Weird January

Well this winter has been up and down so far with all the mild weather being followed by big cold snaps.  On Sunday the 24^th, we experienced lots of rain by the shore because it was so mild.  At the same time the rest of the North Shore away from the lake was getting pummeled by a winter storm that dumped 8-12 + inches in some spots.  The disparity between lake shore snow…very little, and away from lake shore…tons, is staggering.  One just needs to strap on a pair of XC Skis or Snowshoes and journey back into the woods to see the night and day difference.  As part of the 2^nd Annual Volks Ski Festival, Cascade Lodge hosted a guided snowshoe hike up to Lookout Mountain on Friday the 29th.  The weather was gorgeous and sunny as Matt led a group of eager snowshoers up to the top where they experienced lots of fluffy snow, a bald eagle, some deer and great vistas.  On the way back they encountered a gentleman at the mouth of the Cascade River who was spin-casting spoons and rapalas out into the lake.  When asked he explained that he had the gear, saw open water and took advantage of a beautiful day to make some casts.  This is the first report of someone fishing in January that I can think of since normally it’s too cold to even think about it! 

Lake and Cook County residents were shocked last Tuesday morning (1/26) around 10 am when suddenly all cell phones, out of area land lines and internet connections went down.  The explanation give was that a steam pipe down in Duluth burst and melted a Qwest Fiber Optic Cable Line.  Cascade Lodge and Restaurant’s ability to conduct business was shut down for about 12 hours that day since we really heavily on Satellite Internet, Digital Phone Systems and Credit Card Machines.  Our local radio station, WTIP, did a great job of broadcasting emergency numbers and updated information throughout the day and into the evening.  There is a pending investigation about this monumental inconvenience since Qwest’s original explanation of a burst steam pipe melting a fiber optic line is not supported by Duluth Steam Cooperative Association. They are the association responsible for all steam lines in the city of Duluth and they say no such incident ever occurred.  Mmmm…something smells very fishy about this whole thing!