Dronie Sunday – 28 June 2020

Fargo, North Dakota.

A couple of weeks ago, a friend of ours mentioned Orchard Glen Park in the extreme south of Fargo along the Red River. What we learned upon our first visit is that if we headed further south and then east to the Red River, we would find another park known as Forest River Park. The two parks are less than a mile apart and we’ve discovered they are a popular place for people to explore and bird watch. Situated at an “oxbow” in the river, Forest River Park is about 2000 ft (609 m) by 900 ft (274 m), with the main trail and several smaller trails wandering through the trees. If you look carefully toward the top center of the photo, you’ll see a large house with a red and white roof visible just below the edge of the trees. That house is on the other side of the Red River in Minnesota, the river marking the north, east, and south borders of the park. If your browser allows it, you may have to select the photo to enlarge it for a closer view of the house.

Cellpic Sunday – 21 June 2020

Fargo, North Dakota.

Recently my wife, Lynn, and I discovered a park that’s new to us. In a future Travel Tuesday, I’ll feature a photo story about the park and its beginnings. Over the Memorial Day Weekend, I was busy capturing images of the apple orchard that is the signature feature of the park. In late May, the trees are in bloom and the soft light of a thin overcast allowed me to capture some detail of a pod of apple blossoms.

Cellpic Sunday – 14 June 2020

Fargo, North Dakota.

Spring flooding has been an issue for many years along the Red River of the North in Fargo. At Lindenwood Park in south Fargo, a pedestrian bridge has linked Lindenwood with Gooseberry Park in Moorhead Minnesota since 1978. During the summer, that bridge joined the two communities but each year during flood season, the City of Fargo would bring large cranes to the site to lift the bridge out of the water to keep the floodwaters from washing the bridge downriver. In 2013, construction was completed on a new lift bridge that features concrete abutments and a lift system that brings the bridge above the 500-year flood level.

About the photo: This image was captured on my Samsung S20U cell phone using automatic metering and exposure at f/1.8, 1/1000 sec, ISO-16. It was edited in Lightroom and Luminar 4. In most browsers, you can click on the image to get a closer look.

John Steiner

Lens Artists Photo Challenge – At Home

Fargo, North Dakota.

This week Amy challenges us to share our thoughts and images from around home. She writes, “We are looking forward to seeing your photos and stories at home, and perhaps your yard/garden, pet, kids, collections, kitchen/cooking, and more.” You can read her entire challenge post here. This challenge gives me the opportunity to share a new technique I learned that has kept me busy learning photo processing software and creating new and interesting images.

International Peace Garden – More Than Peace Grows Here

Notice: This post is being written during the COVID-19 pandemic and at this time, the park is closed to visitors. Please stay safe and follow your state or country’s guidelines for travel in your region. More information on the park’s current status can be found here.

Dunseith, North Dakota.

I’ve lived and worked in North Dakota since 1978. One item that has been on my bucket list for this state is the International Peace Garden. Last September, I had occasion to visit the garden to consider it as a location for a joint cadet get-together between North Dakota Civil Air Patrol and Manitoba Cadet Air League. The garden has summer hours for facilities, usually from Memorial Day to Labor Day, but the garden itself is open much of the year… except for now, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pembina State Museum – Regional History for Everyone

Pembina, North Dakota.

On our way to Winnipeg, as we approached the U.S. Customs and Canadian Border Entry at the state’s most used border crossing, I noticed a building with a seven-story tower just north of Exit 215, the Pembina exit. We were to discover that the building belongs to the North Dakota State Historical Society and is one of two state museums, the other of which is located near the State Capitol in Bismarck. The Pembina Museum features exhibits focusing on the region. The oxcart and fur in the opening image focuses on life in the 18th and 19th centuries when fur trading was a prime business. Pembina, with it’s close proximity to the Red River of the North became a scene of international politics and a gateway of commerce between Canada and the United States.

Cellpic Sunday – 5 January 2020

Fargo, North Dakota.

Last week we were hoping to leave Fargo in time to miss the winter storm that was forecast. When we got a notice that the airline was offering a no-fee schedule change. Given that we may or may not have been able to get home, we opted to stay in Fargo until the storm subsided. The snow was heavy on Saturday night, but no wind, so it was not that big a problem. There was enough, though, that our snow removal company came late Saturday night and cleared the driveway.

Cellpic Sunday – 29 December 2019

Fargo, North Dakota.

“What a wonderful thought that it is some of the best days of our lives haven’t even happened yet.” – Anne Frank

Let me start off this week that begins a new year and a new decade with a wish to all my readers that the best days of your lives have yet to happen.

As this is being written, we are scheduled to fly back to Arizona tomorrow. It may not happen. A weather alert for the region promises at least a two-day storm with heavy snow, strong winds and North Dakota’s usual winter mix of yuck. With any luck, this post will publish the day after we touch down in Arizona. We shall see. 🙂

Cellpic Sunday – 3 November 2019

Drayton, North Dakota.

Last week I shared an aerial image captured in mid-October of flooded areas of the James River near Oakes, North Dakota. This week’s cellpic features a view from the parking area of the Alexander Henry Rest Area along I-29 between Grand Forks and the Canadian border. The Park River flows underneath bridges built on Interstate-29.

Cellpic Sunday – 27 October 2019

Oakes, North Dakota.

Last week, air crews and ground teams from North and South Dakota Civil Air Patrol were busy searching for a missing aircraft that departed Aberdeen late at night in less than perfect weather. An interview with a family member indicated that the pilot, alone in a Cessna 172 aircraft, might be headed for Oakes, North Dakota. The story had a sad ending as the aircraft wreckage was found about 7 miles north of Aberdeen, the pilot did not survive. That, however, is not what today’s Cellpic Sunday photo is about.