The Second Half of the Month

May's weather (in South Dakota) is always unpredictable and this year is no exception. The forecast for our birthday was to be cool and rainy. We had invited local geocachers to come to our place for birthday cake and ice cream to help us celebrate. We cleaned the garage which needed it. 

Thanks for the photos, Sherry!

As it turned out, the weather was perfect for a gathering with the garage door open. Notice no one is wearing a coat on a Thursday evening.

Two young neighborhood geocachers saw the event posted online and stopped to get some water. I insisted they have cake and ice cream. (boys in the lower center)

We were very excited to learn our friends Jon & Sherry (seated) would be attending. We were supposed to meet them in northern MN earlier in the month, but weather changed their plans. They adjusted their schedule and joined the geocaching group of about 15 people.

Another birthday in the books for the two of us.

On Saturday of our birthday week I hosted geocachers in a Cache In Trash Out event to clean up Oxbow Park in Sioux Falls. It is the park area in the above photo along the Sioux River. The Parks and Rec Department said it is a neglected area that does not get the attention some of the other parks do during spring clean up events.

A nice sized group helped with the cleanup on a chilly Saturday morning. We worked for only an hour and and barely touched the size of the park. We'll request the area for our fall CITO event and work on another area in the park. (A geocacher from WI stopped by to help as did one from WV!)

On another note, a friend from AZ posted this idea on Facebook as an organizing addition for the space next to the garage door. I showed the idea to Hubby and the very next day, our geocaching tools had a storage space as did the other items that seem to fall over or are always in the wrong place. The original idea was to reuse a packing pallet. We didn't have one, so we used some of the excess lumber we seem to always have on hand. Well done, Hubby! Thanks Linda Booker for the idea!

Alvin's Phone Line

 The oldest geocache in Minnesota is called Alvin's Phone Line. It was placed in November 2000 and has been active ever since. It was a must find on my list on this trip. It was just off the highway we were traveling. It wasn't until we reached the geocache that I learned why it was named Alvin's Phone Line.

the story (click to enlarge)

this sign greets us at the start of the trail

It is a walk of .14 on the service road of the buried phone line and the deer trail. It was soggy with mud-sucking puddles from the spring thaw and recent rains. It is a very well defined trail.

Alvin's chair

read the story above to understand

the ammo can was in the 5 gallon pail

our obligatory photos

notice what happens to the chair two photos above

Sure am glad we had our water proof hiking boots with us and the good sense to wear them before we started this trek. This cache, Alvin's Phone Line MADE this week-long adventure the success it was. We have found the oldest cache in 11 states. There are no plans to find the other 39!

Caching in Canada

 There are 7 Minnesota counties bordering Canada. Our plan was to geocache in 6 of the border counties (we geocached in 1 last September) and since we were in the northern part of 3 of the border counties, we planned to cross into Canada to find geocaches in Ontario and Manitoba.

We had our passports and our vaccination cards. I thought we were set. I did not realize since Covid all non-residents must also have the ArriveCAN app on their phones with completed information. It is not a difficult form unless you are in the immigration office and they tell you it must be completed in 15 minutes or you will not be allowed in that day. Luckily my phone and I got the job done and we were allowed to enter Ontario.

(Last summer while visiting Glacier National Park, I tried to help two women complete the form so they could cross to see relatives they had not seen in over a year. The issue was old phones, not knowing their email address or password, how to scan or take photos of documents, intermittent cell service, etc. etc. I know I spent an hour trying to help them. We did get to the point where we thought we had everything completed, but I have no idea if they were able to cross that day or not.)

We were so flustered after our 15 minutes in the immigration office, I did not get a photo of entering Ontario and had to settle for one of their road signs.

There were 3 geocaches we hoped to find along Highway 11. They had all been found last fall, so we were hopeful. The first cache was in a city park. The park was closed due to flooding. BUMMER! So we headed west to the second cache. It was located next to the Rainy River. It was also under water. That was okay as we had one more possibility. It was a new geocache placed in February and no one had found it yet. It was on a train car, but had a very good hint. I was certain we would be the first-to-find. We looked for 20 minutes, crawling under the train car and kneeling in the mud but did not find it. We had traveled 23 miles and did not have a geocache! It was early in the afternoon so we decided the nearest possible successful geocache would be 37 miles north, but we had to backtrack to get there.

we did backtrack and we did find the cache

above water

another Finland in Ontario

so I have been to Finland twice this month!

geocaching proof we have found a geocache in Ontario

Willie Walleye

our 'home' Friday night

On Saturday we planned to cross into Manitoba to find some geocaches. The American border officer told us on Friday he thought I would have to update my information on the ArriveCAN app. Other than knowing the name of the border crossing and the day and time we would be crossing, everything else was saved and needed no changes. This time it took 30 seconds!

the American officer was right

This border crossing was less busy and the Canadian officer had time to chat and learn about geocaching. They always ask why you are coming and for how long. He was not satisfied with "We just want to drive along Highway 12 in Canada." This time he took our passports and not my phone with the QR scan. He said the info would be electronically connected to our passports. It was and we were cleared to enter and "Have fun. I hope you find them." (So did we after Friday's experience!)

We had 6 geocaches on our list. Three of them were similar to this one, placed by the Sunrise Corner Tourism. Easy to see. Log book was there. We found a total of 5 caches along the 17 miles we traveled in Manitoba.

and the proof

At both US crossings our border guards knew of geocaching. Saturday's guard was very surprised to learn we had found 5 geocaches in the short distance and in the 3 villages we traveled through. Friday's officer said his kids geocached. On both days we crossed back to Minnesota at smaller, less active checkpoints. Very different than our entry at International Falls.

We crossed at Rosseau and learned it is home to Polaris snowmobiles.

There was a geocache on this motorcycle. It was just plain old luck that Hubby found the micro container! 

After Saturday we have just two northern Minnesota counties without a geocache. Other than some less than perfect weather it has been a great road trip.

Spring in the Forest

 We had plans to find and sign a string of 28 geocaches in a forest here in northern MN. It was not as easy as we were led to believe it would be to find bison tubes hanging from deciduous trees. We found 13 of them in the 2 hours we allotted because of the distance we traveled. As disappointing (somewhat) as the geocaching was, the fulfilling part was the photos I got to take. These are all phone photos.

I was very pleased with the trip because of all the flowers I was able to find and log on my phone! 

Ely MN

Why Ely (EE-lee) MN?  Well, our friends Jon & Sherry had reservations to camp and canoe in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness this week. Unfortunately ice-off did not happen until just last weekend after Jon cancelled his BWCAW reservation. We chose to continue with the plan because we wanted to geocache in the 14 northern MN counties. We've had reservations for this trip for two months. 

So what is there to see and do in Ely if you are NOT a BWCAW enthusiast? 

according to the Ely Visitor Center

an interesting root system on this tree

There are miles and miles of trails for hiking and biking, often around the shore of one of the many, many lakes in this region. These trails also offer options for winter sport enthusists. This trail led to a waterfall.

International Wolf Center

wolf statues at the visitor center

For a nominal fee, you can stand behind a glass wall and watch resident gray wolves communicate, play, hunt and eat. The center also offers weekend and week-long adventures to other northern MN areas to learn about wolves.

Teaching the world about wolves

And if you are a true nature enthusiast and animal lover, you might want to visit...

North American Bear Center

where you can also view from the other side of a glass wall four resident bears in a 2.5 acre natural habitat of forested pond and waterfalls to learn more about bear behavior, ecology and their interaction with humans.

Fur trappers were the first 'white' residents to the area. Then came the miners looking for gold but instead found iron. (This area is part of the Minnesota Iron Range.) Then the lumber industry took off because the mines needed wooden supports and beams to prevent cave in and as more people came lumber was needed to provide homes and businesses. At one time there were 11 operating mines in the Ely area. The first, largest and most productive Pioneer Mine operated until 1967. The early lumber logging and milling industry depleted the area's tree reserves by the 1920s. Logging continues today on a limited scale for paper pulp.

So with the trapping, mining and logging industries declining, what did Ely have to support its residents and attract visitors? Water and lots of it.

Ely is best known as a popular entry point for the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and Quetico Provincial Park and has cashed in on the necessary equipment and licensing required for enthusiasts to fish or canoe (or other water craft) on the many, many lakes and waterways of the area. Ely's main street is lined with outfitters, outdoor clothing stores, and restaurants. Ely is 16 miles from the Canadian border.

We have driven around the area and have noted the numerous lodges and resorts to accommodate the summer and winter visitors. The community of 3300 residents have adapted to the changes in its commerce history.

We are staying at a lodge overlooking one of the many lakes at Ely. This is the view from our window.

The lodge has a restaurant and bar which we have really appreciated during our stay. We chose to order breakfast on Thursday, our more relaxed day on this adventure. I ordered the Grand Stuffed Potatoes. 

Crispy hash browns stuffed with peppers, onions, mushrooms, and shredded cheddar cheese.

• With bacon, sausage or ham. (extra cost of course)

It was delicious and the BEST hash brown breakfast dish I have ever ordered. And it was more than I could eat! All of our meals have been excellent. No more food photos.

And an interesting bit of history about the Root Beer Lady. 

two of the four resort cabins

Dorothy Molter lived for 56 years on Knife Lake in the BWCAW. She gradually gained national prominence and extensive coverage in media, books and documentaries, and over the years tens of thousands of canoeists stopped by to visit and drink her homemade root beer. Molter first visited her future home (The Isle of Pines Resort) on Knife Lake in 1930 and it became her home in 1934. Until the mid/late 1940s, the Isle of Pines resort was typical of many north woods resorts. It was reachable by seaplanes and motorboats, and later by snowmobiles as they came into use.

After the BWCAW was designated, nearly all motorized transportation to Molter's lodge was eliminated, and residences, buildings, business and the few roads from the wilderness were removed, leaving Molter as the only full-time resident in a wilderness area three times the size of Rhode Island. After her death, her cabin was dismantled and moved to Ely. Her residence and a second cabin of hers were reconstructed there, and the Dorothy Molter Museum was established to preserve her legacy.

Dorothy died in 1986 at the age of 79. She was the last permanent resident of the BWCAW, living alone 18 miles and 6 portages from the closest road. Throughout the year people as many as 7000 would travel by paddle-canoe, skis or dogsled to visit the woman of the wilderness, drink some root beer or lodge in one of the four resort cabins. She was a registered nurse and would administer first aid to those in need.

I have given a very short synopsis of Dorothy Molter. To read more about this amazing, untraditional, trailblazing woman, here are three links:

Dorothy & her family

Dorothy & her Root Beer

The Isle of Pines

And once again, we would not have known or cared about Dorothy Molter if not for geocaching.