A Rocky Mountain Welcome

The familiar and welcome sight of the Front Range upon arrival.

The Traveler's Limbo at MSP

O-Dark-Thirty at MSP

Cribbage and Clouds Over MSP

 After a rainy and otherwise uneventful drive, we arrived at our hotel near the Minneapolis-Saint Paul airport. 

The final sunset of our Minnesota trip, viewed from our hotel near the airport.

Departure Dinner

The whole crew enjoying a farewell dinner before we all departed.

 All good trips must eventually come to an end, and we marked the occasion with a final family dinner at the Boulder Tap House in Alexandria.

A Roadside Attraction Worth the Stop

Vining, Minnesota: Nyberg Sculpture Park

This friendly visitor seems to be enjoying the local scenery.

 After seeing his panther sculpture in Parkers Prairie, we had to finish the afternoon with a trip to the source: the Nyberg sculpture park in Vining, Minnesota.

The Korkowski Cousins Convene

Our destination for the afternoon: The Old Mill in Urbank.

And now for the main event of our trip: the annual Korkowski Cousins' Luncheon at The Old Mill in Urbank, Minnesota. 

Parkers Panthers Pride

The Parkers Prairie High School panther, a gift from my aunt's graduating class.

A Minnesota Institution: Chet's Lakeside Inn

Do we do anything but eat on these trips?  

My Aunt Jenny and niece Liz, posing with the official greeter.

Pike and Pint Reunion

 After a morning of climbing at Inspiration Peak, we had certainly worked up an appetite. We headed over to the Pike and Pint in Alexandria for a well-deserved lunch. It was a great opportunity to sit down and catch up with my brother, Denis, and my cousin, Shawn. Good food and even better company are what these trips are all about.

Minnesota: Heights to Homestead

The rural landscapes of central Minnesota were on full display.

Sunrise Glow in Alex

 A quiet hotel room and a new window to look out of. There’s a simple pleasure in watching the sun come up in a different town.

The sun peeking over the horizon just after 7:30 this morning.

​ This morning, the sky over Alexandria, Minnesota, put on a vibrant, fiery display, offering a warm and colorful start to a day full of family and reunion.

​Wherever you are today, I hope your morning started with a little bit of color.

Don Bergquist – 10 October 2025 – Alexandria, Minnesota, USA

​A Flicker of Memory

​I have lost any hope of keeping an accurate count of exactly how many flights I have taken over the course of my life.

​Before the Sun, Before the Flight

 ​It's just past six in the morning, and the world outside the windows of the United Club is still wrapped in darkness.

A Calculated Retreat

Leaving the dreary hills outside Rapid City behind.

Devils Tower: Myth and Misconception

 Devils Tower rises so dramatically from the landscape that it demands an explanation. For years, I thought I knew the simple version: it was a "lava plug" from an ancient volcano. The truth, as I've learned, is even more incredible.

A Badlands Pivot

 The best-laid schemes o' Bison an' Rock Wren / Gang aft agley (with apologies to Bobby Burns).

The view at civil twilight: decidedly wet and rainy.

The Faces of the Black Hills

The iconic view down the Avenue of Flags.

A Moment of Peace at Horse Thief Lake

 After a few hours on the winding roads of the Black Hills, you start looking for a good place to pull over and just breathe. Horse Thief Lake is one of those perfect spots.

A peaceful scene with a hint of autumn color.

A Vision Carved in Stone

The massive carving rising above the Black Hills forest.

 It's hard to believe it has been over twenty years since I was last in the Black Hills, and my last visit to the Crazy Horse Memorial. While the progress on the mountain itself is a deliberate and generational process, the scope of the entire project is what truly resonates.

Wind Cave National Park: A Surface-Level Visit

 

The landscape transforms upon entering the Black Hills.

From the Plains to the Hills

 The miles roll by easily on the plains. After crossing from Colorado into Wyoming, the landscape opens up into a vast expanse that stretches to every horizon.

The Road Less Taken

 The leisurely pace continues as we press on through northern Colorado. One of the best decisions for a weekend trip is choosing the right route, and this morning it’s paying off. Instead of the often-congested mountain corridors, we're enjoying wide-open roads with hardly any traffic.

A nice surprise for an early Saturday morning:
a hot air balloon enjoying the calm air.

A Leisurely Start Towards the Black Hills

 There's a certain quiet satisfaction to the start of a road trip, especially one that begins at a leisurely pace. We're not trying to break any land speed records on this journey; the compass is simply pointed toward Rapid City, South Dakota.

An Autumn Mountain Drive

​The recipe for our annual late-September drive is different every year, but the goal is always the same: get up into the mountains and see what the changing season has to offer.

The Joy of the Unexpected Visitor

You don’t always need a plane ticket for a moment of genuine discovery. Sometimes, you just need to fill the bird bath and pay attention.

A Bittersweet Departure

Airports are places of transition, caught between where you’ve been and where you’re going. This trip to Memphis was exactly that—a journey caught between the sadness of saying goodbye to a dear friend and mentor, and the warmth of reconnecting with the people and places he brought into my life.

A Celebration of a Life

 This was the reason for the trip to Memphis: to gather with friends and family to honor the life of Helen Coop, a dear friend and a formidable mentor.

Helen Dortch Coop (1938 - 2025).
A friend and mentor who will be deeply missed.

My Old Stomping Grounds

 The day before the memorial was for reconnecting with the Memphis I used to know. With a heavy heart but a full tank of gas, I took a long, quiet drive through my old stomping grounds to see what had changed and what had endured.

An Unexpected Sunset at DEN

Every seasoned traveler knows the feeling: that sinking realization that your meticulously planned schedule is about to be undone. My trip to Memphis began with just that—a delay.

Summer Colours

One of the best things about summer in Colorado is the explosion of colour in the mountains, and you don't have to venture far to find it. A trip up to Genesee Mountain Park, one of Denver's beautiful and accessible parks, proved to be a treasure hunt for wildflowers.

An Unsolicited Opinion From The AI

For reasons I can't begin to fathom, my phone's AI offered an unsolicited suggestion today. It decided to take a photo of a cherished old plaque—one given to my mom years ago by St. Kevin's Catholic Church in Miami—and "improve" it.

The original plaque, full of handmade charm,
and the unsolicited 3D remake offered by the AI.

Homeward Bound

There's a unique feeling at the end of a great trip—a mix of satisfaction from the memories made and a quiet readiness to be home. After a wonderful visit to Florida to celebrate a whole host of family birthdays, that's exactly where Tim and I found ourselves.

Taking the Long Way on A1A

Sometimes the best part of a journey isn't arriving at the destination, but how you choose to get there. On our way from Miami back toward Fort Lauderdale, we were faced with a choice: the efficient, multi-lane highway or the slow, scenic crawl up coastal Highway A1A. We chose the crawl.

A Return to the River of Grass

The familiar National Park Service sign at the entrance.

 There are some places that are woven into the fabric of your memory. For me, having grown up practically on the border of Everglades National Park in Southwest Miami, it's one of those places. I've always loved its subtle, immense beauty, so when the opportunity arose to show it to my friend Tim, who had never been, I jumped at the chance.

A First Time for Everything

On the afternoon of our visit to the Shark Valley area, we decided to take a tour, and I honestly can't believe it was my first time. How does that happen? The experience is quintessential South Florida: the roar of the massive fan, the sensation of skimming effortlessly over the "River of Grass," and the feeling of being deep inside a wild, ancient world.

A Local's Secret: The Shark Valley Tram Tour

The whole crew, ready for the Shark Valley tram tour.

 If you grew up in Miami, you knew about Shark Valley. It was the easiest, most accessible way to get a real dose of the Everglades without needing an airboat, and it often felt like a local's secret. It's a place I've always loved, and I was thrilled to share it with my sister, my brother, and his family.

The Morning Moon

Some of the best moments of any trip are the quiet ones you don't plan for. On this morning in Fort Lauderdale, I was up before the sun and was greeted by a brilliant half-moon hanging in the perfectly dark sky.

Before the dawn.
The half-moon, brilliantly clear in the pre-dawn sky.

A Drive Down Memory Lane

There are certain places that are imprinted on your memory from childhood. For me, growing up in South Florida, Matheson Hammock and Key Biscayne were those kinds of places. So, on this trip, we took a day to drive down from our hotel in Fort Lauderdale and make a pilgrimage.

The beautiful, shady drive into Matheson Hammock
 feels like entering another world.

A Quiet Morning at the Hotel

Not every day on a trip needs to be a whirlwind of sightseeing. Sometimes, the best moments are found by simply staying put. We took this morning to have a quiet pool day at our hotel in Fort Lauderdale, but for me, "relaxing" usually involves having a camera in hand.

The morning started with the moon still visible in the humid sky.

A Pleasant Surprise on Arrival

After a long day of planes and airports, there's no better feeling than finally checking into your hotel. But our arrival came with an interesting twist. We were met with the news that the resort was overbooked—words that can send a shiver down any traveler's spine.

Our unexpected double upgrade
—this beautiful and lush patio suite was a welcome sight after a long day of travel.

Florida Bound

Every great trip begins with a single step or, in this case, the closing of an airplane door. Tim and I are on our way!

Ready for departure from Denver. The adventure begins!

A Day of Recovery and a Guiding Light

After a day of travel, a day of recovery is always a good idea. Most of the day was spent simply relaxing by the pool, enjoying the lush patio and the vibrant tropical flowers that make South Florida so beautiful.

The perfect spot to relax and recover.

Who Let the Dogs Out?

There’s a special kind of pleasure in a simple, sunny, late spring morning in your own backyard.

An Unexpected Morning Visitor

You never know what a new day will bring, even during a routine as mundane as taking out the trash. This morning, I was greeted by a surprise visitor in the front yard. A duck, looking perfectly content, was just hanging out on the lawn.

A surprise visitor in the front yard,
likely on a short field trip from the Lakewood Gulch.

🖤💛 Go Knights! 💛🖤💛 Charge On! 💛🖤

 Just a quick note for all my fellow Knights out there: tomorrow, April 10th, is the annual UCF Day of Giving.

A New York Minute

Even on a work trip, there's always a moment to be a tourist. On my last night in New York after a week of "Event-Storming" workshops, I was walking to dinner with the team when we passed by Rockefeller Center.

Sunrise in a Manufactured Canyon

 

The sun finds its path through
the canyons of New York City.

A Flying Start

Another trip, another early morning at Denver International Airport. This time, I'm headed to New York City for a week of Event Storming sessions.

Watching the planes at daybreak
while waiting for my flight to New York.

January White Out

There's a certain kind of quiet that only comes with a heavy snowfall. This January morning, we woke up to just that, but with an added bit of drama. It wasn't a gentle dusting, but a blast of cold air and blowing snow that reduced the entire neighborhood to a series of soft, blurry shapes.