David Loe / Special to The Star The River Point Resort in Ely, Minn., is a remote haven for boaters, fishermen and families who want to get away from television and telephones.

It is "The Land of 10,000 Lakes" and, when you are in Minnesota, you can never forget that. It is proudly stated on the license plate of every car in the state. Turns out that there was an undercount years ago. Satellite imagery verifies more than 11,000.

Even if you've never been there, but you grew up in the 1950s or 1960s, you probably have an image in your mind of the pristine beauty of Minnesota: the Hamm's Beer commercials of that era featured wilderness lakes, the beating of tom-toms and a frolicking cartoon bear. The catchy jingle is still stuck in my personal memory bank: "From the land of sky-blue waters comes the beer refreshing. "

So if the place is famous for water — and lots of it — it sounded like a good place for a cruise columnist to investigate. To be precise, there are only a few bona fide cruise options available in Minnesota. There are some Great Lakes cruises that include the state's Lake Superior. Also, there are a few riverboat cruises on the Mississippi that start or end in the capital city of St. Paul.

But my cruising this time has me captaining my own vessel, one I can paddle or attach an outboard motor to. My destination was the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in the northwestern part of the state, an area interlaced with contiguous lakes and endless forests — a perfect place to film another Hamm's commercial if it hadn't gone out of business.

The city of Ely, Minn., is the most popular access point for entry into the waters that lead to the Canadian border. It is here that captains far more adventuresome than I can get their government permits and begin the process of paddling and portaging their canoes into true backwoods wilderness. But portaging is a fancy word for lugging your canoe on your shoulders and, idyllic as it may sound, the wilderness can be hot in the summer and lousy with mosquitoes.

For me, a lake resort in Ely (pronounced E-lee) with modern cabins, screened-in porches and an array of available boats sounded just right. I liked the idea of having one foot in the wilderness and one in the civilized world, where a fellow has access to a Dairy Queen ("DQ," as the locals say) and a grocery store.

Now that I'm halfway through my week of life at a slower pace, I can see why people love it here. At the River Point Resort, one of several lakeside resorts in the area, there is no TV or phone in the cabins cell phone service is unreliable and if you want an Internet connection, you have to sit in a specific spot adjacent to the owner's cabin to pick up the signal.

Instead of that, we boat and hike, exploring 10-mile-long Birch Lake.

We have an assigned canoe and a motorboat always available to us. We also have a spectacular cabin that demands just sitting down and reading a good book.

Many folks are out on the lake early to attempt to catch the elusive and very tasty walleye.

Multigenerational families are reuniting here. They seem to settle in quickly to the relaxed routine. I discover that they've been coming here for years and book the same cabins for the following year when their week is up.

Indeed, several generations of one family run the resort. It looks like a big job, but they are always taking time to chat and give advice on fun things to do in the area.

Most of the guests are amused to find a Californian in their midst, since they have driven in from the cities of the Upper Midwest. But everyone has a relative in California they want me to know about. They can't imagine how I ever heard about Ely.

Maybe they don't recall that the late Charles Kuralt, that well-traveled reporter who spent 25 years "On the Road" for CBS, listed this town as one of his favorite summer retreats. "I love this place," he said. "Anyone who has known the deep woods and the blue lakes for a week puts themselves to sleep ever afterwards with memories of Ely."

Just as we were settling into the mood of this magic place, an emergency message was brought by one of the staff to our cabin. It's the kind of message that no one ever wants to receive. A parent was dying. Hospice suggested returning home immediately.

Hurried flight reservations were made, Mississippi steamboating bookings were canceled, bags were packed and a long drive back to Minneapolis began to catch a flight.

Within 48 hours, writing obituaries and making funeral plans had, for the time being, blocked out memories of deep woods and blue lakes.

— David Loe, president of Radio Cruises, has been organizing group cruises for Ventura County residents for more than 20 years. Contact him at David@RadioCruises.com.