February is often only the midway point in a Minnesota winter. By now, bracing against frigid temperatures and scraping snow and ice from your frozen windshield may be wearing you down. So out of curiosity, we asked some notable Lake Minnetonka area friends and neighbors how they beat the winter blahs. Read on for some ideas to jump-start your midwinter routine.
Don Shelby
Retired WCCO news anchor, considered one of the best local news anchors and reporters in the country
“I beat the winter blahs by embracing winter. I believe cold is a state of mind. I love the changing seasons here in Minnesota and I like having the ability to experience all four seasons. I don’t wear an overcoat until the temperature gets lower than 10 degrees. Once I get used to that, 20 degrees feels warm.
“In the service, we were taught winter survival techniques. I have winter camped for three days at 54 degrees below zero. If you can function at that temperature, 20 degrees feels like summer. To be honest, that particular experience was not fun while I was doing it. Like any other hard work, whether it’s raising kids or climbing a mountain, halfway through, you may ask yourself, ‘What did I get into?’ But later, we look back on those experiences with great fondness.
“I still like to dress up in arctic gear and spend time outside every day. I’ll put on some snowshoes and pull my pulk sled out to Big Island. I’ll look for a place to drop a line in an ice hole and catch a fish for dinner.
“I enjoy going to Minnesota parks in winter when there are fewer people and a sense of wonderful solitude. There is no silence like the silence of the snowbound woods. The winter cold has a way of helping us focus our attention on our fragility. I intend to embrace whatever comes.
“That doesn’t mean I won’t head down to Fort Myers, Florida, in late February. But I don’t take that trip to escape winter. I go to Florida to see the Minnesota Twins.”
Gail Bollis
Owner of the General Store of Minnetonka
“We take it outdoors with cross country skiing. My husband and I will grab a box lunch at the General Store of Minnetonka and head out to Big Island. We love it there in summer and winter.”
Jenny Putnam
Gail Bollis’ daughter and buyer for the General Store of Minnetonka
“Our entire family likes to spend time at a cabin on Big Island. We like to sled and spend time together as a family. We also like to put puzzles together and play board games with the kids like Go Fish and Candyland.
“We also ski and snowboard. Our 4- and 6-year-old children ski with us, and I teach snowboarding with Ski Jammers in Wayzata. I got engaged at Buck Hill in Burnsville so I have a special place in my heart for that ski area. We also like to ski and snowboard at Spirit Mountain in Duluth. For those who want to try getting out on the slopes, Gear West in Long Lake is a great place to stock up on winter gear.”
Nick Ruehl
Four-term mayor of Excelsior
“I’m not so much an outdoorsman. There is no ice fishing or anything like that for me. I prefer to enjoy a salmon dinner at Maynards Restaurant here in Excelsior. I don’t really have much trouble with winter blahs. I enjoy the change of seasons and take whatever comes, although I do try to get away for a week in January and maybe a long weekend in February.”
Bob “Shoe Bob” Fisher
Owner of Bob’s Shoe Repair in Wayzata
“I walk back and forth to work all the time. I love to snowshoe, bushwhacking my way through the woods, imagining I’m the first person in the whole wide world to ever travel the path I’ve made. Snowshoeing allows for quality time with a friend or my wife. Carver Park and Baker Park are great places to snowshoe. I really like to head out to the Crow River near Kingston. I once saw what looked like mountain lion tracks out there. Huge paw prints. I see so many unusual things in winter while snowshoeing that I wouldn’t get to see in summer.
“I also like to take the grandchildren to the Arboretum. And I’ll grill outdoors on the deck all year long. Even when it’s 20 degrees below zero, it’s no big deal. I just shovel off the deck and the grill works just like it does in summer.”
Nancy Carlson
Children’s author and illustrator
“I love to snowshoe right around sunset. That’s when the winter light is most beautiful, subtle pink and blue with barren trees against a grey sky. Sometimes I get good ideas for books during that time alone. It’s good for the soul. Other times I like to hang out at the Walker Art Center.”
Melinda Nelson
Senior editor of Minneapolis-St. Paul Magazine
“Living here is like being a resident in a resort town. Winter is when we get our town to ourselves. It’s beautiful here in every season, particularly in winter. You can’t beat the landscape of the frozen lake.
“A perfect winter Saturday for me begins with a yoga class at Spirit of the Lake Yoga & Wellness, then I’ll get coffee at Dunn Bros or an egg sandwich at Deli by the Bay. Later, my dog Sugar and I will go for a walk on the frozen lake where the scenery is magical.
“The remainder of the day might be spent browsing vintage shops on Water Street. Then I’ll get dinner at Hazellewood Grill or stop by Excelsior Brewing Company, which is fast becoming the epicenter of evening lake life.
“On Sunday, I’ll start all over again. It’s the recipe for a great day. Fresh air and exercise bookended by coffee and wine, with a little retail therapy mixed in. I’ve lived here for 22 years and not a day goes by that I don’t love it here, even in winter.”
Todd Wilson
Founder and coach of the Long Lake Rowing Club
“I was rowing on the lake until December 17 in 2011. I was hoping for the same kind of weather this winter, but snow is OK because I’m also a competitive cross-country skier.
“I like to split wood by hand throughout the winter and I also like to winter camp. I’ll take my pulk sled up to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, hike in and spend the night. The clear sky is amazing. The stars are so vivid during the long winter nights. I never get cold because I’m wrapped in down.
“At home, I love to make wild rice pancakes with organic wheat germ, hand-parched wild rice and real maple syrup from the Wedge Community Co-op. And even when the lake is frozen, I still train four times a week on an indoor rowing machine.”
Don Stolz
Owner and operator of the Old Log Theater
“In winter I like to go to where there is a fireplace; there is always a fire burning at the Old Log Theater. For dinner, I’ll go to Hazellewood Grill and ask for a table by the fireplace. For brunch on Sunday morning, I like to go to the Lakeside Lafayette Club; the parlor there has two fireplaces. I can be near a fireplace at one end and see another fireplace across the room.”
