-seller lists, share our favorites and even have a few surprises and offers for listeners.  It is a weekly 10 minute show that will involve bookstore customers and their favorite books as well.  Most of all it will promote reading and good books.  With all the snow we're supposed to get this winter it'll be a welcome diversion.  Tune in, Wednesday mornings at 7:30 a.m. central time.

Outfitting Staff In The Off Season

Hi folks...

A good Monday morning to you. November 1st...can you believe it? It seems just like yesterday that we were getting geared up for a new paddling season. Now we are in full blown "fall mode".

Some of the small creeks, rivers, and shallow bays have some skim ice in the morning but by noon it is gone. It won't be long, however, until that skim stays on all day and starts to get thicker and thicker. Today should be a nice day...in the 50's and sunny. Umm...maybe I should skip work and go paddle somewhere. I could always say I wanted to go scout out a new route, that is work related right?

Often folks ask if Drew and I live year round in Ely. The answer is a resounding YES. We are among the fortunate ones. It definitely gets quite and the pace is slower, but after our busy summers that is ok.

We do manage to find plenty to do during the off season. We do some writing for marketing purposes. Actually, we also do a lot of phone and email work with folks who are already planning next years trip. We can start submitting permit applications for BW trips starting December 1st and Quetico permits as well. We start working on ordering gear and canoes for the next season as well.

We also manage to get in a few extra zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz's after a busy season.

A quick look at the rest of our staff.

Wade is back at the Vermilion Community College teaching. Brad is back in Hackensack, MN doing whatever one does in Hackensack during the winter. Adam is back in La Crosse, WI finishing up his Master's program, Vidmar lives in Chisholm, MN and does a variety of things to stay out of trouble, most of the time. Max is out in Colorado being a "ski-bum". Christina is working for Wintergreen Dogsledding for the winter. I will try and do a "Up close and Personal" blog on each of this winter and let you know how they are faring and tell you a little bit more about their lives.

Oh...before I forget. Just a reminder that tomorrow is Election Day, so make sure you get out to vote for the candidate of your choice. We need to exercise our right to vote to make sure we are a part of what is going on. I am sure that all of us can find something or someone to criticize with regard to politics, but we have no right to do so if we don't vote. Good luck.

Well, I really do have work to do, so I will sign off for now. Talk to you soon.

Bert