#4: [03-Apr-22]

#3: [15-Aug-13]

#2: [03-Jul-02]

25-Apr-2001 -- I left home near Detroit Lakes, MN with the intention of locating the 47N 96W confluence near Callaway, MN. We had an eight inch wet snowfall two days earlier which had resulted in making the five hundred yard walk through a Minnesota gumbo field to the confluence more than I was willing to undertake. I decided to travel from the prairie land of 47N 96W through the Minnesota forest and lake country to the west and check out the confluence at 47N 95W planning to return to a drier field later in the week.

I decided to use Park Rapids, MN as my starting point, it being a larger town than Dorset which may be a mile nearer the confluence. Park Rapids, population 2,863, is a wonderful tourist town typical of the "Land of 10,000 Lakes" areas of Minnesota. I traveled East out of Park Rapids on Minnesota Highway 34 East. Using the AmericInn at the city limits as a starting point, I traveled 2 miles to the junction of Hubbard Co. 4, which is labeled the "Lake George Road" by the locals. Taking a left (North), I drove 5.35 miles until my GPS showed I was on the 47N latitude. Luckily, the area was dry ground which is unusual in this country of more lakes than land.

My GPS indicated only a short walk straight east of maybe less than a quarter of a mile into the planted pine forest of Norway Pines. Just into the forest there was a logging road leading to a place where some lumbering and a metal storage shed was located. The confluence was on the inside bend of the the logging road as it made a right turn to the south, just about 10 feet into the woods. This confluence, being in the woods, made for pictures with little scenery, but the surrounding country more than makes up for the trip.

After shooting my pictures, I tried to find the landowner to share the project with them. It turned out that the shed and road were only a quarter of a mile away from the back side of a resort golf course. The owners of "Evergreen Lodge and Resort" on Big Sandy Lake were especially interested in the Degree Confluence Project being Social Studies teachers in an earlier life.

This was my first try at a confluence and was great fun. I had only used my GPS to mark fishing spots in the past and it was great to find another use for it. I am looking forward to trying my earlier confluence in a few days.

Bruce Sannes