Visit Ely in Minnesota

Travel with Bennett-Watt and discover the town of Ely in Minnesota.

Bennett-Watt: In contrasting industry shipping and mining, Minnesota’s Boundary Water Canoe Area Wilderness is in the state to nature. Over a thousand lakes, 1500 miles of canoe trails, no motors, no electricity, no telephone lines and no roads. It’s a graceful traditional way to travel in this magnificent world in this wonderland. Ely, an outdoor person’s delight is a remarkable little community. This is for all practical purposes, the end of the road and gateway into the Boundary Water. They’re not official. This is arguably the canoe capital of the world. It’s rumored one local politician here run on the platform of a chicken in every pot and the canoe on every top. They’re everywhere in this charming little north Minnesota town. That country outfitter, canoe rental, fishing stores, good stores, restaurants and campaign gear drive this town’s economy. One of Ely’s most notable resident is the Mukluk lady. Patti Steger: I started Mukluks 20 years ago. It was the result of being—I’m a designer and I’m very interested in winter gear. I was married to man named Will Steger who’s a famous expeditionary for those, you were aware of the expedition world. And during the expeditions that we were on, I wore the first pair of Mukluk set I’d ever worn. And it was the first time that my feet were ever warm when I was in some of the most extremely severe conditions that I’d ever experienced. So, having than much milder less wild things in Minnesota and having had cold feet impact but it’s another sorts of footwear, I became totally and completely obsessed with the idea of this footwear. The thing that makes a Mukluk superior than any other kind of footwear is the fact that it’s flexible because the colder it gets, the more your body needs to be able to move freely generate heat. So, this was like the big mitten on your foot. And it has a sole on it so that it has attraction. So, the more motion in your feet you have, the better of you are. So, that’s why they work. Bennett-Watt: Her Mukluks are made right here in Ely and there are some processes of making this remarkable winter boots are secret some are not. Patti Steger: We have two large challenges in creating this footwear. One was to make a Mukluk that could be sown on a sewing machine in a sense sort of mass produce because the tradition of Mukluk is to have their hand sewing. And the other was to put a sole on the Mukluk so that it can be worn on a pigment on the streets. I grew up not having any alternative to having cold feet in a cold climate. And when I brought this footwear into the mainstream with the flexible sole, what I manage to accomplish for myself and other people was to give them a sense of comfort and security living in a cold climate and that’s a joy, that's a great joy for me.