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Well Valentine's Day has come and gone for another year, and the first long weekend of 2012 is upon us shortly at Narrows West Lodge.  It has been an eventful year at Narrows West with all this warm weather over the course of this beautiful winter.  I have spent lots of time out at Narrows West this year, and every time I go out I always take a tour around to see exactly what is happening or what has changed.  With the very warm weather this winter the construction crew at Narrows West has been able to keep working hard all year on golf course, hotel, and all the developments that are happening at Narrows West.

We have take on new staff over the course of the last few months with David and Amy coming on board to help out, and most recently two new bartenders that definitely possess some people skills.  Devin and Tiffannie have been a great addition to the Narrows West team, and both come to us with a history of bartending and dealing with the public.

Gibson's Lounge underwent some fresh paint and staining, and got a bit of a fresher look for the upcoming summer and the 10 year anniversary of the Lodge.  The kitchen is still currently being updated, so the restaurant is still closed but should be open again in the next couple of weeks.  However we are still selling food in the bar.

We are currently busy planning our summer calendar for Narrows West, and any input would be greatly appreciated.  If there is a band you would like to see, or an event that you would like to occur and take part in please let us know and we will do our best to try and set something up. 

With the water levels falling at the lake the docks are being prepared to be put back in the water for summer, as well it is looking like we should have some beaches back this year to enjoy, and maybe even a little beach volleyball.

Looking forward to seeing everyone at the Narrows this summer to help celebrate ten years in the new building!

This year is the 10 year anniversary of the new Narrows West Lodge being built, and we are going to do our best to celebrate in style.  We have just finished freshening up the bar with some new paint, and stain, and have put the shuffle board back in.  It reminds me of how it looked 10 years ago when we first opened it.

The kitchen is undergoing some reno's so that is why the dining room has been closed, in order to upgrade things in the kitchen and also give the menu a new look.  We want to celebrate the 10th year of the building being up in grand fashion this year and are going to try to have something going on every weekend.

I have been looking back at some of the history for that area, and am amazed at how far back some of the pictures and history go.  All the way from the building of the bridge and the much larger ferries, and boats that used to run up and down that lake.  If you take a walk around the lodge you will see some of the older pictures that show the boats, and building of the bridge. 

We are going to do our best to make the 10th anniversary of the new building a year to remember with endless events that will be happening out at the Narrows West Lodge.  We will be kicking things off of course with the superbowl weekend coming up on Feb 5 as the Patriots take on the the Giants in a battle for supremacy in the NFL.

The longer I work for Narrows West the more of a vast history I uncover, and hear great stories of great grandparents and families that have lived their entire lives on Lake Manitoba, and in the area of Narrows West Lodge. Every time I make a trip to the lodge I always manage to come home with a different story of interest.  I never get tired of the trips to the lodge and the peacefulness that surrounds that area, and I look forward to moving my family their and making a life at the Narrows.

If you are ever passing through the area stop in and check out the restaurant and the ambiance that goes with the place.  I would be surprised if you can't find at least one person who can tell you little bit about the history of the place.

I am hoping everybody had a great Christmas, as well as New Years. I have decided to make this particular blog a little more personal and let you know what I did for Christmas this year.

Our Christmas Holiday started on the evening of December 22, when I loaded the roof rack on the car, loaded up two children, the wife, and two dogs and headed west.  My partners family is all in Airdrie, Alberta so that is where we were headed for the Holidays. I would have to say that for the most part the dogs do travel better than the children (they seem to be easier to train).LOL

On the road by 4:30 we were in Brandon by about 7 after discovering in Portage that we had no running tail lights on the vehicle we were driving. Unable to repair it we continued on our way with our hazards flashing so that people could see us on the highway at night. 

We pulled into Regina for a short overnight visit about 11pm, and after visiting with a friend till about 3am and getting up at 6am the next morning, hit the road again to finish the drive.  That felt like a long day running on 3 hours of sleep, and driving.  Everybody was getting anxious to get to our destination.

After several daunting hours on the road we finally reached our destination by 3pm Alberta time of course, and started the Hello's at my wife's brothers house.  After making the round that day to try and get in quick visits with everybody, it was early to bed that day to try and recoup some of our lost hours of sleep.

Just to catch you up to speed, my wife's entire family lives in Airdrie. She has two brothers, two sisters, Mom, Dad, step Mom, Uncle and Aunt.

Christmas day consisted of an early morning.  Kids could not wait to open presents, and then carrying on to the Dad's house for a Christmas dinner, and present opening there as well.  Not sure how we fit everything in the vehicle to make it home. Boxing day followed with the family venturing to brave the crowd and try their hand at boxing day shopping.  I was wise and stayed at home and had a day of R&R.  We did enjoy a ham supper that night to celebrate boxing day, and that side of the family at her brothers house.

The rest of the week consisted of visiting, shopping, a night out for sushi, and catching up with old friends that we have not seen in a very long time.  We headed home on New Years day with a pit stop in Regina for a night at a hotel, and then arrived safely home on Monday to start back to work on Tuesday.  It was a great vacation, although of course could have been longer, with beautiful weather being above zero everyday.

What did you do on your Christmas vacation this year?

If you are looking at Lake Manitoba cottages, then Narrows West is probably one of the best places to look at buying and building.  Since the flood in the summer of 2011, Narrows West has been able to recover, and begin the process of moving forward.  With the water having receded quite a bit since July, the Narrows has become one of the best places for Lake Manitoba cottages.  There are several open lots for sale that are in great locations for a Lake Manitoba cottage to be built.  With some lots still open on the up and coming golf course, as well as a couple of water front properties still available, now is the time to look to see where you might want to put up a beautiful cottage to enjoy your summers, or maybe live in full time as the community continues to grow.The Narrows has had a great fall/winter with all of this beautiful weather, and has a great chance to clean up after the receding waters, and prepare for the spring.  The docking system got removed and will be refurbished over the winter to be put back into use once the spring is over, and water levels are back to normal. 

I personally will be looking to build my own Lake Manitoba cottage out at the Narrows and making my home with my family out there. Since starting at Narrows West in June I have absolutely fallen in love with the area and its rural routes, with beautiful scenery.  With all the trees and trails, and some of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever experienced, I look forward to making a home out in such a great setting.  As well as  a great place to raise a family, it will give us a great get away from the city, to enjoy the beautiful tranquility that Lake Manitoba has to offer.

Follow our newsletters, and keep up with us on facebook to always know what it happening at the Narrows as things are always changing quickly with all of this nice weather.  If anybody has any suggestions as to things they would like to see happening at the Narrows please comment below!

The beginning of December has fallen on us at the Lake Manitoba Narrows Lodge, and everybody is busy getting ready for Christmas.  Lots of people are busy planning their Christmas party at Lake Manitoba Narrows Lodge, and preparing for the festive season. 

Lots of people have already planned their Christmas parties in December as the staff at Lake Manitoba Narrows Lodge has already booked 9 parties to take place over the course of the next couple of weeks, and they keep rolling in.  Everybody is in the Christmas spirit and it is very nice to see. I personally am ready for Christmas and have done all of my Christmas shopping, as we prepare to travel to Alberta for the holidays and spend it with family out there, and am very much looking forward to the holiday season this year with family and friends.

Of course Lake Manitoba Narrows Lodge will also be helping to celebrate the season by having an early New Years Eve party on Friday, December 30. It will be Karaoke with the King, and will be a 60's and 70's them so dig out your old clothing and prepare to bring in the New Year a day early.  There will of course be drink specials as well as food specials and we look forward to seeing everybody there.

Lake Manitoba Narrows Lodge is looking forward to the New Year and what it will bring for us next year.  With the channels open and the lake levels finally dropping, next year is looking for promising.  We hope everybody is as excited about next year as we are.

Looking forward to seeing everybody at Narrows West over the holiday and celebrating the season with you all.

Well it looks like we have had our first official snow fall on the record books now.  With a very busy fall happening out at Narrows West, we are hoping that the lots for sale will start to take off now.  It has been a very busy summer/fall with still trying to cope with several flooding issues, and making sure we have everything in order for the upcoming year. 

There are still several of lots for sale out at Narrows West, and we are hoping to sell off the final lots over the course of the next year.  As things start to become finalized with the flooding, and the new channels open things are looking very good for next year, and the lots for sale. 

With work moving forward on the golf course, driving range, and hotel site people will need to start looking at what lots for sale they would be interested in purchasing.  There are still a couple of lots for sale available right on the golf course, which in a years time will be a great view of a lot of activity. 

The water has receded so much that it has allowed us to really step up on a couple of things, and try to make up for some lost time due to the severe flooding that we experienced this year.  Have removed the docks from the water, and will be refurbished for next year, golf course discing has been worked on this fall, as well as clearing for the hotel that will be going up in the future.

The lots for sale end of things will really start to pick up now that the government has held up their end and has worked on getting the channels open to help lower lake levels by spring.  This gives Narrows West and all of its residents great hope for what next year will bring for us and all of our patrons, and land owners. 

If anybody would like a tour of the area to see what is all happening please get in touch, and make arrangements.  We would be glad to show you around to keep everybody up to speed.

Another trip out to the Narrows, and I have been spending some quality time with the construction crew when I am out there. They have been extremely hard at work lately, with all this beautiful fall weather. I had not realized how much progress they had made until my last trip out to the Narrows.  When you can't see things from the road sometimes you forget that it is there.  I have made it a point that on my weekly trip out to the Narrows, I try to cover as much ground as possible, and see as much as possible while there.

The progress that is being made on the golf course has been amazing.  It is looking like things are back on schedule after having to deal with all the high waters this year.

The momentum through the fall has been great, and with the work on the widening of the channel still moving forward according the the Free Press, we are very optimistic about things being back to normal next year.

We also just got word recently that we have been approved to recover our docking system.  Starting immediately one of the construction boys will be putting on some cold water gear and retrieving the docks from beneath the water.  They will spend the winter being refurbished, so that come spring they are ready to go back in the water.  Looking forward to having a marina back in use next year.

Lots of stuff going on, so if there is anything that people have questions about then please feel free to ask and we will always do our best to keep everybody updated at all times.

With the summer finally drawing to a close, and Autumn officially upon us, it is time to start pondering the winter.  Although I am not ready to completely give up on summer, with one more ball tournament still pending, and hopefully one more round of golf!

As my journey with Narrows West continues I have finally had a chance to have a tour of what will be their future golf course and must say that it is shaping up nicely.  Because you can't see it from the road, you would not know if is even there behind the trees.   The front nine is all cleared, and greens are sculpted.  As the construction crew works hard to clean up any remaining debris before snow falls, so that they will be ready for seeding in spring.

The driving range is looking pretty good as well with it all cleared, and should be ready for some practice swings next year.

It seems like every time I go up to the Narrows something changes, and water is receding.  I noticed on my last visit that you can actually start to see where there once was a beach, and the vast difference between now, and 3 months ago is absolutely amazing.  When you live there I guess you may not notice, but when I only travel up every week or two, I notice a huge difference in every trip.

If anybody else has anything to report please comment and let me know so that I may post it as well.

Well it is officially the end of Summer Holidays.  I don’t want to say the end of summer, as the weather is still beautiful, and I think we will still have several weeks of summer to enjoy.  With the kids going back to school , we will have to make the best of the remaining weekends, and the warm weather.  With all the warm weather the water has started to recede dramatically, and Narrows West is starting to get things back on track in the construction area.  Resuming work on the Ranch Estates, golf course, and Narrows West developments.  We are no ready to get back to work on the roads, and canals, and the continuation of the golf course.  If everything remains on track we should be out on the driving range next summer doing our best to improve our golf game.

The last long weekend of the summer saw Narrows West host one of the only all female fishing derby’s in North America, which was once again a great success!  Already looking forward to see what next year is going to bring. 

Coming up just around the corner on the September 17 is the 10^th annual Walleye Classic fishing derby.  With the fishing being better than ever on Lake Manitoba right now we are hoping for a bigger crowd than ever to try their luck on the lake next weekend.

As my journey continues as part of the Narrows West team, I still continue to learn new stuff about the area, and events that are constantly going on up at the Narrows.  From the outfitting side of things which Blair is deeply involved in, to fishing derby’s, to boat tours and more.  With my own children being back in school, I am certainly going to do my best to take advantage of everything that Narrows West has to offer, as long as the nice weather is sticking around!  I suggest everyone else does the same thing with the remaining beautiful weather.

If you have any suggestions as to what else you would like to see happening up at Narrows West, please post so that we can see you suggestions, and work on making the Narrows a place that everybody will love to come and spend either their summers, or maybe live their permanently. 

As my journey continues with Narrows West, it seems like every week brings me a new aspect of this company that is new. 

After my last visit to the Narrows, I had a long visit with Blair who runs the Outfitting end of things.  Blair is an experienced hunter, and is well known for his ability to put hunters in the right spot to get the prize that they were looking for.  Bear hunting seems to be the sport of choice, as many Americans come up to test their skills against the bear.

With bear season getting ready to open in September, they are busy preparing the baits, and getting set for the visitors that are coming.  People usually come up looking for a unique bear.  Meaning a black bear that may actually be blonde, or have different markings on them.  Anything that makes them stand out from the average black bear, makes them a sought after commodity.

With a passion for the busines, and  years of experience under his belt Blair is well know around the US as one of the best in the business.  He does all the processing and skinning himself, and has created great relationships with repeat customers that rely on his hunting experience to make their trip successful.   Maintaining a close relationship with people like Bushnell, who will send 10 people up at a time to hunt with Blair, he has built a very successful Outfitting company.  Whether you are looking for bear, deer, fish, or goose hunting, he is the one who knows all the right spots. 

Blair is a licensed outfitter, as well as a licensed commercial fisherman.  For the people who are looking to take trophies home in all 3 categories of fishing, goose hunting, and bear hunting, he is definitely the man to help you reach those goals. 

After talking with Blair, I also got a chance to talk to Brian, who is one of the guides that take people out and drops them at their tree stand, or bluff,  which ever is necessary.  If you want to hear some great stories about bear hunting, I highly recommend that you stop in at the lodge and chat with these two men as they certainly have stories to share. 

In 2009 a group of hunters came from different areas in the US.  However the one thing that they all had in common was that they were all involved with hunting in some aspect of their business.  Some worked for hunting and fishing magazines, while others worked for gun companies.  It was a collaboration of big names from varying areas, and they were wowed by the experience that Blair, and Narrows West had to offer their crew.  They left extremely happy with about 55 geese, a few bears, and several master anglers that were released back into Lake Manitoba.

All in all, Blair’s reputation as a top notch Outfitter, is well earned, and well know through out the United States, and people continue to travel miles for a chance to hunt under his guidance.