Author Archives: Todd Bolen

The Rock River

By | August 19, 2012

Yesterday was a nice day with family, and I chose to skip it here. Today is our last day with the grandparents in Illinois, and Grandpa decided to take us out on his fishing boat on the Rock River. It was a beautiful day for a boat ride. Katie and Mark ride in the bow… Read More »

Celebrating 50 Years

By | August 17, 2012

Kelli and I celebrated her parents ‘ 30th anniversary by running off and getting engaged. Twenty years later, we celebrated with a big party with all of the family. We started off with a portrait session with all of the kids and grandkids. On the way to the portrait session Then we headed out to… Read More »

The Riddles

By | August 16, 2012

We took a short drive this morning in the direction of Chicago to meet up with our friends the Riddles. About 10 years ago, A.D. contacted me by email about my photo collection. In the years since, he has helped me to improve the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands in many ways. We met in… Read More »

Illinois

By | August 15, 2012

We spent yesterday with Kelli’s parents, enjoying some down time to relax, talk, and catch up on a few things. Today we were off again for parts east in Illinois. We spent the morning in a small town of Illinois with Kelli’s aunt. Here Bethany find an appropriate sign. Bethany with library sign And the… Read More »

The Mississippi River

By | August 14, 2012

We headed south today, leaving Minneapolis headed for Iowa. Friends live in Dubuque, next to the Mississippi River and they took us out to Eagle Point Park for a great view of the river with its lock and dam. Looking north up the Mississippi River The dam is necessary to raise the water level so… Read More »

Twin Cities

By | August 13, 2012

A day went by in which I didn’t take any photos, and so I’m going to skip over our drive into Minnesota and time with some family. The next day we visited a few sites in the Twin Cities area, including Kelli’s alma mater, Bethel College (now Bethel University). The older kids have seen The… Read More »

North Dakota

By | August 12, 2012

We were on our way to a grocery store for some breakfast when someone observed that we were driving east in southwestern North Dakota. By the end of the day we would be in Fargo, and our schedule called for two major stops along the way. Fort Mandan was the first winter camp of the… Read More »

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

By | August 11, 2012

What is there in North Dakota to see, you might wonder. Well, we spent the first of two full days in the state at the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. The site is protected because of the beautiful scenic landscapes, and its name comes from the president who established a ranch in the area during his… Read More »

Cathedral Spires and Devil’s Tower

By | August 10, 2012

I didn’t have much of a plan today besides having fun on our way to an overnight in North Dakota. I figured that we wouldn’t see all of Custer State Park and the Black Hills yesterday and that it would be nice to have some extra time to look around and possibly go on a… Read More »

Rushmore and Custer

By | August 9, 2012

I wouldn’t have guessed that the most expensive part of our trip would be in southwestern South Dakota, but it was. I expected that such a remote place would have affordable hotels, but because the area is so beautiful, it has become a vacation spot and thus expensive. We certainly enjoyed our time in the… Read More »