Ely, Minnesota:Be like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz: Bears and wolves and neutrinos and Root Beer

Ely, Minnesota acts as the doorway into theOn the opposite side of town is the North
Boundary Waters Canoe Area, which extendsAmerican Bear Center.  Their population consists
over the Canada-USA borders.  A museum in Elyof two male and one female black bears.  Ted,
celebrates the life of one remarkable woman,who is a bit overweight, loves to lounge in front
Dorothy Molter, a.k.a. The Root Beer Lady.  Forof the viewing window and pose for pictures. 
over fifty years she lived on the Isle of PinesThe other two are more reclusive.  The center
Resort on Knife Lake.  A registered Nurse shegoes out of its way to overcome the prejudices
tended to the physical and mental needs of theman has about the bear.  Forty-three video
canoeists who visited her.  She provided food,exhibits teach different bear behaviors, including
lodging, and her famous root beer, bottling overcam cameras in their den, while they are
11,000 bottles per year.  For many yearshibernating.  The main movie shown in the
canoeists would come to see her while theytheater is called, "The Man Who Walks with
paddled the lakes of Northern Minnesota.Bears".  It describes the years of dedication that
In 1964 the Wilderness Act condemned andLynn Rogers, Ph.D. has made living and working
purchased her property by the United Stateswith  black bears.  He has found them to be
Forest Service.  A cry of protest arose amonggentle giants and accept him as one of the
the thousands of her friends whom she hadfamily.  The Center has a children's area, an
befriended.  The US government allowed herindoor and outdoor viewing area, hands-on
tenancy for her lifetime.  But she could no longeractivities.
run her business as a resort.  She continued toA short distance from town is the Soudan
make her root beer and gave it to the thirsty: aUnderground Mine State Park.  Journey ½ mile
two-bottle limit.  She also provided shelter forunderground for a ninety minute tour of the mine
those who wanted it.  Of course there was noand mining history and techniques.  Also take that
charge.  But in return for her kindness, everyonesame journey to explore the High Energy Physics
left a monetary donation.  This allowed here toTour.
live the life she was accustomed to live.Soudan is Minnesota's oldest iron mine opening in
She had no electricity.  She lived thirty miles1882.  It is also the deepest going down ½ mile
from the nearest road.  She traveled to Ely forinto the earth.  The visitor takes the same
supplies by canoe in the summer over fourtwo-story elevator that the miners took to work
portages.  During the winter, she could use athe mines.  Tours of the mine are given hourly
snowmobile.   Snowmobile usage stopped whenthroughout the day.  The ambient temperature is
The Forest Service banned motors in the50 F. So bring a warm jacket and sturdy
Boundary Waters.  She cooked with wood andshoes.
occasionally propane, when she was supplied. The High Energy Physics Tour is a must for
She made thousands of Christmas Treegeeks.  Soudan was chosen by the University of
Ornaments, which she gave out as presents.  InMinnesota because of the lack of cosmic
return her friends painted paddles for her whichinterference from other atmospheric particles,
she used as a fence.  She hauled in topsoil so shewhich occur on the surface.  About 2,400 feet
could plant flowers, an unusual sight upon theunderground this interference is greatly reduced. 
island.  She continued to bottle her Root Beer.Presently there are three experiments being
One great story about The Root Beer lady is thatconducted.  They are:
she had a dog who loved to chase sea planes. For twenty-five years The MINOS (Main Injector
One day it got too close to one of theNeutrino Oscillation Search) Far Detector is a
propellers.  Both the prop and the dog's jaw6,000 ton particle tracking device that is observing
were broken.  The pilot was going to destroyneutrinos sent from Fermilab, which is near
her dog, but Dorothy Molter said, "No!. I am aChicago, almost 500 miles away. The goal of
nurse and I will take care of him."  She made aMINOS is to precisely determine mass differences
splint out of birch bark and attached it to theamong neutrinos, 3 of the 12 fundamental building
dog's jaw.  After a few weeks, the dog's jawblocks of matter.   They want to see if the
was healed.  From that time onward, it had aneutrinos change during their journey.  They are
slighly crooked jaw and never chased planesdivided into three types: electron neutrinos, muon
again.  The propeller is on display at the museum.neutrinos and tau neutrinos.  The scientists at
Upon her death in 1986 at the age of 79, herSoudan isolate the muon neutrino from Fermi Lab,
many friends from Ely took her cabins and all ofnear Chicago and examine if the flavor has
her possessions and created the Dorothy Molterchanged to tau or electron.  Another Far
Museum in Ely.  They continue to produce herDetector is being built a distance away from
root beer, the profits going to the upkeep of theSoudan to see if these neutrinos change the
museum.  A trip to Ely demands a visit tofurther they travel.
Dorothy Molter Museum.  Expect to spend twoThe CDMS 2 (Cryogenic Dark Matter Search)
hours there, being awed by this fascinatingDetector operates at near absolute zero to seek
woman.  While there buy a six-pack of her roottraces of Weakly Interacting Massive Particles
beer.(WIMPs) that might comprise a significant fraction
A couple of blocks away are the Internationalof Dark Matter. It is the coldest place on Earth. 
Wolf Center.  Learn about the importance ofThis facility is not open to the public, because of
wolves and their interaction with humanity.  Athe strict rules it must obey to keep at this
major exhibit, Wolves and Humans, is undergoingtemperature.  The theory is that the colder an
reconstruction.  Enclosed on a two-acre site, sixobject is the less movement.  When something
wolves live and interact with each other and withis introduced to the object, the difference in
humans.  Presently there are two adult Arcticmovement shows a rise in temperature and so a
wolves and four younger timber wolves.  Allcertain weight.  This is very confusing to a mere
have been raised in captivity and have beenmortal like myself, but speaks volumes to
socialized with humans since puppyhood beforephysicists.
being introduced to the pack.  A viewing windowLBCF (Low Background Counting Facility) now
allows the visitors and wolves to interact withunder installation at Soudan will provide a range of
each other.highly sensitive detectors, available for use by the
Many programs are available for the public. science and engineering community for designing,
Movies are shown hourly in the theater.  Talkstesting, prototyping and calibrating scientific and
by docents are given before the viewing area. technical apparatus.
The staff tries hard to combat the manyEly is a special place: a small name, but a big
prejudices we have about wolves and theirhearted town.  Come and enjoy the great
behavior.  Feeding is done on SaturdayNorth.  Be like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz:
evenings.  An additional charge is made to attendBears and wolves and root beer and neutrinos. Oh
these feedings.  Workshops, behind the scenesMy!
tours, and summer day camps are also available.