BRRAAP! Check Out What The Tulibee Tavern Just Added

Ever been to Wahkon? It's on the south side of the big lake out east. I love to stop and grab a meal in Wahkon and fuel up while riding the Soo Line. One of those places you can stop at and grab a meal or a beverage is the Tulibee Tavern, formerly known as the Wahkon Inn, and they just added some non-traditional decoration to their interior wall.

The Tulibee Tavern just mounted a vintage snowmobile to the inside of their restaurant, and it's pretty cool looking!

The Tulibee Tavern mounted a locally built/manufactured snowmobile in 1972. The '72 Grand Prix was made just to the east of Wahkon in Isle Minnesota. So not only does the vintage sled add some pop to the interior of Tulibee, it also is a fun bit of history meant to spark discussion.

A snowmobile museum in Michigan had some more information on the Grand Prix.

"In 1970 and 1971 the Boatel Co. of Mora, Minnesota developed the Grand Prix and they were manufactured in Isle, MN. There two models; 1000 were made in 1970. The GP 440 had a 28hp 434cc Rockwell/JLO motor. In 1971, 1000 were made and these machines had a CCW motor. They also made houseboats and pontoons.

The biggest styling feature of the machines is their butterfly handlebars. Its creator wanted a handlebar with a vertical grip. Unfortunately, they made the machine priced way above the normal market in 1970 at $1895.00

Over the years the Boatel Company manufactured other snowmobiles after purchasing the rights for the Trailmaker from the Abe Matthews Co. in 1964. Next in their line-up came the Ski Bird and later the Grand Prix. 1972 was the end."

I'm a huge fan of the vintage sleds as my wife and I own another 70s snowmobile that was made in Minnesota, but ours was made up in Crosby at the Scorpion facility. So to see another made-in-MN snowmobile, just miles from where it was put together is pretty neat.

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If you want to check it out for yourself, the Tulibee Tavern is open Mon-Sat: 11am - close.