travel Archives • words and images

Lodgings I have known: Arrowhead Lodge, Kabetogama, Minnesota

Posted on March 9, 2023 by dlschirfMarch 9, 2023

July 16, 2013

One of my favorite stays may have been the shortest. It wasn’t a choice, but came about serendipitously.

The drive from Superior, Wisconsin (Amnicon State Park), to Kabetogama, Minnesota, started late, after the summer sunset. J and I spent eternity passing through what, at night, looked like sparsely populated areas. It was a relief (literally) to find a roadside bar. When we arrived at the planned destination, it was probably after 1 a.m. — late enough to find the windows dark, the door locked, and the phone unanswered. It turns out family-run lodges aren’t like a Hilton or Marriott, with 24-hour desk attendants. Oops.

I was too tired to sit up or think, but I didn’t fancy trying to sleep in a car not designed for camping. Somehow I came up with the thought of calling around, which was not easy to do because cell coverage was weak and intermittent. It was difficult both to find places through Yelp! or websites, then to make phone calls. I can’t remember now, but I think i made some calls that went unanswered before I got to Arrowhead Lodge (still in the “A” section). A tired-sounding woman answered.

I quickly explained the situation and probably warned her the call might drop. She said she had space for us — hallelujah! When I said we’d be right over (before she changed her mind), she answered, “No hurry. I have to get dressed.” Yikes.

Arrowhead Lodge is 2.5 miles, or 7 minutes, from Sandy Point Lodge via dark rural roads. I didn’t know if I could stay awake that long. We made it after 2 a.m.

I stayed in a no-frills room with several beds to choose from, a fan, and maybe a radio — my memory is dim. The floor had a shared bathroom, in which several people (maybe even over time) had left assorted toiletries. I didn’t mind — all part of the adventure and shared outdoor experience. I didn’t see anyone, though, and several of the rooms were empty (open doors).

In the morning (a mere few hours later), we ate a great breakfast (al fresco, I think). Our perch overlooked Lake Kabetogama, which I’ve since learned is “Kab” to the locals, plus a flock of white pelicans. If we hadn’t been due to join a Kettle Falls cruise, I could have stayed there the rest of the day, but we left reluctantly. At the cruise departure point, J. realized his camera bag was missing. We raced back to Arrowhead to find our host keeping an eye on it while it took up a barstool. With our wee hours arrival and forgetfulness, she must have thought we were quite the characters.

Sadly, I took only a few poor photos at Arrowhead Lodge.

Sleeping quarters at Arrowhead Lodge — Arrowhead Lodge and Resort

Lake Kabetogama at Arrowhead Lodge — The view during breakfast at Arrowhead Lodge

White pelicans on Lake Kabetogama at Arrowhead Lodge — White pelicans

Later the owners, including the poor soul I’d woken up, sold the resort. The new owners have restored Arrowhead. which had deteriorated over the decades since its 1931 opening in the extremes of Minnesota’s climate. The first part of the video below shows the restoration effort and is well worth a look.

First part is about the renovation of Arrowhead Lodge

I discovered this Roadside America attraction in June 2021. I was going to look for it, but it happened to be on the way from the Ann Arbor bus drop-off area to Kerrytown. Amusingly, while most of my trips to Ann Arbor have featured great weather, this one was exceptionally rainy. I even got caught in a Gene Kelly-style downpour, minus the hat, suit, and dancing.

When out and about, if I remember I’ll check the Roadside America app (or Atlas Obscura) to see if there are any local oddities like Muffler Men. I found out there’s an unusual statue of Orville Redenbacher, the popcorn king and agricultural scientist, in Valparaiso, Indiana. This was taken August 15, 2020, when he was one of the people you could sit this close to unmasked.

Orville Redenbacher in Valparaiso, Indiana

Water feature in Furnessville/Chesterton, Indiana area

Parker Mill County Park

June 27, 2022

Nearly five minutes of tranquility (with traffic) along Fleming Creek in Parker Mill County Park, with guest appearances by an eastern comma and some barely discernible ebony jewelwings.

See no evil (“Behind the Walls”)

Posted on June 25, 2022 by dlschirfJune 28, 2022

June 25, 2022, third full day in Ann Arbor

I woke up with a charley horse in my right calf. Then I put weight on my straightened right leg and quickly took it off. When that nerve isn’t happy, I’m not happy — or able to stand or walk. I settled in with Stacy Schiff’s The Witches and tried to baby my leg for a few hours. Then for a few hours more.

That didn’t work, and my inactivity made me feel guilty.

Finally I dragged myself out. After a brief rest in the campus park a block away (yes, that’s sad) I decided I was up to walking to Nickels Arcade.

On the way I passed the State Theatre. I like the old-school tile although I’m not tall enough to capture the entire name. It looked like the theatre had been taken over by a Target store, but I found out later Target had replaced another retailer in the building, Urban Outfitters.

Coming attractions for the Michigan Theater (note ”er” vs. ”re”) down the street (Liberty):

I reached Nickels Arcade and thought I’d check out the Peace Corps medallion Roadside America claims is nearby. That required walking several more blocks south on State Street (hint, Roadside America: No, it’s not near University). I found the building but didn’t have the steam left to go around it to find the medallion. I’ll regret that, I’m sure. Well, here’s a Nickels Arcade marker instead:

I did spot this other Roadside America attraction across the street — it’s hard to miss. Whimsically called “See No Evil” by Roadside America, it seems especially appropriate for the times.

Another sculpture dominated the museum’s lawn.

Finally I limped back to Nickels Arcade for iced coffee and a cookie at Comet Coffee, to Sava’s for a drink and dinner, and to the park area for a bit of shaded rest before limping back to my room.

I don’t think I ever posted this marker before. It’s across Huron from the bed and breakfast.

5,171 steps so far at 20:24. I would have sworn it was at least 7,500. Each painful.

Ann Arbor ice cream and drinking fountain

Posted on June 23, 2022 by dlschirfJune 28, 2022

Ben & Jerry’s and Michigan Creamery are next to each other. Pick your poison.

Nickels Arcade because I like Nickels Arcade.

Finally, a drinking fountain I’ve not noticed before.

Not long ago I found a message in Facebook Messenger I hadn’t noticed earlier because it was from a stranger. He’d sent a screenshot of a photo, asking if it was mine and where it had been taken.

It was my photo, so I sent back a screenshot from Apple Maps based on the location data, which included “Old Hickory Lanes.” Later I found out there is a bowling alley next to the subject of this post, a house fondly known as “Old Hickory [Tavern],” or now more formally as F. W. Knox Villa.

The question roused my curiosity. Located in downtown Coudersport, Pennsylvania, Old Hickory when I photographed it in May 2015 was a moldering shell of a building whose open windows invited pigeons and no doubt bats in to roost. Fixed up some, but not too much, it would have been the perfect setting for a 1960s horror film. But you could imagine how grand it must have been in its late 1800s prime. It was a shame to see it slowly rotting.

I looked up Old Hickory (thank you, internet) and found out it had been purchased and is being slowly restored. The new owner commented people are disappointed to learn Old Hickory is not on a big lot in the countryside. On one side, it bumps up against the bowling alley, while the other is separated by a bit of yard from the Allegheny River, which in Coudersport looks like a canal.

The new owner mentioned a surprising lack of photos to help guide the interior restoration, then said someone sent a box of interior photos, a treasure trove. It sounds like the owner wants it to look as much like it did in its heyday vs. a modern makeover.

I don’t know what the owner’s intention is. Someone speculated it could become a bed and breakfast, which would draw me back to Coudersport (close to Cherry Springs State Park, an International Dark Sky Park). Whatever Old Hickory will be used for, finally the local pigeons and bats have had to move on.

More about the F. W. Knox restoration: Facebook • Instagram • Website

Smith Bros. Coffee and Port Washington

Posted on September 5, 2021 by dlschirfSeptember 17, 2023

August 29, 2021

J found out Smith Bros. Coffee in Port Washington, Wisconsin, would be closed permanently after Labor Day weekend. On Sunday we took a quick trip to stop there and a few other places.

It was a good day for me to be in an air-conditioned car — the car thermometer read 97ºF at the Lake Forest Oasis, where the sky was sunny and the atmosphere heavy and oppressive with heat and humidity.

As we progressed northward I noticed enough dark clouds gathering to obscure the sun. Near Milwaukee the skies opened up, accompanied by some lightning and thunder. I’m not sure how long the bad spell lasted — maybe 20 minutes. By the end of it, the temperature had dipped to about 78ºF — that’s more like it.

I found a slightly different route into town that took us past Lion’s Den Gorge Nature Preserve. It’s now on my list.

Our first stop was Bernie’s Fine Meats, which is the source not only of deliciously addictive but unhealthful garlic summer sausage, but also many unhealthful European sweets. I spent well over $100 there. It’s showing in the waistline I no longer have.

Smith Bros. is across the street, part of the Duluth Trading store, which will expand into the Smith Bros. space when it closes. I ordered an iced coffee and sandwiches to go, and picked up coffee beans and an insulated travel mug. Of course I posed with the fisherman sculpture which was installed in 2020. It more or less replicates the sign on the roof, down to the fish on the man’s back, but without the man’s pipe. Our health-conscious times!

Reservations at Twisted Willow were not to be had, so we ordered food and drove around until it was ready to be picked up, about 40 minutes. We re-found the light station, but more important we found Port Washington has extensive lakefront parks. This was a good time to find them because sky was still dramatic from the on-and-off thunderstorms in the area. We decided to return with dinner and use one of the many picnic tables.

After we ate the salad portion of dinner in a strong breeze, during which another rainbow appeared, J took a brief detour toward Belgium and Harrington Beach State Park, home to one of my favorite views on County Road D — a single tree by the side of the road that leads to a stop sign and Lake Michigan. Fail to stop at your peril.

On the way back to the interstate I noticed the sky that had produced drama and rainbows earlier now gave a fire-breathing dragon cloud. What a great way to end a great day.

Lodgings I have known: Willowbrook Cabins, Shawnee National Forest

Posted on June 17, 2020 by dlschirfJune 17, 2020

May 21–23, 2013, with a gap

The first and third place I stayed at in the eastern portion of Shawnee National Forest was Willowbrook Cabins, first in the Outdoorsman and then in the Hiker (separated by a night in Elizabethtown). I booked the Outdoorsman while at the Post Oak rest area. Planning is for other people!

My friend and I arrived after 10 p.m. and found ourselves in a pickle. The code for the door didn’t work, the owners preferred not to be called after 10, and I didn’t have AT&T service anyway. After we drove several miles away, I was able to get enough coverage to call and find out that we should have tried 0 to 9 for the last digit. The code we had was off by only one or two steps.

Both cabins were large, rustic, and basic, but had everything you could want for a few days in the forest — including a washer and dryer that came in handy.

With the decor, I could almost imagine myself in Minnesota . . . just needed more boreal trees and lakes.