Northern Minnesota

Hello, my name is Mary! Exactly 3 years ago today, me and my husband George along with our 4 year old Yellow Lab "Big Jake" moved to northern Minnesota. Although northern Minnesota is not new to us, living here is. So, as a hobby I've decided to start a blog about living in the north woods vs living and working in and around the Chicagoland area and Southern Wisconsin. I went from somewhat of a hustle and bustle of the cities to northern Minnesota. Big difference! The nearest mall is two hours away and restaurants are slim.

Moving was not a sudden decision. My husband is co-owner of Vermilion Dam Lodge on beautiful Lake Vermilion and has been for the past 23 years. This is where we spent the majority of our vacation time throughout the year. Prior to our house being built we would stay in one of the rental cabins. During those times we always said "gosh, I wish we could stay longer than a week. It's so nice up here". Well, this is a true statement. We are truly blessed to be able to experience living in the north woods. Your not going to see malls and restaurants up here – your going to see and experience the true nature and beauty of the north woods. There is quite a bit of wildlife right out our doors. There are deer in our yard on a daily basis so we have feeders out and they are drawn to the corn that we put in them. (No hunting on the property). Our house is built right along the river so we also see eagles perched high in the trees waiting to swoop down and catch a fresh fish. Wolves are no stranger and we have to be very careful taking Jake for a walk. But my favorite have been the bears! This year there have been a lot of them spotted in the area and around the resort. I've put trail cameras in several places and captured them many times. Especially in the garbage dump-obviously.

Being from Wisconsin, I will proudly say I am a Green Bay Packer fan! I enjoy hunting, fishing, boating, basically I'm an outdoor person. Summers here are warm and the lake is pristine. Going for an evening boat ride watching the sunset is a must see when your here. The reflections that are in the water takes watching a sunset to another level. Winters can be a bit challenging but we will take the snowmobiles for a ride up towards Crane Lake for lunch. The trails can be quite spectacular. Taking the river once its froze over is a lot of fun and we always meet up with other folks along the way. I enjoy the scenery and ride and speed is not for me. Why blow by all this beauty for a rush? Take your time and enjoy the opportunity you've been given.

There were a series of life changing events that I started to experience right away. September of 2016 my husband retired from General Motors and I followed a month later leaving my municipal job. That was my first experience of having a totally different schedule in my life after all the years of getting up at the same time every morning, getting ready for work and leaving the dogs for the 8 hours I was gone. Driving to work was not on the "to-do" list anymore. I really enjoyed my job and miss seeing everyone (well, not all of them-hahaha). I hardly ever wear dress clothes and rarely get dolled up like I use to. Another change in lifestyle was realizing were actually doing this. The house has been getting packed and boxed up for a couple months and we were starting to say "goodbye" to it and the neighbored we made friends in. We were nervous and excited at the same time. Well, I was nervous. The lump in our throats would be knowing we would miss our families the most. Planning around birthdays and holidays has become routine to us but we do miss out on a lot. George and I make the best of it and it has been working just fine.

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