Steve Fernlund and The Long Way Home

When our oldest daughter was entering the fourth grade, we moved the family from East Bloomington, MN to West Bloomington, MN. To understand the cultural ramifications of this move, think about moving from Hovland to Lutsen. Or maybe think about the Jeffersons moving to that deluxe apartment in the sky. As young parents with four kids, we were hyper-alert to their happiness and safety. Other than an occasional night away from us, staying with siblings and grandparents, our kids had never been away from their doting parents. So when we heard that fourth-grade teacher Mr. Porter was planning a several-night field trip at a camp in Northern Minnesota, I had many questions. Attending the information meeting at the school I quickly raised my hand when question time was called. First, if I am paying taxes in Hennepin County to fund parks and nature centers, why do we have to send kids on an overnight trip to a nature center? Murmurs were heard in the crowd. Next, what about kids like mine w...

  After decades of travel and exploring around the world, Tor and Siffy Torkildson now make Hovland their home. The couple has lived in or explored almost every country on the planet and have shared some of what they’ve seen and learned about the people and places in two curated anthologies, “The Walkabout Chronicles” and “The Pilgrimage Chronicles.” Both of the Torkildsons grew up in Minnesota. They met a couple of years after college graduation. Tor had returned from his post-college wander around the world. To kill some time he went with a friend who had a job interview with the National Park Service. While hanging out, waiting for his buddy, Tor was asked by a Park Service employee if he’d like to interview for a job. With nothing else going on, he took the chance to interview and was offered a job at Glacier National Park. And there he met Siffy, where they worked the season together and became hiking buddies. They went their separate ways after that but reconnected 11 years a...