Ely, Minnesota

While in Ely...

We visited Sigurd Olson's house, writing shack, and Listening Point cabin. At Listening Point we found five sets of wolf tracks. Some of them were smaller, likely from last year's pups. Sigurd Olson's work is a time machine, when you read it you are transported to a time of wilderness. He was a truly inspiring figure, a driving force behind the establishing of many national parks and protecting wilderness all of his life.

Pictured is the desk in his writing shack. He was an avid pipe smoker. This was his escape.

Dr. Shannon Barber-Meyer spoke to us about her research. That was amazing, she took this class when she was an undergrad. She was extremely approachable and I really hope I can talk to her more!

We ventured into the Boundary Waters on Hegman Lake. It was absolutely gorgeous.

The ride to the North Shore was amusing.

On a real note, this trip has really been testing my tolerance and patience. Both of which, I thought I had a lot of. I am learning that to be the leader I want to be I need to be more firm and even clearer on my authority. That being said I want to stay approachable. I also see the value in always remaining the student. Asking questions and being eager to learn will let the students see what they should be acting like. For example, when we came across a urine scent mark we were told by the instructor Bryan to sniff it to identify the species. I did it first and the skeptical students followed suit.

Kill them with kindness but be an unquestioned authority.