The Brazil's Adventures: 2017.07.26-Ely, MN

2017.07.26-Ely, MN

We arrived Sunday, 2017.07.23. Travel days are usually rest days, once we get setup. We did find an interesting place for lunch that was known for it’s grilled cheese sandwiches. Jerry had the classic with fresh tomatoes and onions. I had a turkey club and it was delicious!

Welcome sign for Ely, MN

Tuesday, 2107.07.25, we found Kawishiwi Falls. Kawishiwi is an Ojibwe name meaning the “river full of beaver or muskrat houses.” Once we parked the car, it wasn’t a long hike to the falls, but the walk was infested with those pesky flying bugs! The bugs seem less if you could stay in the sunlight, but the path doesn’t always do that. <sigh> Onward…

Later that afternoon, we visited the International Wolf Center. They have 5 wolves in an acre and a half enclosure. While we were there, someone rang a bell and the 5 of them came out of their den to get some kibble. In a way it is sad. All the wolves there are neutered and/or spayed. Another male and a female were in another enclosure for retirement.

Wednesday, 2017.07.26, was mainly a take care of business day. We received closing documents for the sale of our property in Boerne. Four pages needed to be notarized, so we went to the local Wells Fargo. They were fast and efficient. We came home, signed the other papers, scanned and emailed the documents. However, the closing company wants the originals, too. Off we went to the Post Office. Jerry mailed them on Wednesday as on overnight, but they won’t get there until Friday. Welcome to a small remote town in the Boundary Waters. When done with the PO I tried to start the car. Yep, the battery was dead. Is this the fun part? Jerry called a local auto shop. The guy was there in less than 10 minutes. Yep, small towns are great! He got us started, we followed him back to the shop, we now have a new battery.

Wednesday at 5pm, Ely has a farmer’s market in the square. One of the RV ladies wanted to go, so she and I start walking. I didn’t realize it was so FAR AWAY! We are staying on 21^st, the market was on 8^th. She is younger and in much better shape than I am. It seemed she started running to the square, but I slowed her down. Too funny, but I really enjoyed it. I bought some fresh spring mix salad, homemade breads (a cinnamon and an olive oil with rosemary), a bar of homemade soap (Musky Rose) and 2 delightful wooden utensils (a spoon made from apple wood and a spatula made from maple root). Whew! That was enough! Time to head back to the coach. On the way back, I saw these lovely lilies. There are lots of these lovely flowers here.

Today, we drove to the Soudan mine, which is the site of the oldest and deepest iron ore mine in Minnesota. The mine quit operating in 1962 and was then donated in 1965 to the state of Minnesota to be preserved and operated as a state park. This is an interesting park! We got there in plenty of time for the 11am tour. However, they said it was 50 degrees in the mine and the tour lasted an hour. Neither Jerry nor I had jackets in the car. We decided to exchange our tickets for a later tour so we could drive 25 miles back to get our jackets.

I’m somewhat claustrophobic, so was concerned about riding the cage down for 2.5 minutes. But, I did it! There were about 12 folks in our cage. Fortunately, the tour guide was in our cage. There was one other lady there who was more scared but he did an excellent job of trying to distract her. The trip down was noisy and rough and dark. The tour guide held his flashlight up so the ride down wasn’t completely dark. The walls of the mine were maybe 10 inches away from my nose. Once we got down there, we loaded into carts and away we went for about a two minute ride. Then we climbed up a narrow spiral staircase 22’ to where he started the lecture.

And, yes, he did turn out all the lights, then lit a single candle to show how much light it produced. In the beginning, the miners only had candles, which they had to buy from the company store. Interesting tour!