Campfire Bay Resort’s Highlights of the Year 2023
So many memorable things happened at Campfire Bay Resort this past year! Construction projects, new office systems, great guests, and new employees helped make 2023 fly by in a pleasant blur. Let’s review the highlights of the year in chronological order with–
Our Top 12 Highlights of the Year 2023
Years ago, when our guest list was much smaller, we used to send out a letter or post card year in review. Later, when we went digital, we did a year in review in our email newsletter. However, since going to a shorter email version, we can’t do the memories justice there, so we’re going to share some highlights of the year here!
1. So. Much. Snow.
What a difference a year makes! As I write this, we’ve had nothing but rain and temperatures above 30 degrees for most of December. Last year it snowed early and often, which made it difficult to complete our construction project when we were constantly stopping to plow and shovel. However, it made for the most beautiful holiday season we can remember, so that made it one of the highlights of the year!
2. We hosted WAM’s Ice Fishing Tournament
In late February, we were excited to help host Women Anglers of MN’s annual fishing tournament. Dozens of women from around the state came and stayed at Campfire Bay Resort for the weekend and held their tournament Saturday. It was fun to watch all the talented anglers not only fish, but fellowship, together. Not only was it one of our highlights of the year, but they’re coming back in 2024, and since they’re such a great group, we think it will make the list next year as well!
3. The Northern Lights Have Been Fantastic
While we have seen the northern lights in the past here, we had the most viewings and best colors this year due to it being a “pinnacle year”. The phenomenon is predicted to continue for a while yet, up to the next 4 to 5 years (read more here if interested) so hopefully aurora borealis sightings will be one of the highlights of the year for years to come yet. If you need help knowing if there will actually be a sighting soon, you can check that out on NOAA here for a 3 day forecast, or for a 30 minute update, here.
4. Three New Beach Cabins Completed
After a delayed start due to the cabin moving company being behind and a very early winter, we finished the last three waterfront cabins just in time for Memorial Day weekend! Bald Eagle, Kingfisher, and Blue Heron joined their identical sister cabins, Loon and Osprey, and finished our complete overhaul of all eleven original resort cabins in 22 years. As we have done almost all the work except for excavation, foundation, and electrical ourselves, we’ve put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into all the cabins at Campfire Bay Resort. You can view the cabins inside and out on our website under the accommodations 2br page. The sense of accomplishment is great, but having safe, year-round cabins people love, is greater still and therefore one of our highlights of the year.
5. We Amped Up Our Internet
While we want to be a place where people can unplug and disconnect themselves from their normal busyness of life, we also know that people need to work and connect at times. With so many people on multiple devices slowing down our previous mesh system, we decided it was time to run internet cable to every building at the resort in order to have excellent WiFi service in every cabin. The project took months to complete, and was very costly, but since we, and our guests, are pleased with the result, it was one of the highlights of the year!
6. New Employees Helped (and Entertained) Us
For the first time that we can remember in 22 years of resort ownership, we had enough employees to cover all our needs and then some. Most of them were very young, but they were great workers! It was so encouraging to see great work ethic out of kids under 18. They kept us on our toes and in stitches quite often so that the summer was one of the least stressful ever. Our seasoned staff continued to bless us with their hard work and dedication as well. Having great employees was one of our top highlights of the year!
7. A Film Company Took New Photos and Video of the Resort
Since we finished three new cabins, we needed new photos of them. At the same time, we realized we hadn’t taken professional pictures and had only one video of the resort in the last few years, so it was time to get new media. We enlisted the help of Barred Spiral Media owner, Kyle Johnson, a wonderful videographer and photographer who Brian had met and became friends with on a movie shoot. Kyle and his crew invaded our lives for several days as they shot video of us, our guests, and the resort. It was a fun and exhausting experience, but one of our highlights of the year. Hopefully you’ve noticed some of the new photos and video on our website and social media. You can see several of their videos on our YouTube channel here. More videos are still coming, including a fantastic fishing video with Brian and guest Shane, who we like to call “The Walleye Whisperer”.
8. We Bought Island Ocean Property in Honduras
While taking a much needed 5 day vacation from construction in April, we put an offer on a .75 acre property with 130ft of oceanfront on the island of Roatan. We have vacationed there for almost 20 years, lured in by the cheap and easy diving and less touristy vibe. Every time we’ve gone, we’ve looked at property just for fun. Prices used to be ridiculously low for ocean property and while we wish we could have bought a long time ago, this deal seemed too good to pass up so we made an offer. Building started in October and despite over 44 inches of rain in 23 days, the project is on schedule. This is the first building project that we haven’t actively been involved with, so it’s difficult to not be there and only give instructions and see photos via WhatsApp. Hopefully we can offer you another cabin to rent in one of our favorite places on the planet by late February of 2024 and it will be one of the highlights of the year for YOU next year!
9.Water Level Returned to Normal
After a couple of years of abnormally high water levels due to our outlet creek getting clogged with beaver dams and cattails, we had a nice sized beach again and many a sand castle was made! We didn’t have to go fetch the kayaks or paddleboards out in the lake as often either! Watching kids have so much fun at our beach was definitely one of the highlights of the year :)
10. We Created a Nature Trail
When they weren’t raking the beach, helping folks set out in boats, or mowing, our maintenance staff (mainly Jim!) worked to create a nice trail in the woods behind the rec center. Guests and I have enjoyed walking and running along the beautiful and peaceful 3/4 mile lollipop loop with a mini loop inside. It’s hilly and meanders through maples, poplar, birch, oak, and pine trees. We plan to groom it in the winter for cross country skiing and snow shoeing. Click here to check out other fun things to do at the resort all year long!
11. We Had the First of Our Boys Get Married
Obviously, one of the best highlights of the year was having our oldest son, Elijah, marry his bride, Olivia Ann Schwab on the waterfront at our resort. Even though it was mid-October, the weather was beautiful and only a little crisp, the dual Jewish and Christian ceremony was very meaningful, and the fellowship of friends and family was great. Kelley, the photographer, has not only photographed a few weddings here, but did our boys’ senior pictures and even worked one summer at the resort over a decade ago. She did a fantastic job! You can view other photos here and on our wedding page here.
12. We Started This Blog
Since we aren’t in the middle of a building project, and we have some great office staff to pass off some of our responsibilities, we were able to start blogging about the resort and related topics a little over a month ago. We’ve wanted to do this for a long time, and even started a post once (Ha!), but just didn’t have the time or energy. While writing is time consuming, it’s also so different from what we normally do, that it’s cathartic. We’ve learned so much in the process that it became one of the highlights of the year.
We hope you enjoy our blog posts and find them informative, entertaining, or helpful. More than that, we hope that we’ll see you here at Campfire Bay Resort soon and that your time here in our place of natural beauty will be one of YOUR highlights of the year!
