Peace

Our next destination was the International Peace Garden on the U.S./Canada border.  This 3.65-square-mile park gives North Dakota the designation of “The Peace Garden State.”  On the way to the Peace Garden, we had to make a brief stop in Dunseith, ND.

Yes, the kitsch keeps a-coming on this trip.  This is the W’eel Turtle, made of over 2,000 steel wheel rims welded together.  It sits on the Turtle Mountain Plateau (a larger area than its resting place here) and is the world’s largest man-made turtle.  Kitsch, for sure!

After that enlightening experience, we headed for the Peace Garden.  The Peace Garden is not part of any country and lies between North Dakota and Manitoba.  Visitors from either country can enter the park without restriction; however, it is necessary to go through immigration procedures to return to or to visit either the U.S. or Canada.  Of course, it wasn’t that simple.  North Dakota is one of the states that has two seasons:  winter and road construction.

Ten miles from the Peace Garden, we had the pleasure of watching this guy for 35 minutes while waiting for the escort vehicle.  North Dakota is flat.

Four or five miles closer to the Peace Garden, we spent about 20 minutes watching this more creative guy (sideways sign) while we waited for the second escort vehicle.

At the entrance to the Peace Garden, there is a plaque mounted on the cairn between the flags.  It reads:  “To God in his glory, we two nations dedicate this garden, and pledge ourselves that as long as men shall live, we will not take up arms against one another.”  This is how world peace begins.

Just inside the garden are seven peace posts, each of which says “May peace prevail on earth.”  Each post is inscribed in a different language.

A little farther into the park is a garden with a sculpture of a peace dove.

Over 150,000 flowers are planted in the garden each year.

More flowers on the grounds.

Ted and I had a quiet, peaceful walk through the park, with its flowers, water features, and symbols of peace.

A 14-bell carillon chimes the quarter hours in beautiful tones.

The peace chapel is at the far end of the park (about a mile from the entrance).

The chapel is very reverent and truly brings the visitor a sense of peace.  The inside perimeter walls are inscribed with notable quotes about peace.

This is one of the inscriptions from a chapel wall.

Plutarch lived c. AD 46-120.  Unfortunately, his words are still true.

Some of the building remains of the World Trade Center attacks of September 11, 2001 have been placed in the garden as a memorial to that tragedy.

Ted and I felt such peace in this garden.  I wonder if world peace could become a reality if everyone in the world regularly visited a place like this.

P.S.  More than two weeks after visiting the International Peace Garden, we received a letter and a season pass to the garden in the mail.

Just in case we go back to the Peace Garden before the end of the year.  The pass expires December 31, 2017.