La Pointe, WI

It's a bit chilly here tonight.

The temperature right now is 49 degrees. The sky is clear and a low of 37 to 42 is predicted for tonight.

Today it seemed like tourists switched suddenly from t-shirts and shorts to thick sweaters and fall jackets. A couple of guys walked into my real estate office this afternoon looking for firewood for their campsite at the State Park. We chatted briefly about real estate prices and they took a brochure and business card with them. I gave them a small bundle of split oak for their campfire and in return, they left me a couple bottles of Newcastle Brown Ale, a pretty fair trade.

Leaves are changing here already. It's perhaps more noticeable on the northwest side of Madeline Island, but you'll see trees aflame in red and orange along South Shore Road and Big Bay Road as well. There's a kind of luminous orange that appears at this time of year which has the curious property of bathing everything around it in color. Whether by reflection or refraction, you'll notice in the late afternoon and evening that these red-orange "flame trees" almost seem to give off their own light.

The reds, oranges, yellows appear sporadically as you drive around the Island, but they're more apparent on the nearby mainland. Drive west on Highway 13, beyond Herbster and Port Wing, and you'll see more widespread change in the overall color of the mixed hardwoods flanking the highway.

Our fall color season on Madeline Island tends to last longer than in other locales, primarily because the surrounding lake moderates our temperature, probably giving trees the false impression that it's warmer outside than the actual area temperature. The lake effect slows down the onset of frost and promotes more moderate air temperatures, because the water holds its thermal absorption and stays warmer than the air as late fall turns into winter.

Anyway, this weekend seems to be heralding the arrival of Fall. The Bayfield Apple Festival is two weeks away and we should see peak color by the time it opens.

Thanks in part to the Wisconsin State Bureau of Aeronautics, Madeline Island is receiving nearly four million dollars worth of gravel.

The Madeline Island Ferry dock is a beehive of activity, with bargeloads full of gravel for road and sanitation and airport projects being delivered daily. Every time the crane swings from barge to the giant hopper on the ferry dock, you hear the sound of money being poured onto the Island.

Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle presented the Town of La Pointe with a check for $1.2 million on August 11. That portion came from the Bureau of Aeronautics, to pay for 21,500 tons of gravel needed for future airport projects.

The Madeline Island Sanitary District will be using about 2,000 tons. That leaves nearly 65,000 tons to be used by the Town of La Pointe over the coming decade for road improvements and annual repairs to town roadways. And the total cost of the gravel will come to $3,651,600.

Ashland County is helping to pay for the gravel, contributing nearly 40% of the required funds. The County, in turn, received a grant from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation to rebuild Highway H on Madeline Island.

Upcoming road projects will include the re-paving of half of Main Street, Big Bay Road, Middle Road and Black's Shanty Road. Northwoods Paving of Ashland, Wisconsin, will be the general contractor for the gravel and blacktopping contracts.

The Madeline Island Golf Club is gearing up for its opening day, June 14.

The course, designed by world-renowned golf course architect Robert Trent Jones Sr., is in the process of being groomed and made ready for opening week. Resident PGA pro Jeff Obst will be available for lessons and golf clinics this season.

The course is located on Old Fort Road, across from the Madeline Island Marina and Yacht Club. You'll enjoy spectacular views of Lake Superior and the mainland from much of the course. Carts are available and there are occasional special prices and offerings which appear on the Golf Club website.

For tee times and other information, call 715-747-3212, or email migc@cheqnet.net.

A second home is an affordable luxury.

Discover why a vacation retreat on Lake Superior is the ultimate indulgence!

© Copyright 2007-2008 Eric Kodner & Madeline Island Realty

Tomorrow, June 8th, marks the opening day of the Madeline Island Music Camp's string and piano chamber music session.

The four-week chamber music program in La Pointe, Wisconsin will host the Pacifica, Arianna, Parker and Fry Street string quartets this season. String coaches and instructors come from all over the United States, including professional musicians from the University of Wisconsin, the Cleveland Institute, Oberlin conservatory, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and the Houston Symphony. Music Director Evelina Chao is a violist in the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra.

Each year, gifted string students ages 14 to 24 attend the well-known chamber music camp. Students are divided into groups according to age and musical achievement, and are placed in chamber ensembles. The ensembles receive daily coaching and participate in recitals at the close of the session.

A second home is an affordable luxury.

Discover why a vacation retreat on Lake Superior is the ultimate indulgence!

Eric Kodner is a luxury property specialist and real estate educator with a unique perspective on the Madeline Island real estate market. Madeline Island Realty is a member of the LuxuryRealEstate.com luxury properties network.

© Copyright 2007-2008 Eric Kodner & Madeline Island Realty

Madeline Island received a fantastic "plug" from the folks at Minneapolis - Saint Paul Magazine in its May 2008 issue.

Minneapolis Saint Paul Magazine proclaimed Madeline Island a "great escape" and added, "regulars prefer to keep Madeline Island a secret."

Well, the secret's out.

Reporter Beth Doole is obviously impressed by the Island. But perhaps the greatest truth in her review of Madeline Island as a summer destination, is her comment,

"The real reason folks come here, however, is to do nothing: wake to the lap, lap of waves on the dock, halyards clanging on boats offshore; soak in the sunsets and count shooting stars".

You'll find the complete Minneapolis Saint Paul Magazine article on Madeline Island here.

A second home is an affordable luxury.

Discover why a vacation retreat on Lake Superior is the ultimate indulgence!

Eric Kodner is a luxury property specialist and real estate educator with a unique perspective on the Madeline Island real estate market. Madeline Island Realty is a member of the LuxuryRealEstate.com luxury properties network.

© Copyright 2007-2008 Eric Kodner & Madeline Island Realty