MICHAEL BOGERT: Photo Gallery — Signs of Spring
These signs of spring in Bemidji State Park caught the eye of Grand Forks photographer Michael Bogert this past week.
Unheralded
PAULA MEHMEL: Shoot The Rapids — Into Egypt, A Reflection
Except for an unexpected overnight in the Cairo airport, my return to the U.S. was otherwise seamless. As I settle back into my routine, with no other big adventures imminent, I thought I would do one final reflection on travel to Egypt in general, in the event others are thinking of a similar pilgrimage. One of the most common …
PAULA MEHMEL: Shoot The Rapids — Into Egypt, Day 11
We departed the ship at 6:45 a.m. to catch our flight to Cairo, which was seamless until the tarmac bus took us to the wrong place and we had airport officials screaming at us about being in the wrong place. Or at least that’s what it sounded like. Most folks don’t speak English, which is fine, but when being yelled …
PAULA MEHMEL: Shoot The Rapids — Into Egypt, Day 10
After waking up at 3:30 a.m. to watch UConn win, the last full day on the cruise began with a visit to a place called the Unfinished Obelisk, and I have to admit, I wondered why anyone would want to see an unfinished work when there are so many finished obelisks around. I was wrong in questioning it. It actually …
PAULA MEHMEL: Shoot The Rapids — Into Egypt, Day 9
I woke up early after a very good night’s sleep and had a chance to watch the sun rise over the Nile as we cruised down the river, one of those surreal experiences I will never forget. Our first stop of the day was Edfu Temple, but to get there we took horse carriages, which was an unexpected treat. Because …
PAULA MEHMEL: Shoot The Rapids — Into Egypt, Day 8
After beginning the day, predawn, with the balloon ride that was truly spectacular, we headed out to see the places that we saw from the air on the ground. I have to say it was quite nice to have a perspective of what we were seeing and their mass of nature before we toured them. Our first very brief stop …
PAULA MEHMEL: Shoot The Rapids — Into Egypt, Day 7
We finished our time in Cairo today and flew to Luxor to begin our four-night cruise down the Nile River. Well, the cruise officially starts tomorrow as we are still docked in Luxor, but the boat is at least in the Nile. We are on a small boat with maybe 100 people or so on board. I’m not sure exactly …
PAULA MEHMEL: Shoot The Rapids — Into Egypt, Day 6
Our last full day in Cairo promised to be full, with much on our agenda, but it began with a surprise. Since the start of this trip, I had been in search of a very unique Egyptian dish called Koshary, a mix of pasta, Egyptian fried rice, vermicelli and brown lentils, topped with a zesty tomato sauce, garlic vinegar and …
PAULA MEHMEL: Shoot The Rapids — Into Egypt, Day 5
Today was one for the bucket list, but I am going to divide my posts up a bit because I think a picture is worth more than 1000 words. In the morning we were joined by Cindy’s friend, Ellen, who flew in from Los Angeles to join us for the last part of our time in Cairo and our cruise. …
PAULA MEHMEL: Shoot The Rapids — Into Egypt, Day 4
Today we took a break from sightseeing. In the morning, Cindy caught up on some work and I traveled to visit the Evangelical Theological Seminary of Cairo. My good friends Karla and David Grafton, who helped profoundly with planning this trip, worked at the seminary when they lived here and it was an incredible chance for me to learn about …
PAULA MEHMEL: Shoot The Rapids — Into Egypt, Day 3
We got to sleep in a little later this morning, heading out at 8:20 a.m. to our first site, the Mosque-Madrassa of Sultan Hassan. We try to get out a bit earlier because traffic in Cairo is absolutely insane and I’ve never heard so much beeping. So many cars, so many people. On our way to the mosque we passed …
PAULA MEHMEL: Shoot The Rapids — Into Egypt, Day 2
Today began very early, as we met our guide and driver at 6 a.m. to begin the journey to Alexandria. It was a 2½ hour drive on what it’s called the Desert Road between the lush oasis that is Cairo, which is fed by the Nile River, to Alexandria, located on the Mediterranean Sea. Alexandria was the capital of Egypt …
PAULA MEHMEL: Shoot The Rapids — Into Egypt, Day 1
Every so often in life, you are dealt unexpected curveballs that seem unfair and moments of true serendipitous grace. For me, in the past year, I’ve had both. When I left my call at Emanuel, I lost a Lily Sabbatical Grant that would have provided an amazing experience for my family and me. And now I have begun a truly astonishing …
PAULA MEHMEL: Shoot The Rapids — An Uganda Journey, Part 7
One of the key objectives of our visit to the settlements was to meet the people involved in the South Sudan Leadership and Community Development cooperatives and share their stories. These cooperatives are what set SSLCD apart from most aid organizations because they are literally organized by the refugees and for the refugees, as we seek to empower their leadership …
PAULA MEHMEL: Shoot The Rapids — An Uganda Journey, Part 6
They say it’s about the journey, not the destination. But on our return trip to Entebbe, Uganda, it was reaching the destination that gave me the greatest joy. We had planned to take the African Bus back to Kampala on Saturday for our return trip home Sunday. However, for several logistical reasons, as well as the fact that a few …
PAULA MEHMEL: Shoot The Rapids — An Uganda Journey, Part 3
Our second day in the settlements took us to Olua, which is a bit closer to Adjuman, a little over a half hour away. The two camps are very different. Olua is more concentrated, so it appears to have more buildings, whereas Mungula has more space and appears more sparse. Even in refugee settlements, there is an urban/rural demarcation. Although …
JEFF OLSON: Photo Gallery — Poudre Canyon
Colorado’s Poudre Canyon, a glacier-formed valley through the foothills of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains northwest of Fort Collins, Colo., offers some spectacular viewing as photographer Jeff Olson and his wife, Joanne Plager Burke Olson, can attest. Jeff and Joanne recently took a hike through the canyon, which begins high in the peaks of Rocky Mountain National Park …
PAULA MEHMEL: Shoot The Rapids — An Uganda Journey, Part 2
After a mostly sleepless night, thanks to the loud bed-shaking music playing outside our hotel until after 5:30 a.m. — which, I might add, seemed eminently unfair since they must have been the only place in Adjumani with electricity — we spent the morning getting supplies to provide for breaks during our day at the Mungula Settlement. Hospitality is a …
PAULA MEHMEL: Shoot The Rapids — An Uganda Journey, Part 1
Four flights and a 9½-hour ride on an African bus later, I am happy to report I am safely in Adjumani, Uganda. Denise, my fellow co-chair of South Sudan Leadership and Community Development, and Christine, who also serves on the board, and I met in Detroit. Given a variety of travel concerns in the Midwest due to snow, I am …
LILLIAN CROOK: WildDakotaWoman — Wanderlust: Return To Hawaii, California And New Mexico With 32 New Life Birds
It took me almost 60 years to return to Hawaii, but I finally can say I have. Home from a 31-day trip to Hawaii, California, New Mexico and Arizona, we’ve spent the better part of two days unpacking and catching up on mail. After four states, 10 flights, four rental cars and a whole bunch of hotel rooms, I don’t …
JIM FUGLIE: View From The Prairie — Heading Home
OK, indulge me one more time, please, while I write just one more very personal column. Then I’ll shut up for a while, maybe even until after Christmas. I’m sitting in my hotel room at the Westin St. Francis Hotel on Union Square in San Francisco. It’s a place I’ve stayed before — sort of. On Dec. 18, 1971, the …
LILLIAN CROOK: WildDakotaWoman — TR Birthday Shenanigans: Wandering The Northern Bad Lands Of North Dakota
I don’t even need a map. Just point me west. It wasn’t until the next day, after I was home again, that I realized that — serendipitously — my retreat had taken place on President Theodore Roosevelt’s birthday. What I knew was that I needed to go. Go. Go. Go. Away to the Badlands. So I went. To the northern …
CLAY JENKINSON: The Future In Context — A Modern Journey On The Vestiges Of James J. Hill’s Great Northern Railway
Amtrak’s Wink and Nod to the Great Northern I boarded the Amtrak’s Empire Builder train in Minot not long ago, en route to the railroad’s terminus in Seattle. A journey of 1,178 miles, 27 hours, starting at 9 a.m. CDT on a Friday and ending at 10:15 PDT Saturday morning, a day later. That meant we rode in daylight (in late …
JIM FUGLIE: View From The Prairie — The Long X Divide Offers Wilderness Hiking
There’s something almost magical about stepping onto the prairie and knowing that it’s possible — even likely — that you’re the first person who has ever put their foot down on that spot. Ever. One of the places you can do that is on the Long X Divide, near the extreme north end of the North Dakota Badlands. Long X …
LILLIAN CROOK: WildDakotaWoman — Reminiscing About Scouts In My Life
You are darned tootin’ I visited the Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace when in Savannah, Ga., about 10 years ago. And the Flannery O’Connor Childhood Home nearby. The Pathe video of O’Connors’s chickens she trained to walk backward is a classic and you can watch it here. I also spotted some headstones in the Savannah cemeteries of my paternal ancestors. (Yup my paternal ancestors arrived from …
LILLIAN CROOK: WildDakotaWoman — Closure: A Return To Puget Sound With The Dopsons And An Homage To My Mother
Home safe in North Dakota. Three new life birds: Pigeon Guillemot, Chestnut-backed Chickadee and Marbled Murrelet. Many orcas and other wonders of the Puget Sound area and countless new memories of explorations and adventures with good friends. And finally I can say that I’ve been to British Columbia and the San Juan Islands.
LILLIAN CROOK: WildDakotaWoman — N.D. State Parks: Grahams Island And Lake Metigoshe
Some good birding and not a single photo taken at Lake Metigoshe State Park.
LILLIAN CROOK: WildDakotaWoman — Home From A Fargo Vacation
0.75 inches of rain in our gauge. Amazing what rain and patience and hope will do.
DAVE BRUNER: Photo Gallery — Carolina On My Mind
Grand Forks photographer Dave Bruner recently returned from a trip to the Tar Heel state, where waterfalls, old cabins and the flora and fauna of the Appalachian Trail, the Blue Ridge Mountains and the surrounding area provided a variety of photo opportunities.
LILLIAN CROOK: WildDakotaWoman — Go Play Outside: The South Dakota Edition Of My Road Trip With A Friend
In his 1989 book “The Lost Continent,” Bill Bryson wrote, “It’s an awful place (Wall, S.D.), one of the world’s worst tourist traps, but I loved it and I won’t have a word said against it.” I was born in western South Dakota, yet I have only one adult memory of visiting Wall, just a stop on a road trip with a friend …
CLAY JENKINSON: The Future In Context — A Centuries-Old Travel Guide Unlocks Clues To Our Future
When Thomas Jefferson left the United States in 1784 to serve as his fledgling country’s ambassador to France, he was still reeling from the death of his wife, Martha, and the remnants of political scandal in Virginia. Looking for a new beginning, Jefferson traveled in and beyond France whenever his job allowed, collecting items and ideas he would bring home …
LILLIAN CROOK: WildDakotaWoman — Red Oak House Garden Notes No. 66 : The Summer Of Smoke
Remember when I said, on June 13, “Guess I’ll just go camping”? Well, we did. We hitched up the travel trailer and headed west, straight into the cauldron, to the historic heatwave in the Pacific Northwest. But we got lucky, and cool weather returned by the time we made it to North Cascades National Park. Highlights were glorious Mount Rainier, where …
RUSS HONS: Photo Gallery — West Polk County Fair
County fairs in a way are a slice of small-town Americana. Photographer Russ Hons recently took in the West Polk County Fair in Fertile, Minn. Here is a small sampling of what he saw, including the rodeo Wednesday night and the DockDog’s competition Saturday and Sunday. (Check out more photos from Russ Hons here.)
MICHAEL BOGERT: Photo Gallery — Lake With A View
Lake Beltrami provided some excellent opportunities to photographer Michael Bogert on a recent excursion to Minnesota Lake Country.
LA VALLEUR COMMUNICATES: Musings By Barbara La Valleur — What A Trip
Like many people these days, it has been a long time since I’ve been anywhere other than La Farm in Minnesota’s Otter Tail County. So when a friend said she was selling her house in Denver where she’d lived for 30 years after her husband died this spring, and she was moving back to Whidbey Island near Seattle, I thought …
JEFF OLSON: Photo Gallery — Rocky Mountain National Park
Fort Collins, Colo., photographer Jeff Olson took advantage of some nice weather this past weekend and visited nearby Rocky Mountain National Park, where he encountered some wildlife as well some stunning sights.
LILLIAN CROOK: WildDakotaWoman — The Crooked Little Missouri River And Its Headwaters
The crooked Little Missouri River is in my bloodstream, deeply embedded in my psyche. I grew up working and playing on its banks in Slope County, North Dakota, and have canoed and kayaked almost every North Dakota mile of the river countless times, and frequently written about my explorations on my blog. My favorite stretches of the river are in …
JEFF OLSON: Photo Gallery — Eagle Encounter
No matter what you call them — a convocation, a congregation or an aerie — a tree full bald eagles is quite a sight to see, as these images from Fort Collins, Colo., photographer Jeff Olson can attest.
JIM THIELMAN: Travels With Larry
My limp, perspiring frame was draped over a table in a small railway station in a small Spanish town. “Want some water?” my sister asked. Something like “uhnnnnh” slid out of my mouth. “Eggs?” “Urrrrrrgh.” “A Coke?” “Ahhhnnnnhu.” I blamed my brother-in-law. Larry, a college prof, was on a Fulbright Scholarship at the university in Alcala de Henares, Spain. It’s …
JEFF OLSON: Photo Gallery — Foothills Trail
The Foothills Trail, which connects Pineridge, Maxwell and Reservoir Ridge Natural Areas near Fort Collins, Colo., was the destination of photographer Jeff Olson and his wife, Joanne Plager Burke Olson, this past weekend. The trail is 9.6 miles long and offers a remote feeling as well as opportunities to see plenty of wildlife. It can be reached from several trailheads …
JEFF OLSON: Photo Gallery — Rocky Mountain National Park
Fort Collins, Colo., photographer Jeff Olson ventured out to Rocky Mountain National Park, located outside of Estes Park., Colo., on the first day of fall to check out the sights. Established in 1915, the park is family vacation destination that offers many outdoor experiences, including easy nature hikes around crystal-clear mountain lakes to daring rock scrambles up waterfalls and mountains. The …
MICHAEL BOGERT: Photo Gallery — White Horse Hill National Game Preserve
Grand Forks photographer Michael Bogert recently made a trip White Horse Hill National Game Preserve, a 1,674-acre national wildlife refuge sitting on the south shores of Devils Lake, about 10 miles south of the city of Devils Lake, N.D. The refuge was first established April 27, 1904, as Sullys Hill National Park. It was designated by Congress as a big game preserve in 1914 …