Black's Cliff Birch Bark Blog

Excerpt: I was biking down the Bearskin trail last night and noticed a splash of color on the trail amongst all the green Brilliant reds giving a hint of fall around the corner I found this old pictures of the playground before it was a real playground. Thought a few would get a kick out of it Fall is still... Read more

Excerpt: Mark Jepson asked me last week if he could use his metal detector in the swimming area. We had no idea what he would find. Mark found there is a lot of stuff that has dropped in the lake over the years Showing off his metal detector that is his hobby in his spare time Some of the treasure... Read more

Excerpt: The picture above is of the Sweet Family taken a number of years ago in front of Bayview "their" cabin. The Sweet Family this summer marked their 27th year at the resort. It was one of the hardest years for the family as they lost Dick this year from a battle with Melanoma. Judy wondered about returning to the... Read more

Excerpt: Atchison caught this great bass on the lake this week. I also heard he released it and it has been hanging out under the white swimming dock. Nice fish! Other people not on vacation this week have been busy working on the wood pile getting the winter wood in the shed. Never say there is nothing to do at... Read more

Excerpt: Nothing like sitting in a green chair with your pink Disney fishing pole, pink shoes and your grandpa, and learning to fish. Disney fishing pole number one fishing pole for the under 10 crowd. I have seen a muskie get snagged by a Mickie Mouse pole a few years ago. Bailing out the boats a tradition that has not... Read more

Excerpt: The sunsets have been great the last week. I caught this one last night where the road meets the water. I had a couple of pics left over from the end of last week. Every year there is a competition to see how many Thompson's can fit on the raft. I missed the biggest gathering of them, but this... Read more

Excerpt: Last night was the first music night at the resort. We had a couple of guests who played jazz music Tim and Jackson share some songs. It was a perfect night at the new building. This was the reason we built it among other reasons, as a gathering place for the resort. TIm and Jackson having a jam session... Read more

Excerpt: Enjoy a peaceful morning at the lake. No noises, no waves, just quiet ... Read more

Excerpt: The Ament Family, Nathan, Jamie, Noah and Charlie shared with me their pictures of walking our blue trail through the woods to Kitty Springs. Thanks to Charlie and Noah for humoring their mom and going along on the walk without complaining (much) Heading down the trail slaying dragons and monsters with their sticks as they go Watch out for... Read more

Excerpt: This blog entry is dedicated to Paul and all the clowning around he has done over the years. The retirement of the Titanic pontoon boat has not been too traumatic, everyone has found a new spot to enjoy on the "new" boat by the white dock I keep thinking everyone will enjoy the shade this boat has with a... Read more

Excerpt: Every Friday is the beginning of the emotional roller coaster of the resort. We say goodbye to one group and toast a wonderful week or 2 on Friday night with one group The melancholy realization that in 51 weeks we will do this again but week number 52 is the fastest of the entire year. This downward roller coaster... Read more

Excerpt: With the cool weather this week, Steve headed off on a Mercer adventure. Mercer is about 40 minutes from the resort on Hwy 51. It is a unique small town that boasts the worlds biggest loon. Clare the loon greets you as you come in to town. Mercer is also known for having a Loon Calling Contest every year... Read more

Excerpt: This is one of my favorite panoramic views. It has been rainy and the old steps look neat in the rain. It has been a cool few days but folks are still happy to just be in the woods Gloomy quiet lake. Very unusual for July. Looks like the weather will be improving after today Quiet lonely beach Even... Read more

Excerpt: I It has been a cool week but the flowers are still blooming and guests have been finding other ways besides swimming to keep busy We do not mind the cooler weather as it lets us get some projects done. The office building has gotten a new deck in the last week. Katie's loon circle was on the deck waiting... Read more

Excerpt: The guy who took down our big pine last week sent me some more pictures from up above that I wanted to share. This one is neat looking down at Wigwam with the crane coming down the driveway. Gives you a birds eye view of the resort we do not get to see View from the pine looking out... Read more

Excerpt: Happy 4th of July. We got an early start to the festivities with our annual horseshoe tournament at Hilltop. Just about the entire resort was entered The ringing of shoes... or the ringing of trees being hit could be heard. Some are better throwers than others Intense competition playing to 11 Roy Tungett the originator of the tournament could... Read more

Excerpt: Everyone in the resort this morning jumped out of bed, to a thunderbolt striking the big pine between Muskie and Birchwood. Thankfully everyone was ok after the ambulance and firetrucks left the driveway. It will be sad to loose this tree but we will have to have it removed. 2 TV's, all the TV boosters and the entire internet... Read more

Excerpt: It has been a stormy week on the lake. When the sun is out you get down to the lake to enjoy summer. When the storms roll in time to head in. I took this about an hour before a deluge of rain Crappies have been biting. The spawn is at an end and it looks like a good... Read more

Excerpt: Summer has arrived and the blue dock is the place to be. Gloria and Linda in their spots that they claim every Sunday morning after arriving to catch up on everything that happened during the year. Murry had her spot in the shade The McLinden family brought up their hammock to create the perfect spot next to the lake... Read more

Excerpt: Throw back Thursday pic of the day. This one is from the rec room in the basement in the rocking and rolling days of the juke box. I am not sure who is in the pic maybe someone can identify. Good times were always had in the rec room. Speaking of good times I ran into a resident of... Read more