RN: I had a wonderful walk with Diane this morning in Riverside Park- a gorgeous greenway along the Red River. In 1997, there was a disastrous flood in Grand Forks caused by the Red River cresting to 54 ft while sand dikes were built only 49 ft high. The breeching water spread 3 miles into the city because it is so flat and 50,000 people had to be evacuated (Wiki). In response, the federal government worked with the state government to clear the flood plain of development and to create this wonderful park. In addition permanent dikes were built on either side of the river. You can see the bikeway we walked on and, to the right, the gentle slope of the dike (which also serves as a sledding hill in the winter).

Here is the Red River from a bridge that crosses it…seems like the water and the clouds are going to the same place!

From the bridge, we also saw this deer who stared straight at us.

And, up in the tree, a bald eagle!

Hard to believe this river turns into a raging torrent at times…today it’s so peaceful!

At the parking lot, there is a play area that the city set up, built almost entirely out of concrete! There is a fussball table, two chess tables, a ping pong table and two sets of corn hole boards (BTW, when Diane was told about the corn hole in the park, she was aghast- some of you may know what the term means in other societal circles…). The play area has a cabinet that is unlocked and it contains all the equipment you need to play these games. Everyone is very respectful and returns the equipment when they are done. Wonders of a “small” town (Grand Forks population is 58,847)!

RN: We were sneezing at coughing with what we thought was hay fever but we decided to take a Covid test before we went on to visit my friend Paul in St Paul MN, so guess what…

FE: We are fine! We should’ve been more alert regarding Covid, hanging out with the Sturgis bikers at a bar was fun, but maybe not too smart. We both tested positive yesterday. Minimal symptoms for both of us and getting better already. Our main concern are Diane, Tristan, Serena and Alana…we hope they escape our curse. Obviously, we are adjusting our plans regarding how we meet old friends, where we stay and eat, mainly by staying in a hotel room or being in a non-crowded outdoor environment….until we test negative.