Boot Lake Ice Off 2017

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Thursday morning was beautiful here at the resort, with the sun peaking over the trees and illuminating the resort with a warm orange glow. One of the photos shows a beaver out for one of his first paddles this season, and stretching his legs after being in cooped up in his lodge all winter. This early spring is wonderful, as it gives us an early jump on spring work and getting Cabin 19 finished up! It seemed like the ice went off the lake quickly this year, going from the normal light grey ice color, to a dark blue color just before it started breaking up early this past week. If your curious, our lake association has the history of freeze up and thaw dates.  Check it out here!

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Sundog Over Boot Lake

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This morning was brisk, with the temps hovering around 10 below and the windchill about 30 below. I zipped outside for a few quick photos of this beautiful sundog before my fingers and camera lost the ability to function. The lake froze over this past Saturday, and with the last few days dipping down into the single digits, and nights well below zero, the lake already has 3-4 inches of ice out in front of the resort.

Sunrise with Sundog on Boot Lake, in Park Rapids, MN

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We’re not just dreaming of a white Christmas

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Like many of you, we’ve been wrapped in a winter white blanket of snow these last few days, just in time for Christmas!  We excitedly welcome the snow, as it means cozy fires, warm soup, a bit more family time, and breaking out our cross country skis!

The drifts of snow weren’t quite as impressive as some that made the news in North Dakota, but there’s something magical about fresh, untainted snow covering everything as far as we can see, and seeing the real life “flocked” Christmas trees all over the resort!

Two to three dozen trumpeter swans migrate through the area and visit Boot Lake every spring and late fall.  We enjoy watching them glide back and forth in the lake, sometimes stopping to feed right in our swim area!  They are particularly beautiful with the fluffy white backdrop!

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Building Cabin 19

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We broke ground the day after Labor Day on our new, six bedroom, Cabin 19!  Here are some pictures to show the progress.   The windows will probably be installed this week, and maybe even the roof!  We’re hoping to get the exterior all buttoned up before any really cold weather heads our way.

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Summer mornings

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There’s been a little taste of the approaching autumn weather with a few cooler mornings lately. We get excited, because fall is one of our favorite times of year as the trees burst into radiant colors around the lake, but we will soon miss these beautiful, warm summer mornings. We love looking out over the lake and seeing a thin blanket of fog over the glassy water and the warm sun rising across the lake. Here’s a couple pictures from last week that capture those mornings perfectly!
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Photo credit: Emily Vennerstrom
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Bike around Boot

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Michaela recently took a bike ride around the lake and took a few pictures of the sunset and wild flowers. There are some rolling hills along the ride that are beautiful, especially when the sun dips below the horizon and the fog starts to rise. The orange flowers below are Indian Paintbrush, which grow wild in many of the fields in the area. The taller flowers are Lupin, which are in the flower garden at the end of our driveway. They are stunning right now and have had an exceptionally good bloom this year.

Lupin Flowers in Sunset at Half Moon Trail Resort

Lupin flowers at Half Moon Trail Resort in Park Rapids, MN

Bee on Indian Paintbrush wildflower

Indian Paintbrush Wild Flowers around Boot Lake

Field of Indian Paintbrush Wildflowers at Dusk

 

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Crisp Fall Morning

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This past week, Michaela and I took advantage of a beautiful, crisp, fall morning and paddled out to capture a perfect morning on the lake. The tamarack trees are in prime color, and are one of my favorites this time of year.

Fall is one of the most beautiful seasons at the resort and we are excited to announce that we will be open through September next year. If you are interested in coming north to enjoy the fall colors, we would love to be your host!

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Thanks again, Michaela, for the great pictures!

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Northern Lights

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Michaela captured some great photos of the northern lights over the beach this past week. We don’t see them like this too often, but when we do it’s a real treat!

We have been busy with the fall routine this past week and a half, even though it hasn’t really felt like fall. It has been unusually warm for this time of year, so we are taking full advantage of the nice weather to get things ready for winter. It’s much easier working with the pressure washer when it’s 75 degrees, versus just above freezing outside.  The boats are out of the water and cleaned, most of the cabins are shut down for the winter, and the Adirondack chairs are all pressure washed and ready for another coat of finish.

Although fall is a little slower paced, there is still some adrenaline pumping to get everything prepped for winter and get a head start on maintenance items for next spring. None-the-less, it’s a beautiful time of year at the resort so we will definitly be taking some time to “smell the roses”;).

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Smoky Sunrise

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Recent fires out West caused the horizon to be a little hazy this past week. As with many other parts of the country, we enjoyed several amazing sunrises and sunsets that resulted from the smoke in the jetstream. Thankfully the air cleared after a couple days and allowed for beautiful weather most of last week. Liz’s family was up and we snuck away for a couple pontoon rides to enjoy lake life at its best!

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Gardens

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Our gardeners hard at work…;) We are very thankful for these ladies and all they do for the gardens. The gardens are in there prime this time of summer and look amazing! Special thanks to mom for all the hard work that she has done over the years in designing and building the gardens. We are working on learning how to keep up the gardens, but are thankful that mom is still heavily involved until we can grow our own green thumb!

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Photo credit to: Justin @ Bees-Knees Photo

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