So, yesterday I was supposed to have a dentist appointment at 10, but Pam Carlson called the day before and proposed a day trip to Ely. You may remember Pam as the other half of my fundamentalist pastor/wife halloween costume:

So, to Ely we went! Ely is here:

As you can see, it's pretty far north and on the west side of the Boundary Waters Camping Area (BWCA). Our first stop was Steiger Mukluks. Mukluks are winter boots made usually with leather that originated with Native North Americans. Here's the store:

Pam picked out these mukluks and then proceeded to talk about how excited she was with her purchase for the rest of the trip.

After that we headed to the local brewery and ate some lunch while enjoying a wild rice beer and an IPA. Very tasty! The rest of the afternoon was spent browsing the stores of Ely. I bought a few flannel shirts and resisted buying a lot more at all of the outfitters. We headed home, and I spent the night with Luke, Chelsey, Jared, and Eric watching the Vikings actually win and bowling. You may remember that I went to Ecuador with Jared and Eric. Here's a picture to jog your memory.

And Luke and Chelsey (whose wedding I officiated this summer):

Today I'm celebrating family Christmas! I'm very excited about that. But before that, I'm heading to an eye appointment. Happy New Year's! I may even get a some contacts.