Spring at an Outfitters

     The days are long this time of the year but the project lists are even longer.  There are so many things to do before our guests arrive and never enough time to do it. 

     Every spring we are kept very busy…  Freeze dried food orders arrive and need to be put out onto the shelves in outfitting.  Souvenirs and clothing must be ordered, priced and placed on the shelves to sell.  Permits need to be reserved and we must drive to Canada to get Crownland Camping Permits and attend the outfitters meeting in Atikokan.  The USFS has a Cooperator Meeting where rules are explained and permit books are handed out.  Employees are interviewed and arrive ready to be trained in.  Sales people stop in and seasonal cabin owners return for the summer ready to visit.  There’s construction projects, painting, yard work and much more to be done. 

     All of these things must be accomplished in addition to the "normal" life activities of raising a family at the end of the Gunflint Trail.  Driving kids to Scouts or T-ball, helping out in the children’s classrooms, attending trainings as members of the Gunflint Trail Volunteer Fire Department, and attending meetings for the numerous boards we are on all take time. 

     Sometimes I wish we had endless daylight so we could work around the clock.  I think there will always be lists of projects to complete as long as we are owners of Voyageur Canoe Outfitters.