Up and Down

Here's the news from here.

Up.......temperatures are definitely up from what we have been having......wow.....was yesterday hot or what! Some have predicted we will have a lot of HOT weather for the balance of July and all of August........time will tell.......

Down.....every day the water level on the river continues to go down.........at this rate the sand bars will be exposing themselves in a couple more days.......hope it stays that way.......big weekend on the river starting Saturday........

If temps are up and water is down.......it is time for you to make your reservation for a relaxing river float.......

Have a private party in the lodge Friday night and another class reunion on Saturday night......getting everything mowed today for paintball and camping this weekend.......

We're back

Yep, we are back on the river with our full service canoe, kayak and river tube floats effective tomorrow.......Tuesday, July 13...........hope the really heavy rains are a thing of the past for a while..........we are ready to go and have lots of reservations on the books but there is still room for more.........

Had a family reunion in the lodge last Saturday and a double wedding reception in the lodge yesterday, Sunday........good times........

Paintball, tent camping and hiking/biking the 7 plus miles of trails continues to be available and used by several.............come on hot temps and sunshine........

Let's enjoy the rest of our summer...........

FAF; Classics; Haircut

Yesterday was a pretty busy day........in spite of the river flowing over highway 30.........

.......had our July Friday after Five.........and there were lots of folks out to enjoy the evening........as is evidenced by the patio population.........which was consistent with the lodge population........a good time........

........and the weather was pristine for the Third Annual Seven Oaks Classic Auto Show on the lawn.........lots of cars and trucks.........couple of jeeps......and a couple bikes too.........it was great.......

........and while all that was going on the ski trails were getting their summer haircut.........lots of folks commented they did NOT want to be riding in the huge tractor with the driver.......looks good.........we'll mow once more when the growing is done.........just before we start getting serious about making snow.......

........can you imagine..........in five short months we will be blowing snow??

.......let's hope the rain isn't too significant so the river will get back to normal and we can get some floats going........

Have a great 4th........

I KNOW YOU ARE ANXIOUS.......

I know a lot of you are anxious to enjoy your annual float down the river.........you've had reservations.......had them cancelled due to the river water height........re booked.........just to have the same thing happen again..........sorry..........we are really anxious too........but what can we do........up to mother nature and the Army Corps decision as to the amount of water to discharge and when........geez..........but it sure has been a really sweet week weather wise........blue skies.......sun.........mild breeze............hope it holds...........and it probably will ........so we can get you all on the river when it is ready.......

.......here is a recent picture of our fleet.........ready to go.............

.......tonight is FAF............meal, music, classic car show on the lawn............

enjoy July...............and happy holiday........

Water Water Everywhere

Man it was nice to have the rain quit and lots of sunshine this week.........but the water is so high on the river that we are not able to float again this weekend..........in fact the four-lane highway 30 that runs by Seven Oaks is under water.......as you have no doubt seen on TV........

......but that's Iowa!

.......Have our FAF tomorrow night for July.........includes our Third Annual Auto Show on the lawn.........spearheaded by John Tuttle..........and it's Military night as well.........discounted meals and a free drink for our military friends...........of course I can't forget to mention the great meals from Grand Times as always...........it is really unbelievable the number of people that travel quite a distance to each of our FAF's for their ribs.........

.......have a class reunion in the lodge Saturday night........with catered meal.......which should be fun........

.........in spite of the river, the paintball fields are open and being used each weekend so you might include that in your weekend plans..........call and make a reservation........

.......worked more yesterday on putting the finish grade to the new Quiet Camping Area which should be ready to be used next spring..........

Have a happy and safe Holiday Weekend!

Finally.......maybe

I say it that way because there is always some amount of uncertainty when it comes to the weather but.......finally........maybe the weather is going to change for the better.......change to real summer weather.......and not rain every other day. Some of you know that with the rain and the high water on the river we have chosen to NOT float for the past couple weeks.........but looking at the predictions it seems we might be getting back into river floats in about a week or so. It will take some time for the river to settle down to the level we like it but at least the sun is shining and it's hot which will go a long ways in getting us there.

Yesterday was beautiful and today is starting picture perfect too. Had the chance to play in a golf outing at Panorama yesterday and while the course had several very wet fareways, the weather was perfect.

We have a couple of paintball groups yesterday and again Saturday plus have a wedding with reception in the lodge Saturday and another Mt Bike race will be here Saturday as well.

With all the WET weather we have had, virtually everything on our lists have been completed so we are ready.........actually more ready than ever before to get moving with the river traffic.....

Later........

Every Day is a Holiday

Had a big crew on site yesterday and pretty well got the new Quiet Campground ready to spread grass seed.......looks nice.......this area will be for our family, scouts, church groups etc that are looking for a quiet camping experience......this area will be open no later than next spring.....maybe late summer or early fall this year.......depends on how quickly the grass grows.....

....and pretty well got Carters Crossing done yesterday too. We didn't get too much rain here last night so I would guess I will be able to finish it today......gonna try anyway.......the staff were all pretty excited about the new trail.......Frost said "it's gonna be a lot of fun to ride"........

....got our new Seven Oaks baseball caps in yesterday........four colors to chose from.......

......Joel and Kris went to Minnesota Tuesday and purchased 10 more canoes and got them home by 5 pm........big day........

.....Had a retirement party in the lodge last night.......saw a LOT of people coming and going from my vantage point on the dozer as I was shaping Carters Crossing.....

......got a couple new professionally made signs to help the mountain bikers see where to access the trail as they start from the parking lot.........

.......also made a sign to let everyone know that we close and LOCK the gate when we are finished so if you want to leave your car in the parking lot......that's okay.......just know it will be there til morning once we leave......tough guy huh!.......

.....weather has been pretty rainy lately hasn't it........although it is beautiful this morning.......I think dry weather is just around the corner.......hope it doesn't get too dry for river floats.....but in nine years we have never had to shut down due to too low flow.......which is a good thing.....

......gotta get ready for the 8 am staff meeting now........come see us soon........