June and July have been very busy around Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center, thanks to the many visitors to our location they have kept us up to date with observations around property, as well as their drive up the Gunflint Trail.

Of course we have our loon chick that is now 39 days old and almost as large as the parents.

Here are some other observations visitors have seen:

Moose, Black Bear, Foxes, Deer

Painted Turtles, Snapping Turtles

Mink Frog, Leopard Frog

Cedar Waxwing, Hairy Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, Chipping Sparrow, Tree Swallow, Ruffed Grouse

Twelve Spotted Skimmer, Atlantis Fritillary, Chalk Faced Corporal, White Admiral, White Spotted Sable, Northern Crescent

The next few weeks at Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center, we have some special Sunday afternoon presentations.

July 16 – 2:00 to 3:00 pm
“Wolves at our Door” is a PowerPoint program based on photos and video clips from the International Wolf Center in Ely, MN.
There will be plenty of unique artifacts brought over for viewing.

July 23 – 2:00 to 3:00 pm
“Gunflint & Lake Superior: Logging the Boundary Waters at the Turn of the Century” by Dave Battistel.
This is the story of a Wisconsin logging company, headquartered in Thunder Bay, who incorporated and built a railroad in Minnesota to harvest timber, and in the process created one of the most unique logging operations in North America.

July 30 – 2:00 to 3:00 pm
“Getting Acquainted with Local Spiders” by Larry Weber.
There will be a short walk after this presentation to go outdoors and identify some of our local spiders.

All presentations are family friendly, they will be held inside Chik-Wauk Nature Center.

Just today I noticed how many different types of plants and wildlife are emerging for the summer.

Here is a Jack Pine tree that is outside our Nature Center. It is just amazing to see how much candling has happened so far this season. Candling is the new growth at the tips of branches that typically points upward and resembles a candle sitting on the branch.

We have seen a few  painted turtle hatchlings on property making the journey back to the water.

Here is the new addition to the wildlife scene at Chik-Wauk. You can view some of these photos on our website at www.chikwauk.com. In this picture the baby is only 5 days old.

I have had plenty of visitors come in and mention they have been seeing moose on their drive up to the Museum. Some with new born calves.

This is definitely the time to come up and take a drive on the Gunflint Trail. Make sure you have your camera ready to capture that new born baby moose walking next to her mother or a sow with her cubs. Just make sure you give the parents plenty of room with their young ones.

Take the extra time to stop in at Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center this season. We are open every day from 10 am to 5 pm. The Museum this year has a special exhibit on the Ham Lake Fire of 2007. In the Nature Center there is always something new to observe each day.

As I write this letter today I am looking out my window as large white snowflakes are gently floating down, hmmm spring?

Even as the snow is coming down today, The Gunflint Trail Historical Society and Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center are getting ready for this coming season. Here are a few events we have coming up for the month of May.

“A Celebration of Community: Remembering the 2007 Ham Lake Fire”

The Gunflint Trail Volunteer Fire Department and Gunflint Trail Historical Society extend an invitation to a celebration of community on May 6, 2017. The event takes place at the Seagull Lake Community Center beginning at 3:00 p.m. It is a time for greeting neighbors, telling and listening to stories, and sharing a meal. Take time to visit the information booths provided by the USFS, DNR, Cook County EMS, Cook County Public Health, Firewise, Cook County Sheriff, Red Cross, WTIP, Gunflint Trail Historical Society and the Gunflint Trail VFD. A commemoration program follows the meal.

3:00 p.m. – Social Hour & Visit Displays

4:00 p.m. – Food and beverages provided by the GTVFD

5:00 p.m. – Commemoration Program

Learn about a new Ham Lake Fire exhibit that will be on display at Chik-Wauk Museum this season. Preview the USDA Forest Service interpretive sign to be installed at the Gunflint Lake overlook. Listen to presentations from agencies involved in fighting the fire and supporting evacuees.

We hope you can make it to this special event.

OPENING DAY:
Saturday, May 27 is opening day for Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center. We will be open daily until October 22. The Museum opens each day at 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. and the Nature Center from 11:00 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Stop in to see the temporary exhibit this season on display “Remembering the Ham Lake Fire, 2007”.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES:
If you are interested in volunteering some of your time at Chik-Wauk this season, please give me a call at 218-388-9915. You do not need to have any special skills, if you like to visit and tell visitors about the area we would love to have you at Chik-Wauk.
Wednesday, May 24 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. we will have a volunteer orientation. You can visit the site and get an idea of where you may like to volunteer. We will have another orientation day on June 19.

I look forward to visiting with you this season.

This summer the Gunflint Trail Historical Society & Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center is planning a special temporary exhibit to be on display in the Museum to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Ham Lake Fire. We are very happy to work with the following organizations on this project; Gunflint Trail Scenic Byway Committee,  Gunflint Trail Volunteer Fire Department, U.S. Forest Service, WTIP radio, and Good Measure Media. We will have additional financial assistance from the Gunflint Trail Association/Visit Cook County, and the Lloyd K. Johnson Foundation.

Of course we could not put any of this together without the entire community helping us. The Ham Lake Fire started on May 5, 2007 and burnt over 75,000 acres.

We need your stories or photos to preserve history, if you would like to share for the exhibit you can go to HamLakeFire.org or contact Joe@WTIP.org or Nancy@hjo.com.

After the 2017 season this temporary exhibit will be moved to a permanent location in the Museum to keep the history alive for future viewing.

Anyone with questions or concerns, or difficulty uploading something should contact Sue Weber at skweber@boreal.org; Nancy Seaton at nancy@hjo.com; or Joe Fredrichs at joe@wtip.org.

This time of the year I occasionally receive a few emails requesting items from our gift shop to be shipped out for holiday gifts. We have always had the Museum Store tab on the Chik-Wauk website but we have never developed it past that point.  We are just in the starting stages of the online store but you can now visit the Chik-Wauk website and view some of the items we will have for sale this winter season. We will be adding some books and a few more DVD’s to the selection in the next coming weeks.

With the additional of new Administrative Building, we now have a place to store our gift shop items for the winter as well as our sensitive archival items. In the past we have actually had to turn away some important archival items because we did not have a proper storage area in place to house these artifacts.

When Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center opened back on July 4, 2010 we had the 2000 square ft museum packed to capacity. The end of the 2016 season marked the seventh season we have been open to the public. We do recognize after being open for seven seasons we need to freshen-up some of the exhibits in the museum.

With the opening of the Nature Center this past year we were able to compliment that building with some of the natural displays that were located up in the Museum. Within the next five years we would like to highlight some other areas that did play a big part of the first pioneers that made the Gunflint Trail their home.

If you have an item you feel is just perfect for the Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center collection, we invite you to fill out an Artifact Donation Form. (Before submitting the form, you may wish to review our Collections_Policy to make sure the item really is a good fit for us.) Upon receiving your completed Artifact Donation Form, the GTHS acquisition committee will review your artifact and get back to you shortly about how we’d like to proceed with the donation process. If it is a larger item, we will ask you to commit to holding onto the artifact for the next five years. We may contact you at any time in those five years to officially receive the item into our collection.

There are a few items we will accept without going through the Artifact Donation Form process.

We are always accepting any historic photos, postcards, new letters, flyers, diaries or brochures from the Gunflint Trail that you would be willing to gift or simply loan so we scan them into our collection and then return the originals to you. Books are another item we accept for our reading corner, as long as they aren’t duplicates of books already on our shelves. 

Don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions you might have about donating artifacts to the museum at info@chikwauk.com or 218-388-9915. The Gunflint Trail Historical Society’s goal is to preserve the history of the Gunflint Trail and its early settlers for residents, guests, travelers, and future generations and your photos, artifacts, and stories play an important role in that preservation.

Sunday, October 23 will mark the end of season number seven for Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center and 82 years this stone building has been here.

We had such a wonderful season with the opening of our Nature Center and having an extra person on staff. Thank you Jacqueline Mallinson for your expertise you have added to Chik-Wauk.

We’ve enjoyed meeting new friends and welcoming returning faces, thank you for stopping and visiting with us.

If you would like to see what we have planed for the 2017 season visit our calendar of events throughout the winter months.

We’ll reopen on Saturday, May 27, 2017 see you next year!

The charming Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center near the end of the Gunflint Trail offers multiple trails to explore, interpretive and interactive exhibits and naturalists programs. The museum itself includes information on everything from local animals and weather to the history on logging and the types of birds you’ll find nearby. My favorite part of our Chik-Wauk visit was watching numerous short videos about the folks who were instrumental in molding the Gunflint Trail’s history.

This article was recently published by Amy Carlson Gustafson of the Pioneer Press. Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center was listed as 1 of the 10 things to do while up visiting the North Shore for the fall colors.

Thank you very much Amy.

Saturday, September 24 if you have a chance to drive up to Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center we have a special presentation given by geologist John Green on “Ancient Rocks of the Arrowhead and the Plants that Love Them”.

This presentation will take place from 2 – 3:30 in the Chik-Wauk Nature Center. All presentations are free to the public. John will start with a short video then head out on the Chik-Wauk nature trails to give a more in depth presentation on what you are seeing on the Gunflint Trail.

Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center is open until October 23, still plenty of time to come up and explore the cultural and natural history of the Gunflint Trail. Admission is $4/adult, $2/child (5-18), under 5 is free, if you are a member of the Gunflint Trail Historical Society your admission is free.

Chik-Wauk Museum is open from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., Chik-Wauk Nature Center is open from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. daily, located 55 miles from Grand Marais off the Gunflint Trail at 28 Moose Pond Drive. 

Besides the Museum and Nature Center we have a network of nature trails crisscross Chik-Wauk’s 50-acre grounds.

Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center is a partnership of the Gunflint Trail Historical Society and Superior National Forest, Gunflint Ranger District.

We are just beginning another round of fun at Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center.

September is just around the corner but we still have lots of activities you and your family can come and enjoy.

September 4 we have the annual Pie & Ice Cream Social being held from 12:00 to 4 p.m. at Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center. We are blessed with so many wonderful bakers living on the Gunflint Trail, I am sure you will find a flavor of pie to satisfy your taste buds. A suggested donation of $5 for a slice of pie ala mode is requested, all proceeds go to the Gunflint Trail Historical Society.

Teresa Marrone, author of Wild Berries and Fruits, Modern Maple and various other books, will be available to autograph her new book, Dishing Up Minnesota. You can purchase her new book in the Chik-Wauk gift shop.

After you have eaten your pie & ice cream don’t forget to check out the special sidewalk sales on the front porch of Chik-Wauk Museum. You will be able to find various gift shop items marked down from 10 – 50% off. Christmas is only a short 4 months away. The sidewalk sale starts at 10 a.m. and will run until 4 p.m.

September 12 at the A. Paul and Carol Schaap Community Center (GTVFD Hall #1) is the Gunflint Trail Historical Society membership meeting. The public is welcome to attend. This month we have Nancy Waver coming to speak about her life on the Gunflint Trail. Her family has owned and operated Trout Lake Resort for the past 70 years. The meeting will begin at 1:30, stick around after the meeting for treats and conversation.

September 24, Late summer flowers on ancient rocks – Geology and Natural History of the upper Gunflint Trail by John Green

John will do a short PowerPoint talk on botany and ancient rocks then move out to an exploratory hike around Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center. Presentation starts at 2 pm and roughly lasts about an hour.
John Green is a retired geology professor from the University of Minnesota Duluth, with extensive familiarity with the bedrock foundations of Minnesota’s Arrowhead.

All presentations are family friendly and free to the public, they will be held at Chik-Wauk Nature Center.

Donations are appreciated.

Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center is open every day until October 23. The Museum is open from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. and the Nature Center is open from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. Located 55 miles up the Gunflint Trail, take a right on Cty Rd. 81 (Moose Pond Drive) follow the signs. Admission is $4/adult, $2/ child 5-18, under 5 is free. If you are a member of the Gunflint Trail Historical Society your admission is free.

I love hearing history from visitors to Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center. They tell me the stories of their younger times up here on the Gunflint Trail or they have heard stories from their parents or grandparents when they would have stayed at a resort, or their cabin on the Gunflint Trail.

It is very interesting listening to these stories of the past. At Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center we always want to keep learning about different travelers that made this place their vacation destination or maybe they used to own a piece of the Gunflint Trail and had a cabin on a lake or off in the woods.

We would love to hear your story; if you are willing to have your stories recorded we could sit down and just talk about old times as well. If you or you know of someone that would like to visit and tell us about some history of the Gunflint Trail, please feel free to contact us. You can reach us by calling 218-388-9915, send us an email at chikwauk@boreal.org or you can download our “Gunflint Trail Residents Form” and fill out the information requested on the form to mail back to us.

I personally would love to hear and research more about the residents that lived at the end of the Gunflint Trail and on Saganaga Lake. Before 1978 on the Minnesota side of Saganaga Lake there were many residents that had cabins on some of the islands. They were moved over to the Canadian Side of Saganaga, down to the end of the Gunflint Trail, or demolished after the 1978 Boundary Waters Wilderness Act. If you have some information you would like to share about this topic please contact the Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center.

Remember your life story is what makes history everyday, please share with us your history today!

Sunday, July 3 from 11 am to 4 pm come visit Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center for the grand opening of our Nature Center, free admission all day long to both the Museum and the Nature Center. Various programs held throughout the day.

Ever since the formation of the Gunflint Trail Historical Society back in 2005 there has been a vision to create a nature center on Chik-Wauk property. After many years of planning and campaigning we are very proud to have this facility available for our visitors.

We utilized Split Rock Studios again to help create the interior displays with the help of a few key board and staff members. The Nature Center was created with a lot of open space for children and adults to explore the natural surroundings of our special place on the Gunflint Trail.

We would like to thank everyone that has been a part of this process through the many years.

It all started with a pile of dirt, now  join us on Sunday to see the finished project!!

Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center is located 55 miles up the Gunflint Trail National Scenic Byway (Cook County Highway 12), turn right on Moose Pond Drive then 1/4 mile drive in.

Don’t forget to look for our newest addition to Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center.