Big Lake, Minnesota.
Less than a week after the first day of autumn found us in Big Lake Minnesota at Lions Park for a Celebration of Life. As we awaited the start of the event, I happened to notice a row of evergreen trees, each with vines and small trees growing within the area at the base of each large evergreen. Continue reading
Bloomington, Minnesota.
In mid-July, we traveled to Bloomington Minnesota to attend the funeral of a family member. We arrived the day before and checked into a hotel near the Minneapolis airport. Our view from our 9th-floor windows faced to the southwest. I happened to look out the window almost at the conclusion of “blue hour”, that time between sunset and night. I could see the last few moments of twilight reflected in the glass of the taller buildings southwest of our hotel. Continue reading
Rollag, Minnesota.
Last weekend, Labor Day Weekend 2020, the last hurrah of summer for many, saw annual activities canceled due to the ongoing pandemic. One such casualty is the Western Minnesota Steam Threshers Reunion. The event started by western Minnesota farmers in 1940 became an attraction in 1954 when it was open to the public. The steam thresher was the first mechanized device that separated seeds from stalks. It did so by simply beating the harvested crop until the seeds fell away. Continue reading
Moorhead, Minnesota.
The Red River forms the border between North Dakota and Minnesota and is one of the few rivers in the country to flow north, its headwaters begin at the confluence of the Ottertail and Bois de Sioux Rivers near the city of Breckenridge, Minnesota. From there it meanders northward separating the two states until it leaves the United States near the border crossing just north of Pembina, North Dakota. It finally terminates at Lake Winnipeg, the fifth largest lake in Canada. Continue reading
Big Lake, Minnesota.
This weekend, we are in Big Lake, Minnesota for our annual Steiner Family Reunion. We arrived in town on Thursday and set about enjoying our visit. In the morning, winds were high and the large awnings placed so carefully ended up being blown around by high winds. Later that day, the skies threatened, but as it turned out, only a few drops fell from the sky. Continue reading
Rollag, Minnesota.
This week, Jen H asks us to use our cameras to tell a story. Even a single image can convey the essence of a story. Jen writes, “A single image can encompass what would otherwise require a long written narrative – the characters, the setting, even the plot.” She goes on to challenge us to do some visual storytelling. You can read the entire challenge post here. Continue reading
Rochert, Minnesota.
On many occasions, we’ve traveled on Minnesota Highway 34 between Detroit Lakes and Itasca. About 8 miles (13 km) east of Detroit Lakes, a sign points north marking the way to the Tamarack Wildlife Refuge. There have been many times we’d like to head in that direction, but we were always on the way to somewhere else. Continue reading
Itasca State Park, Minnesota.
Regular readers have seen some of my previous posts from the state park that is the “home port” of the mighty Mississippi River. When our friend Fred Mast was passing through Fargo on his way to points east, he stopped by for a few days and I shared some of our local sights. Our longest trip from Fargo was a two-hour drive to the Itasca State Park, Minnesota’s oldest state park. In the opening photo, Fred straddles a couple of rocks, behind him, Lake Itasca; flowing around and beneath him, the Old Man River, the Big Muddy begins its 2550 mile (4103 km) trek southward to New Orleans and the Gulf of Mexico. Continue reading
Moorhead, Minnesota.
Last week we visited the Hjemkomst Center’s centerpiece, the replica Viking ship Hjemkomst. It had been over a decade since Lynn and I last visited the center that honors the dream of Robert Asp. I was surprised to discover that the center has made a home for another labor of love in wood. At the rear of the center’s property, Guy Paulson built a full-size replica of a Stave Church. This replica is modeled from a church near the municipality of Vik, Norway. The Hopperstad Stave Church, built sometime around 1130 AD, is now a museum church just outside Vikøyri village and still sits on the site of its construction almost a millennium ago. Continue reading
Moorhead, Minnesota.
This week, Michelle Weber asks us to “share a peek of something – a photo that reveals just enough of your subject to to get us interested.” You can read her entire challenge post here. This wood carving of a monk is one of many carvings that are located in an edifice that will be featured in next week’s Travel Tuesday post here at Journeys with Johnbo. Continue reading
