Mountain View Blog

Did you used to stay here?  We get this question a lot!  And the answer is a resounding YES!

“On our way to the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park to do some hiking of the more than 87 miles of trails, play at the waterfalls, see Lake of the Clouds and eve visit a Bear’s Den, we passed Mountain View Lodges.”  You may recall that this is how the Blog ended before the interruption.

Rick decided to stop and check out the “cabins”.  I, on the other hand, was not interested at all.  So while the kids and I waited in the car he went to take a look.  The cabins were all reserved, but they did have one to show that had not yet checked-in.  The next thing I know he is back at the car telling me, “You have to come and take a look!”  I reluctantly agreed.  Well, I waked in and was completely surprised.

Previously my only “cabin” experience was when I was a child and my family took a vacation in the northwoods.  We had to bring all of our own sheets, blankets, pillows, food, toys, etc.  We arrived at a rustic cabin on a little lake and my mom seemed constantly busy cooking, cleaning and anything else that needed to be done, and it rained the entire week.  So, while I do have the memory, it is not something I was anxious to relive.

Thankfully as I walked through the door of Cabin 106, I was greeted by something I had not expected.  Two bedrooms, full kitchen, comfortable living room, full clean bathroom, screen porch, deck and of course, a beautiful view of Lake Superior just 100′ away.  Needless to say, we were all hooked.  We made our reservations for the following year!

From that point on our vacation s were all to Mountain View Lodges and the Porcupine Mountains.  We fell in love with the area, the cabins and Lake Superior.  During our vacation in the summer of 2003, as we drove in from hiking in the Porkies, the owners, Becky and Gary, were sitting out front on a swing enjoying an iced tea.  Rick pulled up, rolled down the window, and said; “One day this is what I am going to be doing.”  Gary’s reply was; “Get out your check book.”  Rick said; “You would never sell this place.”  To which we were told; “We just listed it last week!”

That statement wrecked the rest of my vacation as we attempted to piece together a way to make the dream a reality.

We interrupt this Blog…

The next question: “Did you ever stay here?” has been interrupted for another question…

Do you ever see any wildlife?

The answer is YES!  As winter gives way to spring, the forest is bursting with new arrivals.  The trees are budding, fronds of the fiddlehead fern are unfurling, the first signs of the wildflowers are poking up from the soil, the new born fawns are trying to find their footing and the black bear are rising from their long winter slumber.

Summer is the most active time of year.  The visitors are out hiking the hundreds of miles of trails in search of the roaring waterfalls and scenic vistas of the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park and the Ottawa National Forest.  But the visitors come in many species.  The newly born fawn are learning to navigate the forest and, oh yes, the black bear are out searching for their next meal.  It is not everywhere you can walk down the side of the road with the possibility of passing a bear walking down the other side!

Bear love to eat!  They love to eat bird seed.  Seems an odd choice, but nevertheless, it does seem to be a favorite.  This is why bird feeders are taken down and brought inside at night, the time the bears most frequently search for a midnight snack.  How they find the feeders is still something of a mystery to me.  But they also find the seed where you least expect.

Over the winter and spring we regularly feed the birds and the seed is kept in an outside storage trunk on the deck in front of our sliding glass door.  As summer began and the birds found other sources for food and the bears were making their way out of the dense forest, we took down the bird feeders.  However, we forgot all about the remaining seed in the storage trunk.

Shortly after midnight a loud thunk sent us to look out the sliding glass door.  At first we didn’t see anything.  Then we noticed the storage trunk, 4x2x2, was laying in the backyard and no longer on the deck!  Upon further inspection over the railing, there he was, a 400-500 pound black bear not 20 feet from our door munching away on the forgotten seed!  Can’t believe it?  Check out the video!

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Stay tuned next week for our regularly scheduled blog…

Welome to the Mountain View Lodges & Gallery Blog!

Chapter 2

How did you find this place? 

It is true that Mountain View Lodges and the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park are off the beaten path.  One needs to be seeking to find.

For many years when your children were young, we vacationed in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.  But since we were living in Fort Wayne, Indiana, we usually headed straight up to Sault Ste. Marie.  We toured the locks.  Took trips across the bridge into Canada, where we visited Lake Superior Provincial Park and viewed the pictographs.  We even took the train ride through the Agawa Canyon, two of us loved it, two of us were bored and one was just a nervous wreck.

This trip piqued our curiosity.  What is on the North side of Lake Superior?  So in 1999, we decided to find out.  With a two year old, an eleven year old and a thirteen year old we hit the road on our Circle the Lake tour.  If you are looking for unabashed wilderness that is what you will find on the North shore of the Lake!  Nothing but trees for hundreds and hundreds of miles!

Our destination was to be Thunder Bay, Canada.  So after twelve hours in the car, with three girls, we were more than ready to settle in to our accommodations for the week.  Upon arrival, we found that a police convention had come to town and there was not a room left anywhere!  Nothing for more than two hundred miles.  We decided to stop for a much needed break, eat dinner and rethink our plan.  Since Thunder Bay turned out to be a much bigger city than we had anticipated and we were really looking for more solitude, we opted to fill up our stomachs and fuel up the car and head on.

When it began to get dark and we had still not found a place to stay, the rest area in Minnesota was calling our names.  Rick had already been driving more than 12 hours and we were all exhausted.  Another thing we can attest too is that in late July it is too warm in Minnesota to have five people sleeping in the car with the windows rolled up and too buggy to have them down.

As dawn broke, we continued on in search of a place to have breakfast.  As we dined we also perused the map.  Where to next?  Rick’s vote was home!  But us girls convinced him we would still be able to pull a vacation together.  On the map we found some small dots labeled Apostle Islands.  Sounded like fun.  So off we went.  We pulled into a darling little hotel in Bayfield, Wisconsin.  The proprietor was quick to inform us that it was July!  Everything is full in July.  He was feeling a bit sorry for us and did offer to call someone he knew on Madeline Island that had condos.  Yes!  He did have on condo, right on the shore of Lake Superior for two nights.  We were welcome to take the ferry over and check in.  The cost of those two nights pretty much ate up our entire vacation budget, but my nervous one and I loved it!  Especially the ferry ride to the island.

As if the universe was bound and determined to get our attention, we saw a glorious sunset and it was followed by a waterspout (a non-supercell tornado over water).  This knocked out all of the power to the island, and when an island doesn’t have power, you don’t have water either.  By morning all was back to normal and we spent the day exploring the town, library and lagoon.  But then it was quickly time to find our next destination.

Once again pulling out the map, we saw the Porcupine Mountains.  As I mentioned before, we lived in Colorado for a few years, so mountains sounded very appealing.  What we found, along the way, is that the shore of Lake Superior is beautiful.  We pulled into Silver City, Michigan and right on the corner was a Best Western.  Rick headed directly there and reserved a room for the balance of the week.  Everyone was pleased we would have a place to lay our heads, it was time to explore.

On our way to the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park to do some hiking of the more than 87 miles of trails, play at the waterfalls, see Lake of the Clouds and even visit a Bear’s Den, we passed Mountain View Lodges.

We just had to stop and check it out!

Chapter 1

So Many Questions…

Over the years, we have had the pleasure of hosting thousands of guests at our cabins on Lake Superior.   And this also means lots of questions.  We will begin by answering some of the basics right here.  We welcome your questions and comments.  Be sure to post your questions and follow the latest updates and happenings at www.facebook.com/mtnviewlodges.

Are you from the area?  Many guests have wondered if we have always lived in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, more affectionately known as the U.P.  Did we grow up here and take over the “family” business?

Well, the answer is no.  Rick and I are actually from the Chicago area.  We have also lived in Colorado and Indiana.  While we have not lived in Illinois for nearly thirty years, we do still have family there and visit each year.

We have learned that the only “true Yoopers” are those who were born in the U.P.  But, there are many of us “transplants” who now call this little corner of the world our home.  After all, what could be better than having the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park in our backyard and Lake Superior in our front yard?

We have five children and when we moved to Silver City, our two youngest were still living with us.  Kylanne, who is now in the Navy, was a junior in High School and our baby was in second grade.  Our children have all had their turns working in the family business.  When you visit these days, it will more than likely that our youngest will be the one who has prepared the cabin for your arrival.

We always look forward to meeting the visitors to our area and sharing all there is to do and see!  Many who visit for the first time don’t want to leave and cannot wait to come back again.