BEEN A WHILE – BUT NOT FORGOTTEN… An overdue update.

Wow – is about all that can be said for our 2 year blog hiatus!  While a sabbatical sounds like a good excuse, we can’t take credit for that – rather we’ve been busy with just a few things:

• NEW AIRCRAFT – 2016 was a year when the stars aligned and we were able to trade in a piston Beaver for a turbine beaver.  While the initial transaction paperwork proved to be somewhat tedious, it was the ensuing Transport Canada regulations that took up a good bulk of our time.  In short, our maintenance control manual went from a 3 page boiler plate document, to an 85 page custom manual.  While a cumbersome project, we’re excited to share that we passed with flying colours – a testament to our diligence to the safety of our operations.
• NEW CABINS – after completing the 2016 paperwork, we found ourselves in 2017 faced with more regulatory paperwork when we acquired a new outpost!  Seagrave lake for some time had 2 operators on the lake, KaBeeLo is now the ONLY operator on this lake!!  2018 will be spent remodelling the newly acquired cabin. Of course it’s out with the old before in with the new:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But we didn’t stop there!  WAKEMEN was also onthe list in 2017 – removed the 2 older cabins and built a brand new structure ready for the 2018 season.

Book a trip this season and check out our progress!

One of the old cabins on wakeman

Start of the Wakeman burn

New Wakeman cabin

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ICE REPORT TIME | KaBeeLo

Coney Island, Kenora | courtesy of “Lake of the Woods Ice Patrol”

Can you believe the time has arrived for ice updates?

Reports from colleagues North of the Border confirmed while Kenora has sections of open water, many of it is still up to 3 feet thick and takes ~6 weeks to fully melt.

The Weather Networks long-term forecast is for temperatures to remain slightly above normal – meaning faster than normal thawing. That would put KaBeeLo on a track to possibly be up and at’em in time for the opener!

A local “icecaptain” from “Lake of the Woods Ice Patrol” provides regular updates and has compiled a great graph displaying historical ice-out periods since 2003.  From the image below you can see that 2014 was an anomaly to say the least….

 

 

 

 

Stay tuned for more updates.

WHAT DO LODGE OWNERS DO IN THE “OFF-SEASON”?

START – OR END – OF A GREAT TRIP?

There are some who boldly ask this question, some who keep it muted, and others who come up with their own lavish fantasies of what they think, wish or hope lodge owners do in the “off-season”.  First thing to clarify is there’s no such thing as the “off-season” for Lodge owners, we prefer to call it the “low-season”…

So far the days have been spent:

• re-acclimating to large populations
• figuring out how to use our smart phones
• listening to the chaotic world news – which only confirms the allure of the Lodge and why we head north to seek serenity
• sipping mai tais on the back deck

Some would say the above sounds like fun & games – well here’s the work:

• reviewing all the great guest comments collected in each outpost’s logbook, and diligently entering them on our website
• researching business improvements for next year
• tax filings (yes, in Canada we have a few of those)
• lining up our sport show roster – stay tuned
• designing next years brochure
• researching payment options
• taxes – did I mention that?

But most importantly – we are enjoying our office time flipping through emails and photos and reminiscing about the great season we had in 2014 – thanks to our guests & mother nature.  We are looking forward to hearing from you this winter whether it’s to book another trip or just say HI!

PS – don’t forget to send us your captivating photos to be considered for the 2015 brochure or marketing media.  Submit your entries to info@kabeelo.com or share via facebook – don’t forget those who land on the front cover get a free trip IF:

• KaBeeLo gear is well displayed – no photoshop
• Eyes are visible – not covered with sunglasses
• Person/subject is smiling
• Captivating backdrop

What’s new this week at KaBeeLo?

Oddly enough, the “honey-do” list at camp never seems to get shorter with the passing days, months or years.  Aircrafts require maintenance, buildings need to be re- cribbed, docks built, outhouses dug, dishes to clean, bills to pay – – you get the point.  But every now and then there’s an exercise/project that’s rather exciting to share!  One of this year’s undertakings was to update our road signs; driveway entrance, highway 105 and coming soon highway 502.

NEW SIGNAGE

Each season we thankfully have many repeat guests and many new guests, all of which periodically “miss the turn”….we hope these signs will help guide our guests to KaBeeLo Lodge!

Safe travels!

 

WHAT IS THE ICE DOING?

As the snow melts and the sunshine persists, this time of year called “spring” marks the influx of some very common questions for Lodge owners/operators:

“when will the ice go out?”

“what is the ice doing up north”

“will I be able to fish in Canada for Walleye opener?”

Questions to which if we had the answers…we’d likely be sitting in the lap of luxury in the Cayman Islands – and no….that is not the average lifestyle of a fishing lodge owner/manager!

The MN DNR has some great statistics on “ice out”.  As you may have guessed – to date there have been ZERO reports of “ice out” in the state of MN.  Feedback from our Northern colleagues is the ice is honeycombed and poor quality resulting from a healthy insulating layer of snow.  Their outlook is that this winter is trending similar to that of 2013, meaning we could be looking at mid-late May for “ice out” in NW Ontario.  While some may think this seems late, take solace in the fact that the latest ice out on record was close to May 29th in 1950 for NW Ontario….

So until then, we will continue to watch the slow thaw and hope to be heading North sooner than later.

Additions to KaBeeLo Resort and kabeelo.com

Friends of KaBeeLo: as you surf our website please note all of the new changes that have been made. Go to the Home Page and “click” on any of the lakes pages; look at pictures, read guest comments or review what is available on the other topics.

Or, go to the navigation bar at the top of the Home Page and “click” on 4 Wheelin’ or the Hunt Packages and see what we have added for 2011. We are working to make this website easy to navigate, informative and packed with current news. THANKS for joining us.

Coming soon: we will be adding a copy of the “menu” of foods that we send out with each of our guests.  In providing this information it is our hope our guests can identify what foods/beverages they can bring to supplement our generous offerings (e.g., snacks, spices, shorelunch mix, etc.).