This has been added to the community calendar.
For information:
http://web.mac.com/fhartman/iWeb/GMGathering/Welcome.html

This is an event I'm attending as I travel through Minnesota next summer.

Come on you Minnesotan's we want to see you there. Nancy and I have a bet. She thinks it would be a small turnout due to the northern lattitude and the season...Mid-June. I say Minnesotan's are hearty people and used to the weather, plus where are Scamp made....Minnesota.

Hey, I'm coming from sunny California and the Minnesota weather is not going to bother me. In fact, I will have been as far north as International Falls prior to this gathering.

Oops I don't play fair with regard to our bet, solicting attendence.

I want to see those of you I've met in past years and those of you that I haven't met in person. So, be sure to put January on your calendar and make a reservation....you can always cancel later. Don't wait until the last minute.

We will surly be there

Attention travelers. Just noticed that Grandma's Marathon will be held in Duluth June 21. Anyone coming to the Gathering will want to avoid Duluth and the North Shore from the 19th to the 22 unless you have very firm reservations and enjoy large crowds of people. You don't want to drive the area Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. This is a huge event. They even close a bit of the interstate in Duluth on Saturday. We do not like to be in town that weekend. Beware with your travel plans.

Nancy

Hi;
Grand Marais is a good size campground. When we make reservations what part of the campground should we be trying to get site?

After January 1 we can register. I tried using their email to ask questions, we contacted the web people to let them know their email link does not work.

Make reservations at 1-800-998-0959, or 218-387-1712. These numbers are from their map, maybe a visit to their web site is in order. http://www.grandmaraisrvparkandcampground.com

Only certain sites can be reserved. For starters:

Water, Electricity, & Sewer site numbers:

44W, 43W, 42W, 41W, 68W, 67W, 66W, 65W, 64W, 63W, 62W, 61W,
56-60
101W (short pull through, maybe 13) 102,103,104,105,106,107,108,109,116,117,118,119,120,121,122

Water and Electric sites:

29W-35W, 45-47W 69-78W 82-89, 92-100W

More water and electric sites are 110-155 156-162

There are a few primitive sites too. 52-55. When we were up there I made a note that 55 and 56 sort of share a site. I guess I couldn't visualize where one site started and ended.

When you call for your reservations ask for information about the site. Some sites are small, lots are right with your neighbor, some you can pull through, most are back in.

When Joy and I talked we sort of thought to go out from the lake sites. Taking 29-35 and 45-47, 69-73. Pat, if you have any better suggestions let us know. One of the questions I asked in email (I'll follow up later since they are not responding) is if there is a campsite that would be good to dedicate as a campfire site. We have to keep the fires in the grates and none of the sites are very good for campfire gathering. They have a lovely covered picnic area with a fireplace on the lake. The problem is the fireplace is 4 feet off the ground and the wind from the lake could be quite uncomfortable. Not like sitting around a fire pit on the ground.

Hope to see lots of people there. Joy and I have a wager going on how many will come. I think I'll owe her a dinner.

Nancy

Thank you Nancy. I have not been to Grand Marais. I did check out the map and saw the campground was big. I now have some sites numbers to try and get. We have to wait until after Christmas to see if any of the Grandkids are getting married in 2008. They have until January 1, 2008, then we are making reservations for the Summer travel season.

The reason I asked was at Federal Dam last June we were spread out. I am not sure I meet everyone. I will try to bring my bike.

Hi Pat,

Most people love Grand Marais. The campground is municipal, they pack in a lot of "campsites" in the area. I think people who go to Grand Marais probably don't spend a lot of time at their campsite. The village is lovely with a couple of art places, several eating places; small and charming. For people who like to walk or hike, stroll around the shoreline, look at the water, it is great.

It is not camping like Federal Dam. You will be very close to your neighbor. We "camp" at Grand Marais because we like to do so many things in the area.

Unlike Federal Dam we will have a nice recreation building where we can gather. That was the only thing I thought the Federal Dam campground lacked. We didn't make it to that gathering. If you had trouble with the mosquitoes you won't in Grand Marais. It will be much cooler and the lake breeze should keep the pests away.

Later I'll post where it is friendly, on the way up the shore, to stop while pulling a trailer.

Hope you will be able to make it.

Nancy

I spoke with a lady at Grand Marais, early last summer, inquiring about having our group there and being able to put us together. She said June is a slow month and there should be to problem with it. I plan to call her on January 2 reminding her that we'll tell everyone to state that they are with the Fibreglas Rally. She can then suggest sites that are close to one and other.

SO EVERYONE......JANUARY IS JUST A WEEK AND A HALF AWAY.

DON'T WAIT UNTIL LATER...MAKE YOUR RESERVATIONS NOW....

YOU CAN ALWAYS CANCEL IF SOMETHING COMES UP.

Well Nancy, if for some reason, you find yourself stuck in Duluth that Saturday, grab a table on the patio at Sir Benedicts, spring for a cool one, and enjoy the festivity and the runners, while looking out on Lake Superior. You'll find me playing bass there with some fiddle players. See you in Grand Marais.

David

HELLO EVERYONE!!!!!

It's time to make your reservations for Grand Marais, I did. I'm in site 31W coming in on June 11 and out on June 16. I was told there have been about 6 folks who have registered as of this morning. I was very happy when I returned from a trip to the Rose Bowl Parade and found an email from some old friends who have registered and are coming to Grand Marais. So whether you are an old friend or not, come on up. You'll be our new friends in a heart beat.

I want to win the bet with Nancy so please please please register and come join us at wonderful, beautiful Grand Marais, Minnesota. How's that for a promotion and I've never been there.

Wwe have site 33w

Site 35 here

Dave and Diane

We've reserved site 46w. We stopped for lunch in Grand Marais a few years ago and have been looking forward to seeing it and the Gunflint Trail since then.

We are in 156.

Ted and May Ager

I gotcha on my list.

Joy

I think I might try to make it. Think a Casita could sneak in among all you Scampers?
Joy, you might want to bring your long underwear, there just might be some snow way up there yet in June, Burrrrrrrrrr Nancy, what do you think............snow or not?

Karalyn,

Sure a Casita is welcome....we welcome everyone. When you make your reservations please let us know what site you'll be in, arrival/departure date, age and make of rig and where you are from. Nosey aren't we. Oh, and last name.

It is apt to be cold hopefully no snow. I just made an alternate itinerary as I was thinkig about going up the west side of MN as far a Int'l Falls through Virginia/Ely and on to Grand Marais. I've made the alternate itinerary with me going from SW MN diagonally to Grand Marais then over to Int'l Falls and down diagonally to SE MN before crossing into WI. Who knows I might even miss all of Northern MN if there is snow, I won't pull in snow. We'll see.

We've got 11 reservations as of right now. Karalyn you could make it 12.

Karalyn, There is another Casita registered so you won't be alone.

Joy, we are just joking about the snow. It would be really odd to have flurries in June. Cool weather yes. Fog, yes. I actually prefer June to July. I'll take June any day over July.

Nancy

We stopped at Grand Marais on our shakedown cruise after picking up our Scamp in 2004. Very nice place!

So Patrick, I presume that's a picture of GM......what site were you in???

Yep, that's the park and my best guess is we were in 152W, or there about. What a great area to visit, and we particularily liked visiting the Grand Portage. Sorry we can't join you guys, you will have a blast!

Joy. We have site 29W, arriving w/ new Scamp 5th wheel on the 12th, departing on the 16th. David and Sharon Craig -- Duluth.

Yippee!!! Hooray!!!!

I WIN LUNCH.

We have 20 trailers registered.

Now while that's a great number, we can do better.


Look forward to seeing you at Grand Marais.

How many do we have so far?
We are in, and staying at 162W. Hope to get there Tues the 10th, and leave on Sun the 15th.
Is anyone going to Canada? We went and apply and rec'd our passports so we could see Canada too on this trip. 1st timers here in this area and we want to check out some of the sights.
Bill and Greg

Yeap, you've been on my list for quite some time.

We are currently up to 22 registered with me. There are a couple of gaps in the campsites and I will check with GM tomorrow to see if the sites are vacant or some of our folks. The campground has been good at putting us together so I would surmise that these sites are people who haven't contacted Nancy or I.

There's still about 4 months until the gathering so we think we'll get more attendees as the time gets closer.

As far as Canada goes, I'm going to take a day trip up to Grand Portage area and cross into Canada and then back. I was going to go into Canada when leaving Michigan in August but I've decided to turn for home. A nearly 3 month trip is long enough. Equating litres to gallons and any dollar conversion, gas in Canada has always been a good $1.00 higher. We are $3.23 here so BC is most likely $4.23. The $1.00 difference is my experience between California and British Columbia/Alberta. If gas is $4 or so by summer, I'm not willing to spend much time in Canada at $5 per gallon.

I stayed in that campground last May by myself, right by the water, and had a wonderful time. It was pretty cold even then - Lake Superior will do that. Well, it was cold until the smoke and hot air blasts from the Gunflint Trail wildfires pushed the temperature up to almost 90. And then back down to 55, and then back up to 90. I have nothing but admiration for the community, which pulled together in the face of a really awful disaster. Be sure to pack a radio, if you're up there - they have the most delightful community radio station, which performed heroically in keeping everyone aware of what was going on. It's hard to listen to that radio station, though, and not just up and move to the north shore...

Grand Marais is a neat little town, with a bunch of coffee shops and shopping and a really great co-op (translation: natural foods store, for you non-minnesotans). And the whole town is within walking distance of the campground, which is great because I bet parking is hard to find in the high season.

Right next to the campground is the North House Folk School, which is quite a big operation, and offers classes in everything from building your own log cabin to handcrafting your own sailboat or birch-bark boxes, to fly fishing. I so enjoyed the class I took. I would really suggest you look into it, if you're going to be up that way anyway:

http://www.northhouse.org/

So Laura,

When are you making your reservation??? I'll wait to hear from you.

You know we'll be there in mid-June so it'll be toasty compared to your stay in May

Well, the weekend before, I'm supposed to be in Nisswa. The weekend of the event, I'm hoping to be in VA with the trailer, and then back to Northfield for a college reunion the weekend after.

Phew.

I'd love to come, but it's not in the cards. :-)

Well have fun in Virginia. I might do the Virginia/Carolina's and deep south in 2010. I'm doing big trips every other year.

At events like this, do folks ever pull out their musical instruments for a jam around the campfire? If so, should I shag along my bass? I don't wanna get left out, you know. By the way, what does "LOL" stand for...love of life? (I know, I know...new to the scene, here)
David

David, we were all new to the scene at one time! Check this out: http://www.muller-godschalk.com/acronyms.html

Thanks, Patrick. That website is perfect!...I put it in "My Favorites" for easy reference.
David

David,

By all means bring your instruments. We generally have several people with some type of instruments who even sing for us. The Lattimers are coming and he usually has his guitar. Not sure about others but we've told them to bring instruments. If you can't sing that's OK, we'll hum along.

LOL.....Laugh a Lot is what it generally means.

To date there are 25 sites registered with me. I hope to check with the campground this week for folks who are registered with them but haven't let me know. Maybe the number will rise.

Thanks, Joy. I don't know if Sharon wants to share the Scamp with a bass, but if she does, I'll bring it along. See you in GM.

The bass will make a fine addition to the 2 that I know will be there Don [Who sings and plays gitar] as Joy mentioned and Pete actualy Duane Peterson a great singer and player also and these 2 work well togeather with added bass what a group.

I haven't heard from any Peterson's/Petersen's. Not on my list of attendees. But hope they do come.

Not camping weather here in MN. This is in Duluth by the lift bridge
http://www.lsmma.com/webcam_large.htm

A bit off topic. This guy has fantastic pictures of Duluth and North Shore. Most recent picture on home page is a -50 wind chill Duluth morning. Then do a search for Split Rock picture. There is a fantastic one-of-a-kind picture of Split Rock with full moon behind it.

http://www.northernimages.com/

Where is the central meeting place? Is there one for the group?

Karalyn,

There is a rec center that we have reserved from 4:00 in the evening. If the weather is bad you will probably find people in there throughout the day as it will be open during the day too, we just wanted to lock in the time for the evenings so other groups wouldn't reserve it.

Mostly one should find people out and about. If the weather is nice I'll bet people who want to visit will be at the covered picnic shelter on the lake. Lots of us will want to sightsee, hike, golf (free small course), maybe some will swim in the pool, visit the shops in the village, walk out on Artist Point by the coast guard station, etc.

Hope that answered your question. The park is pretty compact. It is hard to miss anyone.

Nancy

Karalyn,

Are you coming? Neither the campground or I have you on our list.

On your way to Grand Marais?

We ate brunch at Black Bear Casino about 20 miles south of Duluth today. I-35, exit 235. They will permit overnight parking (no hook up, just parking lot). They also have a shuttle service that goes to FOND DU LUTH Casino which is downtown Duluth, within walking distance (for some) of Canal Park.

Just wanted to let people coming up I-35 to know about that. Later I will post camping spots in and near Duluth in case some of us want to overnight in the area.

Nancy

Joy, I was gonna book a long time ago, and then I had some bad news here at home that has kept me occupied since before Christmas. Long story, but just kinda took the fun out of life for awhile, and I have been working 24/7 it seems..
I am not as brave as you, as I don't travel far alone, and I hate to camp alone, but still tempted to drive up from the Minneapolis area.
The reason I asked about where people would be meeting in the campground is because I will have to bring my little Maltese dogs with (they are quiet) and did not want to be stuck way far away from everyone else and not get to join in on the activities. Dogs can be in the camper some of the time, but I want to be near the action if possible.
I printed out a map and then was thinking I would choose a site. I will look on the map to see if I can locate the rec center. Then try to get my reservation in like I should have done in the 1st place.
Will let you know.

Karalyn,

When you print out the campground layout use my prior post and cross off the sites we've already taken. You'll notice that all but 2 of us are on one side of a little creek that runs through the campground. If I recall the 2 on the other side of the creek, I believe, are in full hookups, not just water and electric. Having said that you'll notice that the Ericksons and Moffetts are in a block of 100's because they have full hookups.

There won't be a problem with your dogs and no reason not to be with the group. I've got my little Lily with me, always.

Thought I'd give a little window into the type of activities we encountered this weekend in Grand Marais. We just returned this afternoon, where Sharon and I spent a couple of days hiking in the snow and attending an Inuit Premiere at a local Gallery. We watched a soapstone carving demo by an Inuit man, Ohito Ashoona, who had a harrowing story to tell hunting caribou on the tundra a few weeks ago (I think it's called the tundra). We also witnessed the incredible throat-singing by two wonderful Inuit women(Siqiniup Qilauta), who explained every song and detail, had us try it in competition with the other half of the audience, and patiently answered every question we had of them. Finally, we heard a facinating lecture/slide presentation on the West Baffin Eskimo Cooperative by Leslie Boyd Ryan, where Eskimo art prints are made for distribution around the world, nearing 50 years of service.

As we were leaving town, we stopped to tour the North House Folk School, which is a stone's throw from the campground. Saw people building with wood, carving stone, and making yurts. They offer everything from constructing stone buildings and canoes and kayaks, to pottery, wood carving, cooking, wreath making, soap making, ethnic jewelry, and the list goes on. Maybe google it and find a class to attend while we're in Grand Marais (no, we have no vested interest...we just can't stop smiling).

David

David,

One of our attendees and his wife are camped at GM for about 3 weeks because he's attending classes at the North House Folk School. I've known of several others who have or will be attending classes there. I'd never heard of the place until I started mentioning the gathering at GM. The responses I got were something like "Wow, GM what a great place" I've never been there and I think I'm glad I chose it for the gathering. We're going to have a wonderful time.

I guess I should have included the websites for the gallery and folk school. They are: sivertson.com, and northhouse.org. Sivertson's have an incredible collection of Inuit prints and carvings to lust after. Around the time of our gathering (between 6/8 & 6/19), Northhouse offers courses on Blacksmithing, Celtic knot pendant making, Swedish potato sausage making, flatbreads, saami friendship bracelet, pleasure driving fjord horses (what beautiful animals!), handmade paper, fly tying, twig furniture, and spokeshave tool making. I'm sure more will be offered as time draws nearer. Courses fill up quickly, so get reservations in soon.

Our weekend was just a sampling. The natural beauty of the area is spellbinding, and the activities can include hiking, sail-boating, canoeing, birding, fudge sampling, shopping, and just plain kicking back and gawking and absorbing . Best to Google Grand Marais, and check out the area. I know, I know...it sounds like overkill.

David

This is what Joy and Doris will see from their trailer site:

These are two views of the interior of the Rec Center. Note that there are a piano and three coffee urns.