Merry Christmas 2014

We want to wish all our guests and friends a very Merry Christmas and a blessed, exciting, adventurous and successful New Year.  This morning we woke up to some snowy Christmas scenery.  Lightly falling flakes lay peacefully in the tree branches and brought us another couple inches of snow on the ground. 

John asked if I wanted to go for a snowmobile ride.  It was a nostalgic moment for me as the first time we met, we took a little snowmobile ride and many more after that.  We had a double intention for this ride.  One was to enjoy a romantic ride through the woods and the other was to pack some trails for Joanna to use in training her dogs.  We accomplished both.

One thing is for sure.  We live in a peaceful environment out here in the bush.  We hope to get our new outdoor camera up and running very shortly and put it on our website so that you too can enjoy the winter scenery here at Agimac camp.  So... stay tuned.  :)

Historic Demoliton

A few years ago, John used the backhoe to bust up, smash and demolish an old two holer outhouse and then burn it to the ground to make way for our two new outhouses in the area of the campground.   There was one old outhouse remaining that needed to go.  However, there was some history to this particular outhouse. 

Several years ago in the springtime, there were two men camping here at Agimac.  We know them well and they've become like friends.  One of the guys went to use the old green outhouse.  At that time there was a bear hanging around camp and we were watching it as it would slowly amble out of the woods near the dogyard, hear the dogs barking and then decide to go back into the woods. 

Joanna grabbed her camera hoping to catch some good closeup shots the next time it appeared.  Soon we saw it come around the back side of the old green outhouse.  A group of us had gathered to see the spectacle when suddenly the bear stood up and wrapped his arms around the outhouse.   The other camper came running up to us to tell us his friend was IN the outhouse.   We all started to laugh at the predicament in which this poor man found himself. 

After awhile, the bear again walked back into the woods and the trapped camper came running out.  We soon heard HIS side of the story.  He thought his friend was playing a trick on him when he heard a scratching noise on the door of the outhouse.  He peeked out to see what was happening and came face to face with the bear.  He thought his best option was to stay put until the bear went away. 
I think it was a memorable trip for both of them. 

Now the old, green outhouse is history.  Today, John smashed it with his backhoe and burned it.  But I guess that's progress. 

Winter Is Upon Us

It comes every year, ready or not.....Winter.....that time of year where camp activities come to a standstill and dog sled training begins.  For me it's a time to catch up on paperwork, making changes to the website, emailing our guests, playing my guitar and cello, taking Joanna to dog sled races and reading a book or two.  The slower pace is welcomed, although being a Florida girl, I miss the long warm, days of sunshine.  Lately, the temps have been very mild so it's not such a shock to the system to go outside for a walk to enjoy the beauty of snow in the trees.

I thought it was time to show a few pictures of the new winter scenery we are enjoying now at camp.  I think our Wisconsin guests have had way more snow that we have already this winter.  I'd kind of like to keep it that way.  :)  

Surprise!!

Being U.S. citizens, we still feel that Thanksgiving is the last weekend of November.  We usually invite a few of our Canadian friends to come celebrate with us eating a filling turkey meal.  That was our plan this year as well until my niece, Holly Oberg, came up with a better idea.  John's brother Larry, wife Kathi and their four grown children, along with the grandchildren, all live in northern MN.  They heard about Cherish's new boyfriend Patrick and wanted to meet him.  So they invited them for Thanksgiving dinner in Chisholm, MN to meet all John's side of the family including his mother who had delayed her trip south for the winter. 

Holly called us one day to see if it were at all possible to come down for the day and surprise Patrick and Cherish as Patrick had been wanting to meet her Dad.  We knew we couldn't ALL leave because there were two house dogs to feed, an outside cat to feed and 26 sled dogs to take care of.  In addition, the generator would need to be monitored and the outside wood stove had to be fed wood.  Since I had already met Patrick and gotten to spend three weeks with Cherish in October, I felt John and Joanna should be the ones to go down for Thanksgiving, leaving Wednesday and coming back Friday.  It would be a fast trip, but well worth it since John rarely gets to leave the place at all.

For the next two weeks, John gave me detailed instructions on how to deal with the generator, having me practice starting and stopping it and reading the gauges.  He taught me how to best load the outdoor woodstove and when to check it.  Joanna gave me a long list of instructions on how to feed her sled dogs day and night and what to do in case of any emergencies or problems.  I was well ready for them to go and allow me to do my jobs.  :)

We were all so excited about the surprise, we could hardly wait for the day to come.  Finally, John and Joanna drove down on Wednesday, taking care of lots of other business on the way, and arrived at  the relative's house that evening.  The next morning, I quickly completed my chores and turned on my computer as they had arranged for me to be on Skype on their computer so I could also watch Cherish and Patrick walk through the door and be surprised.  It was like I was really there.  I kept laughing and crying as I listened to Cherish exclaim over and over how shocked and surprised she was to see her Dad and her sister.  I believe Patrick had a good time too as he spent time with each of the members of Larry's family and John and Joanna.  I just LOVE surprises.