Ely

Bear Head Lake State Park

/ mariezhuikov / 6 Comments
One of the small docks along the shore of Bear Head Lake.

Russ and I had only used our Scamp trailer once this summer (to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore), so, we decided to get one more trip in before the snow began to fly. We chose Bear Head Lake State Park in northern Minnesota for several reasons: it was nearby, and we had passed the turnoff for it several times and wondered what it would be like to stay there. We were also intrigued because we’d heard that in 2010, it won the America’s Favorite Park contest. It must have something going for it!

We pulled into our site on a Friday evening. We chose a site on a loop that bordered the lakeshore. One thing that impressed us was that all campers have equal access to the shore. No sites are directly on the lake (they’re across the road from it), but there are several trails off the road that lead down to small docks that are perfect for fishing or lake-gazing.

The beach at Bear Head Lake State Park.

The air was warm for mid-October and the wind was calm. After our Spam and eggs supper, we took a walk on trails along the lake. The tamarack trees and aspens were still clothed in their splendid yellows. The trail ended at a beach surrounded by tall red pines. We’d find out later that these pines were spared during logging times because they were too small to be of interest. Good thing the place is a state park because they’d certainly be of interest to loggers now!

A Trail Center building nearby offered bathrooms and a warm place for hikers to gather before heading out on any one of the park’s 13 miles of paths. I discovered later that the impressive center was built thanks to the park’s standing in the 2010 contest, which was sponsored by Coca Cola. The park won $100,000, which they spent to build the center.

At the time, the park staff credited their win to Facebook and the power of social media because a popular bear frequented the park and people wanted to help draw attention to the bear’s home. The bear is no doubt long gone, but the Trail Center stands as a testament to the good will of social media strangers.

After our hike we enjoyed a fire (firewood is for sale at the park office). Our plans to hike the next day were disrupted by a steady drizzle. We opted to drive to Ely, Minnesota, instead. One of our stops was the Dorothy Molter Museum, which I described in my previous post. We also ended up getting a private tour of the Pioneer Mine Museum. Like the Dorothy Molter Museum, it was also open past Labor Day, contrary to its publicized operating season.

We didn’t intend to visit the Mine Museum. We began walking on a paved trail around Miner’s Lake but the steady drizzle and my failing health (I was catching the flu or something from Russ) made us turn around after a short jaunt.

As we neared our car in the parking lot of the Mine Museum, a man called to us from a building atop a nearby hill. He said the museum was open and he’d gladly give us a tour. Having nothing else better to do on a rainy day, we took him up on his offer.

The Pioneer Mine closed in 1967 and its payload was iron ore. The museum featured a plethora of artifacts and photos from its hey day. Our guide was Seraphine Rolando whose grandfather and other relatives had worked in the mine. Seraphine was a great storyteller and regaled us with tales of memorable rescues and descriptions of what it was like to work in the mine. Unlike the nearby Tower-Soudan Mine, the Pioneer Mine was wet, dirty, and much more hazardous.

Seraphine is a legend in his own right. I found this profile of him in the local Ely paper after I returned home. I easily remembered his name because one of my ancestors was named Seraphina, which must be the female version of his name.

Seraphine Rolando in the mine museum. Image courtesy of Trip Advisor

After our tour, we stopped at the Evergreen Restaurant in the Ely Grand Lodge for lunch. Interestingly, the lodge is built on a pile of mine tailings. The restaurant featured a beautiful view of Shagawa Lake and more golden trees.

Rain featured heavily on our next camping day, too. We ended up leaving for home a few hours early because I was now fully engulfed by the flu. But I recovered and am now ready for more meanderings.

Staying at Bear Head Lake State Park is like staying on a lake in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, but with more conveniences. Electric sites are available but not water hookups. A pump well is in the park and civilized toilet facilities are also available. They were closed during our visit, however, so we had to make do with an outhouse.

A final thing I wanted to mention was that one of our camping neighbors employed was using a leaf blower as they were packing up to leave. I suppose they were cleaning leaves off their outdoor carpet, or something. That was a new one on us – hearing a leaf blower at a campground. It’s bad enough hearing them at home, much less in a natural space. I sure hope this doesn’t become a trend!

The view from Evergreen Restaurant in Ely, MN.

The Root Beer Lady: A True Story

/ mariezhuikov / 18 Comments

Once upon a time, a woman lived alone in the northern Minnesota wilderness. Except, she wasn’t really alone. Birds and otters kept her company. Canoeists stopped by her island on Knife Lake near the Canadian Border. At one time, she even ran a resort there.

Image courtesy of the Dorothy Molter Museum.

But after the land was designated as an official roadless area and then a Wilderness with a capital W, making a living became more difficult for the woman, not to mention getting supplies. Rogue sea plane pilots tried to help her, but they were arrested. The only thing the woman could do was haul in the supplies she needed by canoe, portaging five times over the 33 miles to civilization.

In 1952, a writer with the Saturday Evening Post visited her and wrote a story about “The Loneliest Woman in America.” The article turned her into a national legend – a woman living alone among wolves and braving minus 50-degree winter temperatures. But the woman always contended the writer got it wrong, she was never lonely, even in winter.

One day, she was cleaning and found dozens and dozens of glass bottles left from when her resort served pop (as we call it in Minnesota). Rather than haul out the bottles and discard them, Dorothy Molter (as was her name) got the idea to make root beer for passing canoeists in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

Dorothy Molter’s root beer cooler.

She hit the jackpot. If there’s one thing most wilderness campers appreciate, it’s a fizzy cold drink after days away from civilization. Dorothy made her drinks with root beer extract, sugar, yeast, and water from Knife Lake. They were cooled on ice cut from the lake in winter. Canoeists donated a dollar per bottle.

Dorothy made root beer for years. At the height of her business, she produced 12,000 bottles and still couldn’t keep up with demand. She was trained as a nurse and aided any canoeists who needed help by sewing up cuts and removing fishhooks from various body parts. She once saved the lives of a father and son who got hit by lightning in a sudden summer storm. Dorothy also nursed wild animals, including a crow and a mink.

A strong and plain-spoken woman, Dorothy didn’t swear or curse, but she didn’t mince words either. Her philosophy for surviving in the wilderness could be summed up in the sign she posted at her home on the Isle of Pines. “Kwitchurbeliakin,” it advised.

Dorothy continued living in the wilderness until she was in her late 70s. She kept in touch by radio, checking in with Forest Service staff daily. One winter day she didn’t check in. Then another day passed with no contact. A wilderness ranger made the trek and found her dead of a heart attack from hauling wood.

The Dorothy Molter Museum, Ely, MN

Although Dorothy’s time passed, her memory is preserved in a museum named after her in Ely, Minnesota. The fame and good will she garnered through her lifestyle prompted its formation.

Russ and I had heard of Dorothy over the years but never had a chance to meet her or visit her museum. We thought we were out of luck on a recent camping trip to Ely because a brochure we happened upon said the museum was closed after Labor Day.

With drizzly weather forecast, Russ and I ditched hiking plans and meandered into Ely to see what struck our fancy. We had driven though the whole town with no fancies struck, when we passed the sign for the Dorothy Molter Museum on the outskirts. The sign read “Open.” So, we turned in, hoping the sign wasn’t just the product of end-of-season-forgetfulness on somebody’s part.

The museum really was open! We spent a couple of hours touring Dorothy’s cabins, which volunteers had hauled out of the wilderness to house her artifacts. We enjoyed watching excerpts from a video about Dorothy’s life. We viewed her root beer-making equipment and perused the gift shop, where visitors can buy a bottle of Dorothy’s root beer. Despite the drizzle, we also got a bit of hiking in on the quarter-mile trail in the pine plantation surrounding the museum.

We left glad to see Dorothy’s memory preserved.  As one of the museum signs says, “Although Dorothy  has been gone from Knife Lake for over 30 years, we hope that you find inspiration to live your lives like she did, in harmony with the environment, with integrity, helping humankind, and making a contribution toward a better world.”

Dorothy’s winter boots