I'm in town for the week , trying to find somewhere open in this winter tundra for gifts…read more Jackpot,found this adorable shop! Mmmm the lovely smell as you walk in. Lots of Ely stuff here. Saunas are a big thing up here, they have a whole section dedicated to sauna stuff. Lots of essential oils! Jewelry,kitchen stuff,garden deco. And lots more! The girl working here was very friendly and helpful. You need to stop in here!

We found this gift shop exploring around the city of Ely. It had lots of unique items and Ely…read moregifts we could not find at any of the other Ely shops. It has a section dedicated to soaps and sauna stuff. It became our favorite gift shop in Ely.

This is place is a dream. Top notch fantastic. Something for all pocketbooks. Check out my post…read moreat tundrabites.com

Fabulous boutique art gallery. This gallery supports 25 local artist who live within a 30 mile…read moreradius. It is staffed by one of the artist, so if you stop by you'll be able to meet one of these talented local artist. I was attracted to the jewelry and pottery. The beauty of the hand-crafted jewelry was amazing. The attention in detail, blew my mind. The pottery was so beautiful, I had to buy a piece for my master en-suite. The photography and paintings were mostly nature themed, which is not my personal taste, but they were something to behold. If you want a painting or photo of wild animals, they have something for you. The artist working the gallery the day we visited was delightful. She was so energetic and thrilled to talk about the artist we liked. If you're in Ely, take and make the time to stroll through this gallery and experience the amazing talent of these Boundary Waters artist.

We loved our little visit of Dorothy's museum. We thought it would be just a kitschy, niche little…read morelocal experience, maybe like visiting Paul and Babe, but it was so much more than that. We didn't do any formal tours but opted to explore the cabins on our own. You could really get to know the kind of person Dorothy was through her purposeful misspellings and quirky home decor. As we finished looking through the first cabin, it really sunk in with us that Dorothy had become a pillar of her community and the communities in and around the BWCA. She served such a unique role as the last non-Indigenous person to live in the Boundary Waters, offering emergency medical care when needed due to her nursing background or offering lodging or root beer to those passing through. I can tell you we did not expect to be crying at the Root Beer Lady's museum, but the eulogies for her hit us right in the heart. I aspire to be such a firecracker and build that beloved of a community. If you're humble, work hard, and share your gifts and fortunes, the world will be a better place. As we imagine our own futures and purpose, we will definitely ask ourselves, what would Dorothy do?

Considering my maiden name is Molter, I am a little partial. :)…read moreMy family and I enjoy taking trips to visit & pick up root beer every few years. Every single time, we look over everything & read it all again as if it were the first time. We truly enjoy it & even submitted some magazines and photos the last time we were there. We had to leave the items with the museum to make copies and entrust them to return them to us, and they absolutely did. Jess is wonderful and our family is super thankful for her.

With all the fires going on and the heatwave that came through, we decided to get out of the cabin…read moreand go explore the wolf center. The wolves get some sort of activity a couple times a day. At 4pm they called out overhead that there would be a demo. The wolves were presented with some treats and came out for viewing behind the glass of the auditorium. They have five wolves, only one is female and two of the wolves are brothers; all are neutered. We enjoyed the interactive museum- listening to wolf howls and touching pelts. They had some skulls of dogs to compare to the skull of a wolf. Wow. They explained wolf population decline and conservation efforts. There was even some Native American expressions of wolves. They have so many stuffed wolves in their exhibit- some are huge. There's a lot of history there- a lot to read. I would say this place serves adults and kids alike. The interactive part is good for the kids as well as seeing the live wolves. The adults can watch short clips and learn about wolves behavior and safety. The employees are very kind and answered my wolf questions. They have a gift shop with attire and many other wolf related items, as well as snacks and non alcoholic drinks. They have the local root beer in a can! They have ample parking (electric car charger available) and clean restrooms. Admission fees are reasonable. We spent about 1.5 hours there but you could easily spend more. I would recommend a visit here.

This is absolutely worth a stop if you're near Ely. It is so fun to see the wolves and talk to…read moreguides about all your wolf questions. People working here are very knowledgeable and passionate about what they do. The center and facilities are beautiful and well maintained. My only wish is that there was an outdoor viewing platform or area.

I took my first class today, working with polymer clay. The school has a variety of classes, from…read moremaking root beer to building a canoe. The space is perfect for classes, everyone was friendly and helpful. A lot of fun!

Folk Schools are rare. This is perhaps the third one that I have visited with. It is designed to…read moreteach people local crafts and historical activities. Each year they build a canoe from local materials; learn about harvesting mushrooms; carve spoons; local ethnic cooking; woodworking; nature; etc. The staff is wonderful and the location is awesome. If you are able to, I would highly recommend that you take a course at the Ely Folk School.