Blanchard Dam - A Favorite Place

Title

Blanchard Dam - A Favorite Place

Artist

Alex Blondeau

Medium

Photograph - Photograph

Description

Blanchard Dam has always been among my favorite places near Rice Minnesota where I presently live. I'm a transplant to the area and in some ways the transition was a rough one. In my hometown of Fergus Falls, I had many "places" that I would regularly retreat to. They were waterfalls, windy hilltops, secluded hideaways in the forest. These places became a part of who I was in ways that go beyond my ability to describe. Moving to Rice was difficult precisely because I was no longer surrounded with my familiar sanctuaries. Because of that, it was a great joy when I discovered Blanchard Dam. It combined many of my loves in one wonderful package! During the years in which I first went there, the Soo Line train bridge was not yet a state trail, so, happily, it lacked the guard rails it now sports. If you were friends with me during those days, there is no doubt I brought you here to be dazzled by the heights and the surging water below. In years since, Blanchard Dam has been a place that my family and I tend to visit during the last warm days of fall. We usually pack a picnic and look for agates below the bridge as the sun makes its low traverse behind the golden trees. Others are usually poking around looking for the famous "cross rocks" that can often be found within the iridescent clay of the river bank. We tried fishing there only once, but it was short lived due to quickly losing a nice Rapala in the rocks below the bridge. All the same, it has continued to be a magical place for us, and I love this photo because I think it captures just a hint of that magic!

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December 4th, 2015

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