Today we commemorated the 86th Birthday for Don Olson, Tammy’s Dad who passed away in January. Tammy arranged for the family to meet at Northwood Park in New Hope. Don used to coach softball games here regularly and he enjoyed the park and called it Turtle Park. He used to enjoy coming here regularly and watching the turtles in the creek.

After we all had some donuts and coffee we made our way on the same walking path that Don would take and surprised the group when we came across the park bench that Tammy had worked with the park to install.

The inscription reads:

In Memory of Grandpa Don
Who Loved Nature and Turtle Park

You can find the bench at the GPS coordinates 45° 01’ 31.8" N 93° 23’ 21.7" W (45.025508, -93.389363) in Northwood Park or Bassett Creek Regional Trail in New Hope.

Narrow creek winding through dense cattails and marsh grasses at Northwood Park on a sunny summer morning, with mowed lawn and trees beyond.Memorial park bench on a concrete path reading In Memory of Grandpa Don Who Loved Nature and Turtle Park, surrounded by green grass and trees.Five women pose behind a memorial park bench engraved In Memory of Grandpa Don Who Loved Nature and Turtle Park; one holds a small dog.Four family members smiling behind a memorial park bench engraved In Memory of Grandpa Don Who Loved Nature and Turtle ParkSmall dock with metal railings extending to a calm pond edged with reeds and trees, residential homes visible across the water.Two yellow warning signs at Northwood Park: a diamond reading Please Duckling Crossing Area with a duck illustration, and a rectangular Watch Out For Turtles sign below it.Northwood Park entrance sign on wooden posts, surrounded by green grass and trees with a pond visible in the backgroundLarge multigenerational family posing together on a sunny green lawn at a park, some wearing gloves and holding a trash bagAerial satellite view of Northwood Park in New Hope Minnesota showing softball fields parking lot walking paths and a nearby creek