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.

Seeing the wolves close up is pretty amazing, they are so beautiful! The pups were really cute too…read more But after you watch them for a while with the handlers (who were in the enclosure the entire time we were there) you feel like you're watching large domesticated dogs. There was also a demonstration when we were there and we had hoping we'd learn more about each wolf but it was only the wolves being fed bratwurst. I would have left 4 stars but the bathrooms were really gross. Still cool to see the wolves but for the price it didn't quite hit the mark.

Our destination was Bear Head Lake State Park and we decided to take a detour to check out the…read morecenter. So glad we did. While there are several areas to peruse, my favorites were the presentation by the guides and the enrichment activity. At 3:15pm, the guide gave a very educational and engaging presentation about several aspects of wolves, I.e. their color, what they eat, how they hunt, how they work and live together, etc. the presentation was made in front of the viewing area so as the wolves walked by, she also talked specifically about that individual. She had props and answered many questions. Very nicely done. At 4pm, and enrichment activity was held for the wolves. Trainers enter the wolves' enclosure and hide various treats for them to explore. It allows guests to see the wolves doing natural behaviors. Their large paws were fascinating to me. Such a beautiful animal. So glad we stopped.

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.