Mystical Horizons
Mystical Horizons, located near Carbury, North Dakota on the Scenic Byway on North Dakota Highway 43 near the North Dakota and Manitoba border, is intended to represent a 21st-century Stonehenge. It consists of six pink granite walls of varying heights that function as a working solar calendar.

History and description
A plaque at the site reads "dedicated to Jack Olson's vision of a Century 21 Stonehenge".[1] The concept was the vision of Jack Olson, an aerospace engineer and designer; though Olson died of cancer in 2001 before construction began, the community raised funds to make his dream a reality, along with partnerships including the North Dakota Forest Service, North Dakota Department of Transportation, and the city of Bottineau.[2] Mystical Horizons was opened on October 21, 2005.[3]
Mystical Horizons includes multiple components designed to connect visitors with the cosmos:[4]
- a sighting tube in fixed position demonstrating the location of Polaris,[5]
- a human-sized sundial,[6] and
- six walls with slots that act as a solar calendar, with direct sunlight passing through the slots only on the winter and summer solstices and the vernal and autumnal equinoxes.[2]
A panoramic view of the Turtle Mountains of North Dakota and Alberta, as well as the surrounding valley, is available from the site.[5]
Jack Olson
John (Jack) Olson was born on a farm near Bottineau on October 24, 1922.[7] He served in the Army Air Forces during World War II as a B-24 instructor pilot.[8] In 1950 he joined Brown & Bigelow as the chief designer in metal and plastic products, receiving 120 mechanical and design patents and designing the Tupperware party favor "the pickle plucker".[8]
Olson worked for Boeing from 1958 to 1984, working on projects such as the Boeing Jetfoil and the Morgantown Personal Rapid Transit system.[9] He was also part of the engineering and design team for the landing pads for the Apollo Lunar Module and the Lunar Landing Vehicle.[10] He held a seat on the National Space Society Board of Governors.[9] Olson was also an artist of illustrations of space exploration, and 21 of his space paintings were displayed at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.[9] He earned a diamond badge from the Soaring Society of America, demonstrating advanced gliding skills, and held a master-photographer certification from the Photographic Society of America.[11]
In his retirement, Olson spent time in Bottineau, creating a series of community projects, including making plans for Mystical Horizons.[7] He died in Normandy Park, Washington on August 28, 2001.[8]
References
- Kantor, Jonathan H. (16 January 2020). "The Strangest Stonehenge Replicas To Visit Around The World". Ranker. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
- "Frolicking in the forests". The Dickinson Press. 2 September 2007. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
- "Mystical Horizons". Turtle Mountain Guide. Transcript Publishing. 30 September 2017. p. 14. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
- "Mystical Horizons, North Dakota". The Center for Land Use Interpretation. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
- "2017 GeoFIT: Environmental Perspectives, Final Report" (PDF). [GeoFIT newsletter]. North Dakota Forest Service and North Dakota Geographic Alliance. August 2017. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
- "Notable North Dakotans". North Dakota Night Sky. State Historical Society of North Dakota. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
- Wagar, Scott (27 August 2013). "A guide in elevation for the Turtle Mountains". North Dakota Newspaper Association. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
- "John (Jack) Jacob Olson". 398th Bomb Group Memorial Association. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
- "National Space Society Governor Jack Olson Biography". National Space Society. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
- "North Dakota connections to Apollo 11 mission". KFYR-TV. Bismarck, North Dakota. 21 July 2019. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
- Whitely, Peyton (12 September 2001). "'Jack' Olson, 'a visionary'". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 25 May 2020.