Another Big Loop Sunday

When we started this journey, we had agreed not to go more than one hundred miles off course for a single attraction. Earlier in the month, AL had wanted to see the Stave Church in Moorhead MN, but unfortunately, our path did not take us that direction. While mostly taking a week off, I found several things to make the following Sunday’s 300-mile drive worthwhile.

We thought we started the day prepared but soon found we had forgotten our list of stops and recalled what we could from memory. Our first stop was the ghost town of Sherbrooke, but the overgrowth of trees and weeds prevented seeing much from the truck. While we would usually walk around, signs stating “No Trespassing” had us passing on to the next locale.

We did some stocking up at Costco in Fargo, then traversed across the Red River of the North to the Hjemkomst Center as he recently posted. Heading back to the campsite, we were amazed by the two tallest structures (TV towers) of the western hemisphere. Next, we were late for the Carl Ben Eielson museum but did see the large stone arch at the cemetery where he is buried. While he died in 1929 at the age of 32, he was quite the hero of aviation. I may write about him later.

That completed our recollections, but while driving through Mayville heading for the campground, I noticed a “Rainbow Garden” sign and immediately remembered writing it down. We passed the entrance but turned around at the next driveway, which happend to be for Pioneer Park. There is an old log schoolhouse that was moved to this location, and a large marker for Bjornstjerne Bjornson, who was the first Norwegian Nobel Laureate, and wrote the lyrics for their national anthem. We have performed several searches, however we cannot find any ties to this town besides their honoring him with this granite marker around 1916. The park itself is well-kept and has a pond, picnic shelter and greenway.

Back across the road, we were delighted with the impeccably maintained White, English, Herb, Cottage, Rock and Children’s themed gardens. Aside from the rainbow spectrum of colorful blooms, there are placards of quoted poetry and benches dedicated in memory of loved ones.

Most impressive are the abundance of tastefully imaginative upcycled sculptures composed of scrap metals, utensils, ceramics and many more things kept from the landfill. A smiling mosquito (or bee?) having a fuel canister body and a drill bit proboscis. Once a spade, now a brightly painted turtle. A crane with a shovel body, horseshoe feet and egg beater hairstyle? Various bugs of bowls and bits. Sunflowers of old gear mechanisms. A rusty cat with large nails for whiskers. Creative energy emanates from them all.

Getting back to the plants, my favorite was the striking contrast of the variegated verbena, and while I have grown pineapple sage, I had not seen banana or apple sage varieties previously. I believe AL preferred the deep purples of the the iris and clematis.

This stop alone was worth the drive as we both miss the evolving blooms at our former home. I doubt a rooftop garden could survive highway turbulence.

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