What’s Zup ?

July 2-4

Babbitt Minnesota is a town of 1500 hardy souls located on the eastern end of the Mesabi Iron Mining Range in Northeastern Minnesota. It's not uncommon to see yard signs in Babbitt stating, "we support mining”. In an area of limited employment opportunities, North Shore Mining supports local families. I once heard Babbitt described as “rangey”. I wasn’t sure if this was a good or bad thing, but it didn’t sound flattering. Just outside of Babbitt is pristine Birch Lake, known for walleye fishing and sandy Babbitt Beach.

Twenty minutes from Babbitt is the town of Ely, renowned for recreation. Ely has coffee shops, outdoor gear stores, summer music fairs, crafters and numerous canoe rental businesses. Ely residents seem sensitive to environmental issues and the impact of open pit mining. It makes sense as Ely is the gateway to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness a vast roadless network of waterways within Superior National Forest. It's a popular destination for residents of Duluth and the twin cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul. Ely lies on the shore of Shagawa Lake and like Birch Lake, it's also known for fishing. Two towns with much in common,

The differences between Babbitt and Ely are like those of Clark Kent and Superman. Similar yet different. Babbitt is quiet and unassuming while Ely is colorful and action packed. Ely has gourmet coffee and muffins while Babbitt has beer and pizza. In Babbitt it’s not uncommon to see side by sides and 4 wheelers in the grocery store parking lot. Both towns have family owned Zup’s Markets, selling homemade sausage, pasties, smoked walleye and deer feed.  https://zups.com/

Zup’s

This is the Tank, a restaurant/bar in Babbitt serving  cold beer, delicious pizza and outstanding fish and chips.

The average home price in Ely is $225,000 with lake front property demanding much more. In Babbitt $135,000 will buy a 3 bedroom home. I’ve seen small ranch houses in the center of Babbitt listed for as little as $50,000-$75,000. 

                 

These homes were originally built by mining companies for their workers.

In Ely, resorts, cabins and second homes abound which is accompanied by a lack of available and affordable housing. Last summer, after accepting a job in Ely with the USFS, our daughter Carlisle struggled to find housing, She was finally able to occupy a small home in Babbitt while the owner was at her lake house. This was fine for the first few months, but not for the duration. Realizing that finding a rental in Ely was next to impossible, Carlisle purchased land in less desirable Babbitt. That summer she built a darling dry cabin on her five acres. We visited her in the summer of '21 and again in October '21. (see "Ely" posted June 19, 2021)

Carlisle's land came with the added benefit of being within woods that had been hunted by local deer hunters for generations. Each trip to the lumber yard in Babbitt produced a new story of deer taken near her building site. She looked forward to her first hunting season in MN with great excitement and anticipation. Although she wasn't able to harvest a buck, her game cameras showed they existed, along with fox, coyote and wolves. Knowing wolves travel and live so close to people is amazing to me. 

With expert maneuvering Bucky placed our RV in Lisle’s narrow driveway. Accompanying us to AK is Lisle's dog, Pika, who lifted her nose in recognition of her old stomping ground. She entered the cabin and immediately looked up to the loft hoping her owner might be there. Carlisle no longer lives in Minnesota and has returned to Alaska where her heart remained. We’ll pick up some of her belongings and take them with us to Alaska and on our return trip in October, we'll pick up the remainder and transport it to VT,

 Being here has provided a nice break after 1500 miles of travel. 

                       Old drawers make interesting shelves for mementos and Rory Jackson's artwork.