In and Around Detroit Lakes MN

  After our two days in Gilby and one day in Fargo visiting friends and relatives, we headed to Detroit Lakes to spend time with my brother and his wife. These are photos of what we saw while hunting for the Trolls.

Detroit Lakes has 412 lakes within 25 miles of the community. The city has chose sails as their themed art.

not a lot of color amongst the trees as of September 24th

sumac leaves

walking through the sumac to the Golden Rabbit

sumac flowers

this was the final hill after finding The Golden Rabbit

the snow machine was running

the mist felt quite nice as we made that final climb

a bumble bee collecting pollen

and a covered bridge

Hunting for Trolls

 Earlier this summer I was introduced to Thomas Dambo's Trolls through our friends who live in WA. Shortly after seeing Sherry's Troll photos, I learned Trolls were being constructed by Thomas Dambo and his team in Detroit Lakes MN. Many volunteers helped with the construction of the six figures hidden in and around the Detroit Lakes area. The bonus for us is these six figures are geocaches so a hunt for Trolls was added to our September Gilby Adventure.

We did not start with this Troll, but we should have as she was located in the park in Detroit Lakes and had information we missed. 

Alexa Elixir

she has her spoon

her mirror, magic portal

her tub and a book of potions (in the lower right in the first photo)

We stopped at the park on Wednesday morning as we headed for home. There were about a dozen folks standing around visiting, making it hard to take photos.

Barefoot Frida

twigs/branches for her hair

bark for the eyebrows

Jacob Everear

leaning against the tree

the detail on his feet

his big ears

every face is different

Ronny Funny Face

to give a perspective of the size of the Trolls

Dambo uses birdhouses to mark the paths and trails to find the Trolls. I think he got a good deal on the paint colors for the Minnesota Vikings! There were many birdhouses, all in the same colors, so no reason to get lost! (There is a story to Dambo's use of birdhouses at this link: Thomas Dambo Bio)

the detail of Ronny's tongue and his sea shell necklace

the detail of the Troll feet

Walking a path on Detroit Mountain looking for Trolls...

Long Leif

36' tall

just like the feet, the detail in the hands

his teeth and smile

The Golden Rabbit

Following the clues and a special Troll map led to the final of the Dambo Sculptures, the Golden Rabbit.

made of yellow plastic boxes from a manufacturer in ND/MN

a microphone?

to give perspective in size

the hunt for the rabbit was our longest hike, about a half mile 

His project in Detroit Lakes was his biggest project to date. If you have the time and interest, check out his work in other areas of the US and world. “My ultimate goal is to have trolls surprising people in every state,” said Dambo, who has made a career out of building the mythical giants. He has placed 139 outsize trash trolls in 19 states across the U.S., from Washington to Maine, as well as in 20 countries.Jul 9, 2024

The story of Dambo's work in Detroit Lakes can be found here: Alexa's Elixir

The Rest of August

 And just like that summer is over and school has started, meaning August 2024 is also over. The second half of the month (after the Wyoming trip in the first half) has been busy. Here are photos and commentary in a nutshell, or rather, in a collage.

August 15th

Two of her remaining three children gathered to celebrate Mom's 95th birthday on August 15th. Cake and ice cream were served to the residents and staff at the Walworth County Care Center. My oldest brother had Covid, so was unable to attend. We had to wear masks as the center had been under Covid lock-down earlier in the month, so Mom was confused at first as to who her visitors were. We did get a few smiles from her. We joined her and some of the residents in their weekly bingo game. We won candy bars.

August 19th

McBe tested for the green stripe on his taekwondo green belt. I was so intent (and proud) watching him break the boards, I did not get a photo of that part of his test. He sparred with a fellow green belt student and then sparred with a black belt student as part of his testing. He continues to love taekwondo and willingly attends classes 5 days a week. (green belt with white stripe, solid green belt, and green belt with black stripe)

August 23rd

The fourth weekend in August had been set aside as the E Family Vacation weekend in Sioux Falls. (Previous locations were the Black Hills, Cancun and Minneapolis.) The adult family members met for lunch and then spent time downtown enjoying the sculptures and other iconic landmarks.

The grands were in school and had busy schedules of their own. The seven of us were not together until lunch on Sunday.

August 24th

The oldest E family members were on one bowling team and the youngest Es on another. I included my score of 123 because it was the high score on our lane in the first game! It wasn't that high in the second game as Hubby claimed the honor of highest score. (Miss W was at volleyball practice.)

August 27th

Miss W is one of twelve players for the Lincoln HS freshman volleyball B team. They lost their two matches by only 3 points each game. The team is getting new uniforms, so for now, their gray warm-up T shirts served as numberless uniforms. She played so well. 

August 29th

The end of August also means it is the start of the college football season. We drove to Minneapolis to meet OFD and attend the U of M Gopher game. A thunderstorm caused a one hour delay to the start of the game. As the clouds moved out we saw a beautiful sunset.

The Gophers lost 19-17 to the Tar Heels of North Carolina in a missed field goal in the last few seconds of the game. We endured some off and on sprinkles during the 3.5 hour game. Always fun to spend time with OFD and the atmosphere of college football.

And finally, we bought a new car for me, a Titanium (dark blue) 2024 Ford Edge. 

These two books were excellent reads; the kind of books that stay with you long after you turn the last page.

What will September bring????