Exploring Ely

Exploring Ely

By Allan Olson
The weekend flew by in a blur of miles as we left town again for another camping trip of the summer. We made our reservations back in February when the government was cooperating with each other and as summer approached we thought they were going to screw up our summer plans again. The last time we were in Ely was four years ago and it was because the state government shut down. We found a Federal Park to camp at and enjoyed our stay. This time we had reservations at a State Park and feared the worst. Thankfully they settled their arguments and didn’t close the parks.
We arrived at our camping destination late Thursday afternoon and we were greeted just outside the entrance by a young black bear that wasn’t scared of us and was perfectly content munching on some greens near a yard. We thought this was a great omen as it stayed their long enough for a few photos for a comparison “then and now” remembrance.
We signed in at the park, found our campsite and set up our tents, made some food and then left to explore Ely via our favorite hobby – geocaching. We arrived in town and promptly drove through it to a nearby waterfall that we had visited the last time we were in town.  We spent some time at the location before moving on for more exploring the area. The remainder of the day we spent time driving around Ely and visiting a couple stores – including everyone’s favorite a bookstore. The hour was getting late so we headed back to camp for the evening.
On Friday we took a tour of the Soudan Underground Mine, I couldn’t and wouldn’t ever want to work in an environment like that, but it was pretty neat to visit the underground location and escape the impending heat in an environment that is 50 degrees 365 days of the year.  I stopped in at the local paper to grab their latest edition and the quick visit ended up with at least a 10 minute conversation. We enjoyed lunch at a nearby diner and then proceeded with the rest of the day exploring Ely one stop at a time. The day flew by and soon it was time to return to camp for the evening. We grilled some food over the open flames, went for a walk to the beach and then returned to the camp for the bed.  Saturday morning we promised the kids we would take them swimming if the weather held, it did – so they did. The day was heating up quickly and they spent at least an hour in the water. We headed back to camp to change, made lunch and once again returned to Ely. We spent some time exploring all the murals in town and just enjoying the area. The kids wanted to return to the Wolf center, I had hoped to go to the Bear Center in Orr, but I decided to give in to the kids and let them see the wolves – since none of them remembered the visit four years ago. That evening we went on a moose “hunt” toward a little town of Isabella, which has the state’s highest moose population, we were armed with my camera and everyone was scanning the ditches and waters just hoping for a glimpse of the mighty animal, but over two hours on the road round trip and we ended our visit without seeing a moose.
On Sunday, I went for an early morning walk – getting in a couple miles before 7 a.m. (if I did that every day I would really be in shape) and returned to camp to still find four sleeping children. Eventually, they woke up and we were able to finish packing up for the return trip home. We made it back home about 4:30 p.m. and started unloading the vehicle and making supper so we could get the kids to baseball at Ferris Park .
It was another fun camping adventure for the entire family. We have one more big trip planned in early August and then hopefully we might find time in September for a close by weekend trip if the weather stays nice.
I hope everyone enjoys their summer vacation and is able to spend some time on the lake and in the woods. Thanks to everyone for reading, and as always, please be safe while enjoying your favorite outdoor recreational activity and on the lakes. Remember to take pictures to preserve a lifetime of memories. Thanks for reading, and have a great week!

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