Week two of the Lens-Artists Photo Challenge got underway on Saturday. This week’s topic is “cooling”. In the middle of summer, cooling could be a tall glass of iced tea at a sidewalk cafe or a 24-ounce beer at an afternoon ballgame. Laya takes us to Switzerland in her challenge with a swim in glacier water on a very hot day. You can view the entire photo challenge post here.

In my home town of Fargo, North Dakota, the cooling comes in the winter where temperatures of -20 degrees F (-29 degrees C) are not uncommon with many consecutive days of 0 degrees F (-18 degrees C) or lower for the high. I can’t remember the exact temperature on the day that I took the opening photograph, but I was driving near the Red River as the sun was setting. I pulled into a parking lot located by the river and captured the last few moments of a cold day on the Red River of the North.

It doesn’t have to be snowing, however, to feel cold in North Dakota. In the early morning when temperatures fall and the dew point is high, a chilly fog blankets the area. This shot is also near the Red River which is off to my right. The photo was captured in the late fall before the first snow falls.

In last week’s challenge, I got many compliments regarding my photo of Bryce Canyon after a heavy snowfall. The shots above and below feature two more views of the canyon at sunrise. These were taken at Bryce Point just inside the park.

Finally, for my last two entries, let’s revisit Sprague Lake in the Rocky Mountain National Park. The shots of the lake below feature a couple of mountain views.

After 40 years in North Dakota, I’ve come to dislike winter except in very small doses., preferring instead to spend our winters in Arizona. Each Christmas, however, is spent in Fargo with family, the only reason I endure an 8- to 10-day stay in the cold north country. I’ve included a gallery of these images for easier viewing. In most browsers, you can click on a small image to enlarge it and to scroll through the gallery.

Sprague Lake.

Sprague Lake.

Red River of the North.

Fargo, North Dakota.

Bryce Canyon.

Bryce Point VIew.

John Steiner