Apparently Black Friday leads to White Saturday! Imagine my suprise after a beautiful Thankgiving and Friday in the low 40′s to awake to 2 inches of fresh new white stuff! It’s beautiful and still coming down hard! 3-5 in the forcast – let’s hope it keeps coming!

If you’re looking for a vacation as a gift this holiday season – look no further. We’ve posted some special packages you can purchase this weekend to give as gifts. Check it out on the hot deals page http://www.gunflintpines.com/special_package.shtml

This is a quiet time of the year at the Pines. The days are growing shorter and the snowcovered ground is actually a bright welcome to the early morning. Oh we still have guests now and then. Some are here to deer or grouse hunt, some to simply relax and escape the fast pace of the city, some to hike, and some just because it’s a great deal! We can’t offer all the activities of summer or winter so we offer our cabins at rock bottom prices just to help pay the utilities ($29 per person per night in the cottages, and $39 per person per night in the A-frames – double occupancy minimum).      

We’re still here catching up from summer, and preparing for winter.  This is the time of year that we clean all the cabins from top to bottom, washing the walls & windows, moving ovens, cleaning carpets, ceiling fans, light fixtures, flipping beds, washing inside and under the furniture. Imagine how much time it would take to do that in your own house – now mutiply that by 8; and with just grandma and I to do this enormous task! We figure it’s over 200 loads of laundry. (It’s no wonder I never get to my own house.) It’s all worth it though, because they smell so clean when we’re done. We’ve been switching to more and more green cleaning chemicals too as we seem to be encountering a few more guests with chemical intolerances.

I spotted a snowshoe hare on the way to the bus this morning.  This time it was all white with just a trace stripe from head to tail down it’s back of slight brown. The deer have been scarce this fall with few if any sightings. I am seeing plenty of fox though.

We have openings for Thanksgiving and it’s time to start thinking about the Christmas Holiday. Remember – vacations make a great christmas present, and we’re happy to send gift certificates!  Keep an eye on the hot deals section of the specials page!

The world was white this morning – at least here at the Pines that is.  I drove home last night into the blinding whiteout of our seemingly first winter snowfall of the season.  Sure we’ve had a dusting or two but nothing that has lasted thus far. 

Last nights snowfall produced a good inch of moist snow. The kind that looks white and fluffy, until you step or drive on it.  Then it packs into a slippery glass like surface – sending car wheels spinning and people slipping on their heels. I’m not sure yet if this is “it”, meaning the beginning of the 2011/12 winter season or not. 

It’s nice to have a little snow on the ground for the deer hunters to be able to see tracks though.  The deer season has been a bit tough this year so far.   We can’t tell if they’re not moving yet since it’s been relatively warm or if the wolf poplulation is just that much higher.  So far we’ve registered a 10 pt, a 4 pt and a button buck, but we’ve seen and 8 wolf pack chasing a doe.

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