Ely Minnesota
In August of 2006, our family spent a week vacationing in Ely Minnesota. This was actually our first visit to the state of Minnesota. At the time, our three children were 5 yrs, 2 1/2 yrs, and 2 months old. Ely is way up north in the state of Minnesota and is most know for the Boundry Waters Canoe Wilderness. A majority of visitors come to canoe the boundry waters along the Canadain border during day trips or lengthy camping trips. We did not experience this due to us having little children, so we stayed on land. Ely offers resorts, motels, bed & breakfasts, and camping accommodations. There is also a newer, larger resort called the Grand Ely Lodge Resort, which also has a conference center, restaurant, and boat rentals. We stayed at the Timber Trail Lodge resort, which is located 7 miles from Ely on Farm Lake. It has 1 to 6 bedroom cabins and some motel style rooms. We stayed in a cabin that was near the beach area. It was the Norway Pine cabin. The cabin was ok. It wasn't the best cabin we ever stayed in, but it wasn't terrible. I guess the aspect of this cabin that we didn't like, was that there was not a living room area to relax or hang out in. Our cabin had a kitchen with table and chairs and just a small bench area. The cabin had a screened in porch. three bedrooms that were decent size, and a bathroom that was a little small and outdated. Outside our cabin we had our own firepit, picnic table, and a wooden bench swing. There were some cabins that were bigger and maybe the accomodations were a little more comfortable or nicer. We picked this cabin due to the fact that it was close to the beach, so that we could easily monitor the kids. The kids liked the beach and there were lots of other kids to play with. My daughter made several girlfriends her own age and she was sad to leave. The resort also had numerous docks and boats and motors to rent. Once a week the resort schedules a float plane to land at the resort. You can sign up to go for a ride in it. One night the resort also had a folk band come and play outside on the lawn, right next to our cabin. The Timber Trail Lodge is also an outfitter for canoeing on the boundry waters. You will see people taking off on their canoeing/camping trips from the resort's beach. Many people canoe for days and stop and camp along the way. We have heard it is a fun trip, but it is for adults or older children. The outfitters help design your route, select campsites, supply you with food & equipment, and get you all the permits you need. As far as other activities, there is not a ton of stuff to do in the area beside canoeing. At first we were kind of worried about what we were going to do all week. We then relized that we were forced to relax and do nothing, which was quite nice. Most of the time we stayed at the resort and let the kids swim and play. We only did two activities outside the resort. We went to the International Wolf Center. This is in Ely and is an eduacational center all about the Wolf. There are many displays, educational presentations, hands-on kids area, and movies to see. There is also a glassed in exhibit that housed several wolves that you can see. On another day we journeyed farther away to the Vince Shute Wildlife Sanctuary. This was a cool place and we all liked it. The sanctuary is 2 hours Nortwest of Duluth and the nearest town is Orr. It is out in the middle of nowhere and it took some time to find the place, even with navigation in our mini-van. The story goes that there was this man, Vince Shute, who long ago owned a logging company. Black bears became a nuisance on his property, because they were attracked to the smells of the men cooking food. The men routinely shot the bears. After a decade, Vince relized that the bears weren't mean, just hungary. In the early 1950's, he set food out in the meadow to keep the bears away from the buildings. He ended up develping special relationships with some of the bears and by the early 1980's he was a local celebrity. People came from all over to see the bears. When the bears were in the meadow they accepted people, but when they went back into the wild they exhibited their natural fear of humans. When Vince's health started to deteriorate, he began to worry about what would happen to the bears when he was gone. In 1993, at the age of 80, he donated his land for the formation of The American Bear Association. After he passed away, the Vince Shute Wildlife Sanctuary continued his legacy. Normally, people are advised never to feed wild bears. It was decided, however, that continuing to feed the bears that migrated here was a neccesity. If they stopped feeding the bears then the bears would venture to other property, approach humans, and become a nuisance. In the days when Vince became a celebrity and visitors would appear to see the bears, the people would come and feed the bears inappropriate items that were unhealthy. It was even reported that people would pour beer into the bears mouths. The bears at the sanctuary are now fed by trained volunteers and they feed the animals only natural food that is acceptable in a bears diet. When you visit the sanctuary, you will see lots of volunteers walking among the bears and feeding them. They do not hand feed the bears, interact with the bears, or make eye contact with them. They hide some of the food so the bears have to find it and they also place food in hallowed out logs and such. When you make a trip to the Vince Shute Sanctuary, you take a short bus ride from the parking lot. The bus pulls right up to the stairs of the observation deck. The large observation deck is built up high and built to protect vistitors from being completely out of reach of the bears. My daughter had a great observation. She said that the people were in the cage and the bears were free. That is basically right. When we were there we saw tons of bears walking around, eating, lounging, and playing. There were huge bears, smaller bears, and cubs. It was amazing. There were many volunteers slowly walking among the bears and setting out food. It is a sight. There were some volunteers up on the deck to give talks about the bears you were looking at and to answer questions. The Sanctuary is open Memorial Day to Labor Day. They start decreasing the food supply to the bears in the fall and eventually the bears migrate away to go hibernate for the winter. If you go to the Vince Shute Wildlife Sanctuary's website, you can read profiles about specific bears, which is interesting. There is a even a 3-legged bear. At the sanctuary there is a gift shop where all the proceeds go back to feeding the bears. As far as other things to do in Ely, there is a small list. You can fish, hike, golf at the two golf courses, or view wildlife. There is much wildlife around Ely Minnesota. A few of the unique species to look for is moose, black bear, and wolves. The Northern Lights can be seen throughout the year. It is most commonly seen in fall & winter along the edge of many of the lakes. I guess 40 minutes away is a casino. In the winter there is ski and snowmobile trails. In the fall, hunting is popular. There is a downtown in Ely that containas a strip of stores and some restuarants. There was quite a few stores specializing in name brand outdoor gear and outdoor clothing. We did do some dining out. We ate at Sir G's, which had good pizza and Italian food. We also ate at a busy indoor/outdoor restuarant downtown, which I cannot recall the name of. We also went to the Grand Ely Lodge one night to have dinner. It was decent and the kids were able to eat for free. Our family frequented Sherry's Northwoods Ice Cream quite a bit during the week. We also went to a Dairy Queen and Subway in Ely. The people in far northern Minnesota were quite different. Many very relaxed, hippy type individuals with long beards and long hair, displaying the natural look with their casual and outdoor wear and sandals. The main thing we liked about our trip to Ely Minnesota was that it forced us to slow down and relax. It is just that type of place!
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