2/24/10 - Frank Hansen asked me to thank everyone who sent greetings to him on hes 89th birthday a couple of weeks ago. Since Frank and Mary Alice moved to Grand Marais a few years ago, they have really missed regular contact with all their good Sawbill friends. - Bill

2/23/10 - "Nordic Nirvana" is what we are experiencing at Sawbill right now. The local ski trails, Sawbill Lake and the rest of the BWCA Wilderness is in perfect condition for cross country skiing. Inspired by NBC's really good cross country ski coverage, we've been burning up the trails. The weather has been perfect, making it all the sweeter.

This space isn't meant to be promotional, but downhill skiing and snowboarding at nearby Lutsen Mountains are fabulous right now too. The snow is perfect, the weather mild, the slopes uncrowded and they are offering some very good lodging/lift ticket packages. There is also some fantastic music coming up at Papa Charlie's night club. - Bill

A perfect ski trail is a beautiful sight.

Cindy and the dogs head up Sawbill in the late afternoon sunshine.

The otters are enjoying the fast snow on the lakes too!

During the summer, we call the Forest Service airplane dock "The Sawbill Beach Club." As we skied by yesterday, we saw this sign peeking out from under the snow on the dock. It may be closed, but no one would mind if you wanted to swim there now.

2/11/10 - We were saddened to learn of the passing this year of Jim Baldwin, a long time Sawbill canoeist, scout leader, and father of Dave Baldwin who was a Sawbill crew member back in the '80s. Our condolences to the Dave and his family. Jim introduced generations of Missourians to canoe country and a love of wilderness. - Bill

2/8/10 - I just received an unusual request from a customer. He wanted our free map/route guide of the Sawbill area so he and his wife could use it to help find a name for their soon to be born son. Of course, there are many good boy-name lakes: Alton, Jordan, Kelly, Gordon, Karl, Roy, Slim and so on. There are also many other lake names that would be inappropriate to name a baby after, but may provide some amusement: Little Hustler, Kingfisher, Frog, Sucker, Fallen Arch and Clam, just to name a few. - Bill

2/6/10 - Frank Hansen, Sawbill Outfitters co-founder and my dad, is 89 years old today. His email address is mah@boreal.org if you'd like to send him a greeting. - Bill

You can listen anytime to Frank's weekly column on our wonderful local community radio station, WTIP.

2/3/10 - Ken Harmon is a talented photographer who often works in the Sawbill area. He was kind enough to share these beautiful photos that he took almost a week after the last snowstorm. The snow on the trees is still frozen hard, so the woods continue to look like a postcard. You can visit Ken's website for more great photography, - Bill

Lichen Lake

Highland view.

Lichen Lake.