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What’s Happening at.. |
Evergreen Lodge Boulder Junction, Wisconsin | |
Cabin and Breakfast on the Lake − a C&B not a B&B. | |
A Fishing & Family Resort | |
on Secluded Little Crooked Lake | |
Tucked away in the Northern Highland State Forest | |
| May 10, 2008 It is time to come and fish. The ice finally is out. It went about April 25 just in time for the fishing opener. We didn’t think it would go in time but we had rain and wind which finished it off. Noel is busy getting water to the cabins and outside laundry. Everything looks good for the season. Of course we are having some repairs and remodeling done. Doug is being confirmed tomorrow and graduating from 8th grade May 30th. It is a big deal here. Today they had their final fund raiser for a four day trip to Chicago. Today is a very sad day for us. Mandy is gone from us. She was having more and more problems and her sprits were down. Casey and Bailey are getting lots of attention today. Reservations are coming in everyday so don't delay on making your plans at Evergreen. |  |
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Doug competed in the WI Middle School Cross Country Ski Championship races Feb. 10, 2008. He was 9th out of 37 skiers. We are back from Steamboat Springs, CO where we skied and raced downhill. It was a great trip with old friends. | |
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| December 23, 2007 Wow, I thought that the summer was busy. Doug and Julia are busy with school and home work and a few extras. Soccer, Gymnastics, Kung Fu, Boy Scouts and now Ski Club also take time and are all in Minocqua which means that I am driving them and waiting for them. I have been x-country skiing at Ski Club at least. We had a wonderful fall and good snow for December. Several times this month we have had to wait out storms. Noel has chaired the Lions Childrens Christmas party for a dozen years or so. It is a wonderful small town event with the Lions, Lioness, American Legion and Auxilery working together for the childrens enjoyment. Today we had about 8 inches of snow. We went snowshoeing. Bailey and Casey came with us. Our destination was the pond at the far end of the swamp at the south end of the lake. It was dark and we still weren't quite there. Doug had to carry Bailey he had so much snow clumped on his fur that he could hardly walk. Finally we came out to Evergreen Lane. Bailey had a warm bath to melt all that snow. Hope your Christmas was Merry and the Best to you in the New Year. | ||
| August 13, 2007 The weather has been oh so fine. It is starting to cool off at night, 55ish. Musky Day was beautiful and the American Legion had a successful day selling beer with Noel at the tap. Doug helped his classmates raise money for the class trip selling root beer floats and Walking Tacos. Julia shopped for the family. She found Grandma a birthday gift, 89 this year, a jacket for the new dog and earrings for herself. Laurel directed traffic and enjoyed the sunshine and the people. The day did start on a rough note. The well pump failed Saturday night about 10 p.m. The GW plumber was up and eating breakfast at 7 a.m. when we called. He rushed over had a new pump installed and running by 11 a.m. (SUNDAY morning). The guests actually cheered him as he drove away. Some of the guests learned that you can flush a toilet with a bucket of lake water which Doug delivered before breakfast. | ||
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| July 27, 2007 Wow! The summer is going fast. We had some cool weather for two weeks with fair fishing. This week we have had a hot week. Today is perfect; low 80’s and some wind. Great nephew Alex went off to church camp and now Olivia is here for two weeks. She had taken a bike repair class and is working on some of our bikes. The big news is that we have a new dog. His name is Bailey and he is three years old and a miniature poodle. He is a solid 18 pounds. He is friendly and lively and jumps in your lap when ever he can. He and the other male Casey are sorting the pack stuff out. | ||
| June 26, 2007 The weather is warm, high near 90. Check the HOME page for the beautiful Muskie caught by Walter yesterday with guide Van Jolin. Julia and Doug are home from camp. They both had a great time and are looking forward to next year. Work is progressing and we will be ready for the crew on Saturday. Several big trees came down today. They had died because of the trench dug for the septic system a few years ago and the porcupine that damaged them. The Tall Pines Music Fest was a great time last Saturday. We all went and enjoyed our selves and worked for the chamber. Noel worked the beer tent and I worked the volunteer gate. The Guess Who was my favorite. | ||
| June 18, 2007 Where has the month gone? The kids are done with school and the resort has been busy. Doug is at band camp at UW Stevens Point for the week. He called to check in and he is first chair of the trombone section. Julie is off to a five day camp. A 40 inch Musky was caught last week. Fishing has been very good or nothing. We have had temperatures in the mid 80’s for a week with storms mixed in. Some big stroms missed us a few weeks ago. | ||
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| May 28, 2007 The holiday weekend was great Wisconsin weather again. Friday and Sunday were the best days with rain and cool temps on Saturday and Sunday. Fishing was good and we have a freezer full of fish guts to prove it. Muskie was elusive but some seen and some caught. Walleye, Crappie, Bass, and Pan fish were plentiful. Noel and Doug participated with the American Legion Memorial Day services in Star Lake, Sayner, and Boulder Junction flag pole and cemetery. Doug played taps at all four ceremonies. The other big news for the weekend is we have another dog. Casey is a nine year old Golden Retriever. His owner was a friend that recently passed away. Casey is adjusting to resort life and fitting in just fine. | ||
| May 17, 2007 The weather has been just perfect for Wisconsin − 85 one day and 30 the next. Noel has turned the water on to all but four cabins. There are leaks in those four and he should have them done soon. The chamber has updated the fishing page check it out http://www.boulderjct.org/reports/?cat=3 Remember the FREE FISHING WEEKEND, JUNE 2nd and 3rd. The other big news is the Tall Pines Music Jam June 23, 2007 in Boulder Junction at the ball park. Here is the line up 12pm Gates Open 1:00 pm Orange Ladder 3:00 pm Copper Box 5:00 pm Nitty Gritty Dirt Band 7:00 pm The Guess Who 9:00 pm Peter Frampton http://www.tallpinesjam.com/home.html Sounds like a great day. We were in Milwaukee last weekend for a friend’s daughter’s wedding and we went to the zoo on Sunday. My mother came back with us so that she can go to Julie’s ballet recital. The holiday weekend will be busy. | ||
| April 29, 2007 The weather is perfect and the bugs are scrace. Everyone should be here to enjoy this beautiful Northern Wisconsin weather. No telling what next week will be like but this has been the best. We enjoyed going to three track meets this week to watch Doug in the long jump and 100 meter dash. Noel has started getting the plumbing ready for the Spring Opener. Spring cleaning has started too. We are looking forward to a great fishing season. | ||
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| April 22, 2007 Oh, to be on vacation again. It has been hectic. Somehow Income Taxes waited until the last moment and usually they are mailed the middle of February. We had a great family hike today with the up hill neighbors. Noel and Doug hunt on the DNR land on Evergreen Lane. They had found some very interesting rock formations. HUGE BOULDERS. Hence, the name− Boulder Junction. There was also evidence of wolf and deer but we didn’t see anything out today. The weather has gone to summer this weekend with temps near 80. | ||
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| April 7, 2007 Sun Valley was great. We enjoyed our Chicago Friar Ski Club friends and family. Noel and Doug had an extra treat when they went to the Chicago White Sox opener. The Sox didn’t win but the event was great. Julie turned eight this week and had a bowling party with a few friends. Bumper bowling is great fun. While we were gone Boulder Junction went from winter to summer and back again. It has been cold, windy, and snowing all week. The Easter Bunny will have a hard time here. Little Crooked is open water again and we enjoy the site of the sparkling water. It won’t be long and we will be getting the piers ready. | ||
| March 18, 2007We are packing to go ski in Sun Valley, Idaho. We have had the busiest winter I could imagine. Lots of skiing at Indianhead Mountain in Michigan. Doug joined the Lakeland Cross Country Ski Club and practiced once or twice a week and raced in several races at the middle school level. We didn’t have as much snow as we would have liked but it was good enough for all our skiing. Julia is taking ballet and enjoyed gymnastics again. Both of them are taking Kung Fu also. We have been in Minocqua at least three times a week. It seems that the winter flew past. I have taught several computer classes. Noel organized the Lion’s Children’s Christmas Party. Installing new computers and software and winding up the annual paper work took time. It will be exciting to ready the resort for the coming busy season. Our spring break out to Idaho will bring a close to the ski season. April will bring the start of preparations of the resort for the summer. | ||
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| October 31, 2006 HAPPY HALLOWEEN. The summer cabins are closed up with the water turned off and pipes drained and bedding washed. The picnic tables, grills, lawn chairs and toys are put up and away. The boats and motors and pontoon are stored for the winter. The piers are up on shore. The muskies have been biting and the bow hunters have several deer hanging. We had a pleasant day Monday but are ready for the next snow fall and know that it may stick until April. Grandma was here for a visit; she is 88 years young. We went to see the Birds in Art exhibit at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in Wausau. Wow. We all had favorites. Grandma loved a duck that was carved. Remember her and Grandpa carved and painted the loon on the front desk and several other pieces in the Lodge. Speaking of the Lodge we had a late birthday party for Doug last Saturday. His whole class was invited and all but two were here. The three girls only stayed for pizza and a movie but the 10 boys spent the night. Not much sleeping was done but all had a good time. Now Julia wants to have a party too. The camera and computer are not speaking to each other so check back for pictures. | ||
| October 20, 2006 There was a party of 8 men musky fishing Oct. 18. There was a bad storm with dropping temperatures and strong winds. The power was out for a while. The temperature unexpectedly dipped to 20° and many of the pipes froze. The men did not have running water for a while. Noel and Ed were busy getting heaters and thawing pipes. Several pipes broke and Noel discovered a new plumbing devise. Well the crew caught six legal muskies. Two were caught with suckers swimming off the pier while the men watched from the cabin. That was a northwoods weekend. | ||
| October 12, 2006 We have had our Indian Summer. Last weekend it was beautiful with the last of the color and sunny mild days. So today it is 20° and snowing and blowing. The lights have been off twice with the high winds. The water is frozen in a lot of the cabin pipes. There are still hearty fishermen here looking for those lunker Muskies. The summer cabins will be shut down next week and the piers will be pulled out too. There is lots of laundry and clean−up to do so we will be very busy. Last weekend was the youth gun deer hunt. Doug didn’t get a deer but the guys had a good time together and have some stories to tell. Julia and Doug are busy with school and activities. Doug had a great weekend backpacking in the Porkies a few weeks ago. Doug checks the Indianhead Mt. web page every few days and today they are expecting a couple feet of snow. That is only 45 miles from here. He has new ski gear and can’t wait for Indianhead to open. So the seasons change. | ||
| September 16, 2006 Doug’s football team has won 2 games and lost 1. The weather has been changeable and we have had a frost. Our tomatoes are still doing well, 96 so far from 6 plants. Fishing is picking up. Lots of follows and several landed. The maple trees are changing so we have those brilliant reds. There is a new picture on the SPECIAL page of a nice walleye that was caught Memorial Day Weekend. The fisherman is a friend of Noel’s since first grade. | ||
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| September 7, 2006 The weather was beautiful for Labor Day Weekend. The Chicago Friars Ski Club took most of the cabins for the weekend and it was wonderful to get together again. The trees have just started to turn. It is 80° today. Yesterday we drove to the U.P. and hiked around Bond Falls and Agate Falls. Wow they are both spectacular. Doug and Julia swam here in the afternoon it was so nice out. The weather is going to cool off and the trees should get the message that fall is just around the corner. | ||
| August 30, 2006 Evergreen has quieted down for a few days but will be full this weekend. We are using the time to catch up on summer. We rode our bikes to the culvert. Highway K is so smooth it felt as though we were floating. We went for a short hike in the woods with Mandy. She was smelling some critter. There have been wolves and bears on the road often. An eagle has been fishing the lake. Something new is that a muskrat has taken a liking to fish finder wires and eaten two of them. School starts Friday. Doug has been practicing with the football team and loving it. Julie has enjoyed summer vacation and was horrified to hear that many people only have two weeks of vacation per year. She thinks teachers have a good deal with the summer off. Last week we took a quick trip to Mt. Horeb to celebrate my mother’s 88th birthday. Ed and Noel handled the resort including breakfast. All went well. | ||
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| Even the Littlest One | Julia | Everyone Joins In |
| August 10, 2006 Doug is home form church camp and he had a great time on the island. No showers or schedules ; just fun with his school friends and new friends. Why don’t we all still go to camp, it is so much fun. But here at Camp Evergreen we are having a wonderful summer too. From the amount of fish entrails that are in the freezer each week I know fishing is good. The resort kids have been chasing around like they should. The women are getting the shopping done and books read (guys too). There is going to be a talent show tonight at Musky Strike. This weekend is the 50th anniversary of Musky Jamboree. There is a rock’n roll band Friday night on main street (sounds like fun) and a parade Saturday (Noel and the Legion are leading it) and the usual craft booths and musky feed on Sunday (we are all helping). Check back for the results of all this festivity. | ||
| July 31, 2006 We were heading for a record high temperature today but it only hit 95°. Everyone spent the day in the lake. It was wonderful. Since we endured Evergreen Lane being torn up and redone the county thought we could handle more. Highway K from Highway H to P was torn up. We never even had a chance to wash our car. Well Highway K is getting new black top and is almost done. Tomorrow the town day camp is having a car wash and I will be in line. Biking has been out of the question since October so we are pumping up the tires. | ||
| July 27, 2006 We once again enjoyed "Chicken Fest" with the extended family that reserves all twelve cabins for the third week of July. Our lake association meeting was Friday and the neighbors across the lake noticed that everyone was wearing blue t−shirts and playing horseshoes from morning ’til night. This is tradition! | ||
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This is the group that celebrates Fourth of July here each year. | |
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The kids are growing up. | |
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July 18, 2006
The Lakeland Times, Minocqua’s paper, had a terrific story about Evergreen Lodge on the front page of the Extra section, July 14 http://www.lakelandtimes.com/features.php?story=152 The article follows this note. The Bils’ boys are at it again: catching Northern Pike. We enjoyed a wonderful fish fry with them. Doug is back from Scout camp. He had a great time and will be a First Class Scout now. Alex, the great nephew, has returned to his home in Galesville and is looking forward to returning next year. The HOT weather broke yesterday. It was only 95 here but that is hot for us. Lots of time in the water helped. It is very dry but may rain tomorrow. | ||
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Evergreen Lodge: A true Northwoods experience since 1929...By: Joyce Laabs The original lodge at Evergreen Resort. Evergreen Lodge, one of the oldest resorts in Boulder Junction, is still a favorite place for vacations. It was in 1928 that Larry Doolittle bought two 40−acre parcels and seven lake lots on Little Crooked Lake to build a resort. Then, with the help of his son, Kenneth, they built a lodge and two cabins, and opened Evergreen Lodge as a resort in the summer of 1929. He continued to build cabins until they could accommodate 50 guests. The Doolittles ran the resort until the late 1940s, when Larry decided to sell and establish a career in real estate. He sold to the Rhodas and Marskes, who eventually sold to the Vodas, who eventually sold to the Spristers, who, in 1989, sold to Noel and Laurel Malicki, who run the resort today. "We are the last resort in the Boulder Junction township to have a restaurant license," Noel said, "although we ended the American Plan in 1995. We still offer breakfast to our guests and Laurel cooks a breakfast special every day. Water so clear you can drink it "Little Crooked Lake is 154 acres, fed from Wolf Lake and underground springs. It is a clear lake − so clear, in fact, that you could drink the water. We don’t, of course, because as we have an artesian well at the resort. There are no invasive species in the lake. "We discourage jet skis as we would like to keep it a wilderness lake. In addition to the boats they trail to the resort, our guests use canoes, kayaks and paddle boats." There are 12 cabins at the resort −open for guests from the beginning of fishing season through the end of the hunting season. One family returns each year and occupies all 12 cabins for their extended family reunion. "Noel and I were working in high−rises near the Sears Tower in Chicago when we decided that we would like to live and work in a less−crowded, less−stressful area," Laurel said. Although we both had degrees from the University of Illinois at Chicago, we knew we needed a change of lifestyle −a simpler kind of life. Vacationed in Wisconsin "We had vacationed in Wisconsin. We’re big skiers and stayed in the Boulder Junction area when we skied in the Upper Peninsula. We decided to look at resorts in that area. "We looked at several resorts, but when we walked in the lodge at Evergreen, we looked at each other and knew we had found what we were looking for. It was beautiful." Five of the cabins are one−bedroom, seven are two−bedroom and one is a three−bedroom. The resort can accommodate 57 people. "We have kitchenettes in the small cabins and full, completely equipped kitchens in the others," Noel continued. "We supply linens and towels but no longer have daily maid service in the cabins. "There is 1,000 feet of frontage on six acres with screened porches on all the cabins. Since we took over, we have put all the electricity underground and a new septic system." "I do all the laundry here at the lodge," Laurel said. "When we first took over there was a standard washer with a wringer, and I used to iron the sheets. We have gone to a modern washer and, weather permitting, I just hang the sheets outside to dry." In the lodge on rainy days "Many guests gather in the lodge on rainy days, where we have my grandfather’s player piano, a pool table and all kinds of games. There are no TVs in the cabins and no video games. Guests adjust to this quite quickly and find their entertainment in the out−of−doors. We do have game night each week, with drawers full of various games, and weather permitting, we have a campfire each night. "During the summer a week is a minimum stay, but we book shorter stays in the "shoulder" seasons. July and August are completely booked, but we would like to see more bookings in May and June. Some guests use the kitchen. There are six siblings in one family who return to the resort each year. They use the kitchen, with one sibling taking over each night. I help them with the clean−up." The Malickis have had two children since they took over the resort −Douglas,12, and Julie, 7. The entire family is involved in the Boulder Junction community. Douglas is the official bugler for the Boulder Junction American Legion, Noel belongs to the Lions and Laurel is a Lioness as well as a member of the board of the Boulder Junction Chamber of Commerce. Noel also helps arrange the kids Christmas party. The Malickis said that when you run a resort you have to take the good with the bad. "We have a very low percentage of "grumps" −but, if we get one that is unhappy with our resort, we try to direct him to a resort where he’ll be happier." Noel said getting nine cabins ready for winter is a big job as the water has to be drained, plus other jobs that must be done before the snow flies. The other three cabins are winterized and remain open during the hunting season. With the children in school, the family stays in the area almost all winter, when they catch up on their first love & skiing. They ski at Indian Head, where Doug has won medals. During school vacations, they can often be found at Aspen or Steamboat Springs in Colorado. The Malickis are pleased with their life at Evergreen Lodge and with the ability to offer their guests a true Northwoods experience. "We have no future plans." they agreed. "We just go along from year to year." To view the resort, go to www.evergreenlodgewi.com. For information go to info@evergreenlodgewi.com This is the second in a series on housekeeping cabin resorts in the Lakeland area, focusing on the survivors of a once−flourishing industry that has succumbed to the condominium boom. | ||
| July 4, 2006 The resort is full and happy. Doug and Noel marched in the Boulder Junction parade today. Doug carried the American Legion flag wearing his Boy Scout uniform. We will go to the airport strip to watch the fireworks over Boulder Lake tonight. Fishing has been good; some of everything including Muskies. The adults are trading stories at the campfires and the adolescents are playing Ghost in the Graveyard out in the dark and cards in the lodge. Bless this wonderful nation that provides so well for all of us. | ||
| June 26, 2006 Noel had a great time at the golf outing which was a memorial for a friends son. The young man died in maneuvers off an air craft carrier. There was a Navy Seal that parachuted onto a green (http://web.mac.com/fallingangelses) and some great speakers at the dinner. Our great nephew, Alex, is staying here for a month to work. Alex is Ryan’s brother. We cleaned out and fixed the plumbing in Acorn (more plumbing problems). Doug is just back from a Boy Scout weekend of biking the Sparta −Elroy Trail. He biked 50 miles on Saturday and had a great time. Muskies are still being elusive. They are following but not taking the bait. More walleye are being caught. Julie has taken to fishing and caught a nice large mouth bass off the pier. | ||
| June 16, 2006 Summer weather is here− mid 80′s and some humidity. The fishing is good, swimming is good and Zycie jest pi?kne (Life is beautiful!) Noel is in Chicago for the weekend for a golf outing with old friends. The cabins are nearly full for the weekend and everything seems to be ready for the year. We keep getting reports of a monster muskie. Notice the new pictures scattered on the site. | ||
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June 8, 2006 School′s out! School′s out! The kids are home. The weather is beautiful. The raft is in the water and we have been swimming out to it. Doug finished the year with a new hair style. It was nice to cut it all off and have our boy back. Julie spent the last few days of school at home sick with a virus. She is back to her old self. There is a family of snow shoe hare baby bunnies that we are seeing. All the plumbing seems to be done. Walter caught 2 legal muskie yesterday. Julie caught a nice large mouth off the pier. | ||
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| May 27, 2006 It is the weekend. Water problems are still plaguing Noel. A lot of people are fishing with the following results− Crappie, Bass, a 24 in. Walleye, Northern, and several Muskie follows including a huge one. Doug and Noel joined the Legion and the Cub Scouts to put flags on the veteran’s graves at the cemetery in Boulder. Monday Doug will play Taps on his bugle at the four memorial shoots that the Legion performs. It is good to have the resort full and happy. | ||
| May 23, 2006 The plumbing is coming along. 4 of the summer cabins are up and running. The screens and awnings are on the lodge. Some of the piers are in and the pontoon boat goes in tomorrow. The weather forcast for the holiday is warm with a chance of showers. We need the rain but hopefully it is at night. It is an exciting time at the lodge as things are coming together. We are looking forward to a busy weekend with guests in every cabin. The couple that were here for several days caught some crappies and a 36 in. muskie while fishing for crappie. Doug declared that the water is warm enough to swim and promises to try it tomorrow. Enjoy your holiday were ever you are and remember to take a moment of silence at 3:00 p.m. and think of the men and women in the armed forces now and in the past that have ensured that we live in this wonderful country. | ||
| May 20, 2006 Well here we go. It is time to get everything ready. Noel is turning water on to the cabins and finding all the broken pipes. One by one he fixes the leaks. So far three cabins are ready. Jill and Ed are both working too. Three cabins have new roofs. Dwight helped with the roofs. The last roof was done by a new firm: Three Grumpy Old Men Roofers (Noel, Dwight, and Ed). They are not taking on any new jobs. The weather has been very changeable as always. We had several weeks of rain and 9" of snow May 11. It is hard to get things done. School is coming to an end. Everyone is happy about that. Our school is short funding so we had a referendum. It failed in February and so we tried again in April. It passed but a lot of campaigning was done. Doug had a great year in Band, Gym and Art. Julia had a great year in reading and math and building friendships. We enjoyed the winter. Enough snow to ski all the time. There was one real blizzard in April. Most every weekend found us on the slopes at Indianhead. We also joined our Chicago ski club for a week in Aspen at the end of March. The weather and snow were wonderful and the mountains were awesome. Some guests were out with Jeff and had a beautiful catch of Walleye. When the cabin was cleaned all the fish were found in the refrigerator. Through a series of phone calls they learned of this before they left Minocqua and they returned for their catch. Last fall the beavers started attacking the trees on our frontage. A friend set traps and caught seven large beavers that had a house in the back bay. He was happy to have the pelts and we are lucky to have any hardwoods left. | ||
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| Contact us to reserve your cabin. |  |
| Hosts: Noel & Laurel Malicki |  |
| Evergreen Lodge | |
| 6235 Evergreen Lane |  |
| Boulder Junction, WI 54512 | |
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| Phone: 715−385−2132 | |
Toll Free: 877−947−2132 |
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| Click to contact us via E-mail |  |
| E-mail: info@evergreenlodgewi.com |  |
| Updated 02/24/08 |