I’m starting to write this on the 99th day of our trip, and the date is 9/9/09—any omen here?
The first night out from Grand Portage, we stopped just past Ely, MN, at Bear Head Lake State Park to make camp. After setting up and having lunch, we took a rented canoe and paddled about 3 miles around the lake. Not all the way around the lake, because as we got into the “big” water, there was enough fetch, with a stiff breeze, to make it a little uncomfortable. We stayed in the relatively protected areas and had plenty to explore. That evening, we drove back to Ely to have dinner at the local brew pub, called Boathouse. It’s funny that a restaurant with that name would be decorated with a logging theme. Hmmm. We shared a walleye fillet dinner. Man, that’s some good eatin’.
From Ely, to Voyageurs National Park, there are several options; there’s three Visitor Centers and a fourth entrance with a ranger station. Two of the Visitor Centers are near the center of the park and one of them, Kabetogama, had boat tours available, so we headed in that direction. We stopped at Orr, MN at the local visitor information center, got some information, and did their Mickey Elverum Bog Walk. That was quite interesting to see swamp and bog way up north like that. (It’s kind of funny to hear people talking about going “down” to Minneapolis. We’re a ways north of that.) We headed to Woodenfrog State Forest Campground. All campgrounds in the NP are boat-accessible only. This small state forest borders right along the national park.
After setting up camp, we headed to the Kabetogama VC for the first Q&A session with the ranger. The volunteers there were heading back home to San Antonio the next morning, letting us know that the season up there was almost over. In fact, we signed up for the only boat tour that the park was still running. Luckily, it was the one that we most wanted to do; Kettle Falls. Kettle Falls is the only hotel in the park and has been in operation since 1913. We also went to the Ash River Visitor Center, which is not too far south of the Kabetogama center. While there, we did some more ranger grilling and hiked the Blind Ash Bay Trail. Got some really nice views of the lake and walked through some beautiful forest and fern glades. 
Echo Bay Trail
After a delicious lunch at the Chocolate Moose (don’t you just love that name?) in International Falls we were ready to head for our next destination; Badlands National Park in South Dakota.
The first night out from Grand Portage, we stopped just past Ely, MN, at Bear Head Lake State Park to make camp. After setting up and having lunch, we took a rented canoe and paddled about 3 miles around the lake. Not all the way around the lake, because as we got into the “big” water, there was enough fetch, with a stiff breeze, to make it a little uncomfortable. We stayed in the relatively protected areas and had plenty to explore. That evening, we drove back to Ely to have dinner at the local brew pub, called Boathouse. It’s funny that a restaurant with that name would be decorated with a logging theme. Hmmm. We shared a walleye fillet dinner. Man, that’s some good eatin’.
From Ely, to Voyageurs National Park, there are several options; there’s three Visitor Centers and a fourth entrance with a ranger station. Two of the Visitor Centers are near the center of the park and one of them, Kabetogama, had boat tours available, so we headed in that direction. We stopped at Orr, MN at the local visitor information center, got some information, and did their Mickey Elverum Bog Walk. That was quite interesting to see swamp and bog way up north like that. (It’s kind of funny to hear people talking about going “down” to Minneapolis. We’re a ways north of that.) We headed to Woodenfrog State Forest Campground. All campgrounds in the NP are boat-accessible only. This small state forest borders right along the national park.
After setting up camp, we headed to the Kabetogama VC for the first Q&A session with the ranger. The volunteers there were heading back home to San Antonio the next morning, letting us know that the season up there was almost over. In fact, we signed up for the only boat tour that the park was still running. Luckily, it was the one that we most wanted to do; Kettle Falls. Kettle Falls is the only hotel in the park and has been in operation since 1913. We also went to the Ash River Visitor Center, which is not too far south of the Kabetogama center. While there, we did some more ranger grilling and hiked the Blind Ash Bay Trail. Got some really nice views of the lake and walked through some beautiful forest and fern glades.
JEK on Blind Ash Bay Trail
We had learned from the visitor centers that some of the local lodges have water taxis and that the Ellsworth Rock Garden is a must-see. The park service had ended their tours for the season to the gardens, and we wanted to see it. They suggested Arrowhead Lodge, because it is close to Woodenfrog and is a straight shot out to the rock garden on the Kabetogama Peninsula. We arranged for that trip on our way back to camp for the night. The next morning, promptly at “…8:30 or 9:00 or whenever”, we got over to Arrowhead. We were the only two on the boat besides the lodge owner/tour guide. On the way out, he filled us in on some of the park information and wheeled us by “Jack’s Cabin” right off Cutover Island. Jack was one of the land owners who were displaced by the park’s land acquisitions and one of the few very much in favor of the park. He donated all of Cutover Island, one of the larger islands in the park, with the stipulation that he have a life-time lease on his cabin on a little island just off Cutover. He is now 86 years old, and they think he and some family were visiting the cabin during the time that we were at Voyageurs. Our tour guide hopes that the park keeps the cabin even after Jack’s death, because of its historic value (not to mention tourist draw). Also on the way out to the rock garden, we saw one adult and one juvenile bald eagle perched in trees. There is a very healthy bald eagle population of over 150 in the park, and most mating pairs are able to raise all their chicks to fledge. When we arrived at the garden we found it to be quite amazing. While there were only a few flowers left blooming the rock work was impressive. No one knows, for sure, why Ellsworth built his rock garden over a period of 20 years, moving and balancing huge rocks all by hand with no helpers or mechanized tools. Jack Ellsworth estimated he put in between 14,000 to 15,000 hours in creating the garden, and he wanted it to appear to be a waterfall of flowers. It is a very inspiring and interesting place. “Nuff words, here’s some pictures:
Jack's Cabin Hidden in the Trees
Ellsworth Gardens Rockwork - flower season is over for this year
BYK and JEK at Arrowhead Sculpture in Ellsworth Gardens
It was quite windy and rough on the lake for our trip out to Ellsworth’s and back, which was fine on the large pontoon boat. But we decided to defer the canoe trip that we planned to take out to some of the closer islands until the winds died a little. They didn’t that day. Those winds were a front that brought a thunderstorm that evening providing the wonderful pitter patter of rain on the roof that lulls you to sleep. We decided that maybe we’d get out on a canoe after the Kettle Falls trip. Instead of the canoeing, we decided on a hike. We took the Echo Bay Trail, which is part of the NP but is encircled by the state forest where our campground was located. This trail was interesting as it went through various forest environments and from 2nd or 3rd growth into some first growth white pines.
Echo Bay TrailThe next morning was our Kettle Falls trip. The storm the night before had blown a dead tree across the campground road during the night, but Johnny was able to easily move it out of the way. We were on a nearly full (actually it would have been full, but one couple didn’t show up) tour boat. The trip to Kettle Falls was about 28 miles and was done on a national park pontoon boat even larger than the one we took out to Ellsworth. Even though there was a prediction of a 30% chance of rain, the weather turned out to be fabulous; warm by northern MN standards with clear blue skies and calm water. There were two rangers on our boat, the captain and our tour guide. On the 2-hour trip to Kettle Falls, we learned more about the history of the park and some of the eccentric early inhabitants of some of the islands. We saw at least five bald eagles and several of their huge, dishelved looking nests. We spent about 3 hours at Kettle Falls, touring the hotel, having lunch in the hotel restaurant, hiking, and touring the dam. You get tipsy in the bar of the hotel without drinking a drop of alcohol, because the floor has a HUGE hump in it (note the wedge-shaped support under the pool table in the picture below). The hotel was restored in 1986, because the original was built in 1913 without a foundation. The outer walls sank as much as 5 feet following the contour of the rock, and the hardwood floors all had large bows in them. The hallway upstairs was called “the ridgeback” because of the hump, and the hotel acquired the nickname “The Tiltin’ Hilton.” The bar floor was kept in the original shape, but other floors were leveled. Way back when, the lumber company owner on the island thought that the falls were the most beautiful that he’d seen, so he built a dam over them to provide hydroelectric power for his lumber mill. What was he thinking? Think the old greenbacks were influencing his decision? The trip back was uneventful and quiet; there were only one or two sights to see that we hadn’t already. The weather, wind, and water were all conducive to a nice canoe ride, but we were just too tired. And we’re here to have fun, so, maybe tomorrow before we leave for northern visitor center.
Bald Eagle Nest
Kettle Falls Hotel
Ketle Falls Bar - check the wedge under the pool table
Looking Downstream from Kettle Falls Dam
The Rainy Visitor Center is at the western end of the park by International Falls, and we decided to head on up there without doing the canoe trip. He VC offers beautiful views of Rainy Lake. Being late in the season all of their programs had ended for the year. We watched a video about the life of the voyageurs and then took a short hike around the waterfront. Beautiful, serene vistas of deep blue water, green forests and soft blue sky accented with puffy white clouds. Can’t get much better.
After a delicious lunch at the Chocolate Moose (don’t you just love that name?) in International Falls we were ready to head for our next destination; Badlands National Park in South Dakota.
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