Page 52 - USA ROAD TRIP SUMMER of 2000

The temperature was 50 degrees and it was damp. The tunnels

were well lighted so it wasn’t scary. They did turn the lights off a
couple times and it was indeed VERY dark. They showed us how

little light one gets from a candle on a hard hat as the men had to

work with in the early years.

Our guide had worked the mine, as had his grandfather before
him. He had loved his work and it showed in his narration. They

had manikins “working” in the mine to show what equipment
they used. The tour was very well done and instructional.

Another unique feature of this mine was the fact that is was a
very safe environment with only 13 deaths in the 80 years of

operation. That helped somewhat in relieving the creeping
claustrophobia.

When we came out of the mine, the sky was blue!! We are in Ely

tonight and hoping that the weather holds tomorrow to go to the
International Wolf Center here in town.

ELY and THE INTERNATIONAL WOLF CENTER

Wednesday - Ely is “The Gateway to the Boundary Waters Canoe
Area Wilderness”. It is a small town with more canoe outfitting

stores than homes. It really is a major resort area for those who

want to spend some time at a lake camp and/or canoeing in the
wilderness park. It is not a place to hike.

We felt tired so we slept in today. The Wolf Center wasn’t open

until 9:30 anyway. Did some grocery shopping and tried to find a
motel for the night. We were turned out of last night’s Super 8, as

they were full for the rest of the week. It turns out that they are
having a huge softball tourney and all the places in town are

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