Dronie Sunday – 20 October 2019

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.

Cellpic Sunday – 17 June 2018

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.

Weekly Photo Challenge – Story

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.

Tamarac Wildlife Refuge

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.

Itasca – Headwaters of the Mississippi

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.

Hopperstad Stave Church – Norwegian Heritage in Minnesota

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.

Weekly Photo Challenge – Peek

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.

Hjemkomst – The Culmination of a Dream

Moorhead, Minnesota.

Travelers who visit downtown Fargo, North Dakota or her sister city across the Red River at Moorhead, Minnesota will likely notice what looks to be an oversize white plastic sheet draped across two poles not unlike a blanket tent I might have made in my childhood. If you drive toward the structure, you will end up in a parking lot in front of the building shown in the image above. This is the Hjemkomst Center built to honor a man with a dream and a vision. Below that large white canopy, the centerpiece on display features the accomplishment of that vision.

Breezy Point – A Whiz Bang Place to Stay

Breezy Point, Minnesota.

Over the last few weeks, I’ve shared a couple of Cellpic Sunday images I grabbed during a short stay at Breezy Point Resort in northern Minnesota. As I was there to attend a conference, I didn’t have a lot of time to take photos, but I did head out in the evening for a short walk, and then rose early hoping for a high quality sunrise.

Cellpic Sunday – 21 May 2017

Breezy Point, Minnesota.

In late April, we visited Breezy Point Resort for a conference. The resort is a is a popular place all summer, so even in the off-season, the center has customers who don’t mind it might not be “swimming in the lake” warm.