Road Trip! (by dogsled?)

Ice Fest makes the week totally worth it!

Quick Tips:

If you want to give ice fishing a try, there are outfitters who'll set you up for the day, or longer.

Best Way To Get Around:

Car/truck; snowmobile; ATV...skis, snowshoes...maybe even helicopter or dogsled!

Best Things Nearby:
Lots of lakes, interesting roads to drive, and in January - SNOW.

Best Things About the Resort:
"Pelican Center" of activity (pool, waterslide, Internet, gym, workout room). The activity room in Point Place, check their calendar while you're there!

Resort Experience:
I was totally delighted to have a fireplace and a hot tub in the unit. What better way to warm up after coming in from the cold? The rustic wooden paneling lent a cozy and welcoming air. The 2 stools and 'bar' at the kitchen offer a seating choice in addition to the dining table. Don't worry - with the trash compactor we only had to take out the garbage once! I was happy to see the VCR replaced with a combo VCR/DVD player. The hot tub is new, too.

• Unit Type: 1 Bedroom
• Activities: Excellent
• Amenities: Excellent
• Unit Satisfaction: Excellent
• Family Friendliness: Excellent
• Service: Excellent

This venue on the golf course is a delight to visit for lunch in winter - you get the place almost all to yourself. They feature local foods done right, like scrumptious Walleye. Their northwoods motif is very pleasant, comfortable, and relaxing, not to mention rustic and authentic!

Of all things, we found the Bonanza and we were delighted. Very reasonable prices, excellent steaks cooked the way you really ordered them. Hot food bar, cold food bar, bread and desserts included with entrées or eaten as a meal alone! I loved each meal I had: shrimp combo plate, teriyaki chicken (with pineapple slice), and 10oz sirloin... peanut butter fudge on the dessert bar is out of this world.

I love going to Breezy Point for Ice Fest. It offers a bonfire, a great fireworks display, snowmobile radar runs on the lake, ice auger championships, a big snow slide, bands and dancing, human bowling and snow golf, helicopter rides, horse drawn sleigh/wagon rides, dog sled rides, face painting, refreshments, karaoke, pancake breakfast, ice sculptures. (Note that schedule varies a bit from year to year.)

It cost $7 to take the car into the park for the day. The south park entrance was closed in January. Not many people...in fact, we were the only visitors - it was FABULOUS! Even though the interpretive visitor center near the headwaters was closed because of the season, the numerous displays outside on the plaza were quite informative and gave us something to see nonetheless. Wonderful photo opportunity to get snapped right smack in the middle of (what will become) the "Mighty Mississippi." It's only a few feet across and not at all deep at the start! The snow was quite picturesque and showed off every little footprint left by the local inhabitants such as deer and rabbits. Despite the chill, the river was not frozen over. While you're in the park, stop at the other visitor center (that is open), sit and gaze into the blazing fire, or watch amused as the local birds and squirrels flit about the stocked feeders.

I mean to return next year just to watch the animals from the coziness of the welcome center...with my digital camera in tow.

When my brother-in-law suggested we go see International Falls, I thought it sounded like a good idea. He recognized it as a place of infamous cold temperatures never encountered in his old Kentucky home.

We plotted a circular route from Breezy Point that showed us different roads on the (approximately.) 4-hour drive north than the ones we returned on later in the day. Our return route took us far enough east that we entered the far western reaches of the Mesabi Iron Range (did you see the movie North Country?). The slag heaps were fascinating, if fantastically ugly and environmentally tragic.

The town is on the US-Canadian border, and for a fee of $6 we could have crossed over the bridge (we chose not to). Pedestrians can stroll over for free, I read in some local tourist brochures. Remember that 'soon' (2008, if not sooner) we'll need a passport or some such to be able to visit Canada and return to the U.S.

We saw some over sized, fiberglass bears in the little city park, we saw Boise's huge plant; we saw logs at the mill across the Rainey River.

But we did not see ... falls. Much to our humorous disappointment. A booklet I picked up at the local visitors' center reveals that the falls were flooded out about 100 years ago when a dam was built!

We chuckled about the missing falls as we went to the "International Mall."

When we arrived, and tugged on the doors ... they were locked. Sheesh!! The hours on the door claimed they were open Sunday Noon till 4:00. What's up with that? We popped into the Menard's the next door over to ask. Two young workers just looked at me like ... I must be from out of town when then explained that the mall is never open on Sundays !??!

We might have felt the day was a loss, if it hadn't gotten us out and about on the sunshiny day, riding some beautiful roads, giving us some "unique" memories... capped off by the bend in the road that yielded a herd of about a dozen deer -- another great photo opp with some on each side of the road/car - all 3 of our cameras went to clicking :) and the deer obliged photogenically - at least for 2 or 3 minutes.