A couple years ago we started hearing about a wheelchair accessible resort in Northern Minnesota call North of North. Several Unexpected Journey guests and listeners visited and raved about it. I reached out to Sean Leary who, together with his wife Jill built and owns North of North, a micro-resort with three fully wheelchair accessible cabins on a beautiful lake a few miles outside of town in Ely, Minnesota. They have also started AWWR, which stands for Adaptive Wilderness Within Reach, to support outdoor adventure opportunities for folks with disabilities in Ely. After an initial conversation with Sean, I decided I needed to check out North of North. This past February I made the trip along with a couple good friends. We met in Minneapolis and drove up for a a magical three days that included frigid dark starry nights, sauna time, ice fishing, dogsledding, wolves, and the wintry beauty of the Boundary Waters Wilderness area.
Sean was paralyzed and became paraplegic from a car accident when he was 18 years old. He went on to college and in his early 20s met Jill while working in a summer camp. Jill asked Sean out and the rest of his history. They are now married, have two beautiful daughters, two dogs, and careers in environmental consulting and education. They live in a suburb of Minneapolis and have spent the past several years building their resort and program up in Ely, where their hearts lie.
Guest info:
@northofnorthresort
northofnorthresort.com
Additional Resources:
https://www.awwr.org
Contact us:
Instagram: @unexpectedjourneypod
Email: tim@unexpectedjourneypod.com
Hosted and produced by Tim Brown
Editing and sound design by Louis Arevalo
Original theme music by Jesse LaFountaine
Episode cover art by Lewis Falconer
Cover art and logo design by Anne Holt and Lewis Falconer
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