A few months ago I was asked to create a map of Dead Lake in Ottertail County.  My wonderful customer Angie assumed I hadn’t heard of the lake and began telling me that the lake was actually really nice despite what the name would suggest.  She didn’t have to tell me how nice of a lake it was… when I was younger we visited it many times since my grandparents stayed at a resort there.  Despite being small, I still have a few memories from there:  I remember fishing for sunnies off the dock (which I recall were best caught with a kernel of corn near the lily pads off to the right), spending time with cousins running around the campground, and for some reason, eating cheese (go figure?).

The personal memories aside, I just find the shape of this lake really cool.  There are islands, bays, peninsulas and a range of depths.   To make the map as detailed as possible I searched for a expert on the lake to teach me the names of all these features.  I came across Bill Poulsen from Heart Beach Resort [ www.heartbeachresort.com ] and was happy to find he was friendly and willing to tell me more about the lake.  Bill was actually spending the winter in Nebraska but took over a 1/2 hour out of his day fill me in on the history of the lake, as well as providing me with the names of all the features.  He was a great resource for the map and I just loved his passion for the lake.  If you are ever looking for a place to stay on the lake, Heart Beach Resort is your place.  Thanks again Bill!

In the end, I was really happy with how the map turned out. There are alot interesting features and it even shows a large portion of Star Lake. Here are a couple pictures of the finished map…

 

 

Brad — Thank you – thank you – thank you! I love my new Blueprint map. I have never seen anything like this and once I saw this in a store – I knew I had to have one. Working with you on this has been a treat — and I feel extremely lucky to be the first owner of a Blueprint map of Dead Lake. It has already found the perfect spot on a wall in the cabin. I appreciate the attention to detail and the time you took to get things figured out. I had no idea on the amount of time it actually takes you do the first map – Wow! It is truly a one of kind treasure. -Angie

 

Special note: Thank you to my sister Kris for creating a very detailed scrapbook of my childhood so I could easily find that picture from those Dead Lake days. : )

We recently delivered a 6′ x 4′ aerial photo for East Otter Tail Insurance in Perham, MN. They will be using it for reference when discussing properties with thier customers. The typical Aerial Photo prints we sell are 24″x36″, so this project was a first for us. The final product turned out great though, and most importantly, our customer was extremely happy. Thank you Alisyn for your business!

Hunting season is coming up, if you would like a print of your hunting land give me a call. They are not only very helpful for planning your hunt, but excellent decoration for the hunting shack!

Paul Whitenack of Minneapolis and 3 close friends decided to take a very unique trip earlier this year.  They canoed from Lake Superior to Lake Michigan in 4 days, using streams and rivers to cut through the Upper Peninsual of Michigan.   After returning, Paul contacted us to see if we could make him a map that would help the memories of his adventure stay alive for years to come.

The map was created by combining 30 larger maps, patching, and reducing their size down so that they created a single, very detailed map.  Here is Paul’s story and some images from his trip.

[quote]”The creation of our Blueprint Map must have been especially challenging because we wanted it to display a 60-mile canoe route, rather than just a single lake. After our gang of four canoeists retraced a historic trade route across the Upper Peninsula of Michigan established by the Voyageurs in the 1700’s, starting in Lake Superior, paddling and portaging across a series of lakes and rivers of the UP and finishing in Lake Michigan four days later, we wanted something special to commemorate our voyage. Brad was able to create a beautiful map that conveys the large scale of our journey, yet contains enough detail to clearly display the route that we navigated and the topography of the landscape. The map looks great on the wall of my office and will serve as a treasured reminder of our voyage long after the photographs and the memories begin to fade.” -Paul Whitenack[/quote]

Along with the many details on the map, we also placed custom icons that indicated the location of each campsite they stayed at on the journey. Listening to Paul describe the trip as we placed each icon was very cool for me.

Even though the map was challenging to create, the look on Paul’s face when I delivered the map made the process very worthwhile. If you or someone you know has a custom map project you would like to talk about, definitely call me at 651-230-2719… I would love to discuss it with you and help turn your memories into a unique piece of art.

Thanks again Paul for the opportunity to create this map for you!