Vacation Time!

Just came back from the best week ever!  We LOVE Ely, Minnesota!
It is so peaceful there and just gorgeous!  Entry to the Boundary Waters, I'm sure you have all heard of the Boundary Waters right?!

There is so much to do there.  Tons of hiking trails to check out. One trail we hiked was Kawishiwi Falls Trail really beautiful waterfalls on that one.

 You want to go fishing well you came to the right place umm land of 10,000 lakes and there is no shortage in Ely.
Canoeing, kayaking just to name a few.
Winter is a whole other story snowshoeing, skiing and ice fishing!

We rented a cabin on a beautiful little lake named One Pine Lake.  A pretty peaceful lake not much traffic at all.
You know how most places you rent come with a guest book? One woman described the cabin as living in one of the adorable Door County shops (Door County another place you need to visit!), it was magazine worthy.

Along with the cabin came the usage of a canoe, paddle and fishing boat.  Also a speed boat at extra cost.
We brought along floaty beds and got used every single day!  It just dawned on me why my shoulders are aching this week, all that paddling I did last week, it was a blast!

Are you into wild life?  Just driving around we passed by bucks, does, a wolf and so many eagles I could not count!  Even baby eagles amazing!  Oh almost forgot about all the loons our state bird, you will see and hear them on any lake you visit!

In Ely they have a wolf preservation (I have been there) and also one for bears you can visit.
Wild flowers every way you turn, like living in a painting.

At this point if you can not hear my passion for the northern country prepare yourself this is going to be a lengthy blog post.  I give you props if you make it to the end!

Only photo my 12 year old will let me take of him lately.

Our goal is to move into that area in the next 10 years.  Big change for all of us.  Hubbie and I both grew up in the Twin Cities and have lived there our whole lives.  But living in Minnesota you are always exposed to lake life, farms and wilderness.
My husband has more farming in his background and I northern living.

Being a big cook that I am, I had to check out the two grocery stores in the town and their prices.  Both had great deli areas one store had better prices than the other. I was a little surprised they didn't have higher prices.  There is another larger town an hour away that has most any store you would need. Target etc....

Most meals were grilled at the cabin.  But we wanted to check out some of the places that are closed in the winter but open in the summer.

Cajun Bacon Wrapped Shrimp, before we threw them on the grill

The Chocolate Moose was recommended to us by a previous Ely resident we met recently in Duluth, MN. The Chocolate Moose, what a cute name?!  Nice place, they had outdoor seating and a singer performing while we were there.  But we needed a break from the heat so we sat inside.  It was dinner time and we deserved some beer after all that hiking!

My son LOVES Root Beer and Ely is home to Dorothy Molter Root Beer, really cool story behind Dorothy, you can even go and visit her old home (we did that last winter).

We started of the with the walleye cakes (like crab cakes) they were wonderful!

The meals were also good.  But when it came to the bill, yikes!
I think that they need to have higher prices because of shipping the food way up there and only being open part of the year.

On to another review and that would be a new place totally stopped me in my tracks Gators Grilled Cheese Emporium!  Cheese glorious Cheese!
Really cute place, brand spankin' new and will be open year round.  Great prices too!
A grilled cheese menu, sandwiches, mac n cheese, salads and more.  A portion of the proceeds are donated to the local animal shelter.

Looking for a good cup of coffee? Try The Front Porch.  Very friendly people and great menu.

The Boys stopped into the Red Cabin Custard for a little cool off treat one day after a hike, they both loved it.

Ok one place we did not go to this trip (well we did stop in to buy a growler of beer) is The Boathouse Brewpub & Restaurant.  They brew their own beer, that changes all the time, food is great (at a great price) and the beer is good.  This time we tried the blueberry beer, it was awesome!

Ok last review!  Are you still here?!

We had dinner at Stony Ridge Cafe.  It's totally hidden up on a hill over looking a lake.
It's really a burger joint (other things on the menu) but they have 50 some burgers on the menu!
And there is a challenge burger!
If you go there I suggest you get the "wimpy" version of the burger. My burger was so big I thought I accidently took the challenge, the burger was a big as my head!  I could eat about a 1/4 of it.
But it was really good. Again, the prices are a little high.

There are more choices for places to eat but we have not checked them out yet,  But trust me we will :)

Tuesdays evenings is farmers market time, they have lots of vendors.  But most days I noticed there are vegetable vendors lined up on the main strip everyday.  That is way awesome to me!

So I suggest you rent a cabin or pitch a tent (get your mind out ot the gutter) light a fire and wait for those late night stars come out because they are breath taking, you will never want to leave Ely, Minnesota.