Mystical Horizons

Mystical Horizons is an astronomical-themed site located near Carbury, North Dakota on North Dakota Highway 43 near the North Dakota and Manitoba border. The attraction contains a working solar calendar built from granite pillars, intended to represent a 21st-century Stonehenge, and other instruments intended to explain astronomical phenomena and principles.

September sunset at Mystic Horizons

History and description

A plaque at the site reads "dedicated to Jack Olson's vision of a Century 21 Stonehenge". The concept was the vision of Jack Olson, an aerospace engineer and designer.^[1] 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.^[1] Mystical Horizons opened on October 21, 2005.^[2]

Mystical Horizons includes multiple components designed to connect visitors with the cosmos:^[3]

• 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,^[1]
• a sighting tube in fixed position demonstrating the location of Polaris,^[4] and
• a human-sized sundial.^[5]

Each instrument is accompanied by information about how to use the devices and explanations of the scientific principles demonstrated.

A panoramic view of the Turtle Mountains, as well as the surrounding valley, is available from the site.^[4]

Mystical Horizons site (2020)

Conceptual Designer

John (Jack) Olson was an aerospace engineer and inventor. He was born on a farm near Bottineau on October 24, 1922.^[6] Olson served in the Army Air Forces during World War II as a B-24 instructor pilot.^[7] 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".^[7]

Olson worked for Boeing from 1958 to 1984, working on projects such as the Boeing Jetfoil and the Morgantown Personal Rapid Transit system.^[8] He was also part of the engineering and design team for the landing pads for the Apollo Lunar Module and the Lunar Landing Vehicle.^[9] He held a seat on the National Space Society Board of Governors.^[8] 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.^[8] 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.^[10] Olson was the author of a book about his life growing up in the Turtle Mountains published posthumously in 2009: Once In The Middle Of Nowhere: The Center of the Universe: A Collection of Turtle Mountain Tales.^[3]

In his retirement, Olson spent time in Bottineau, creating a series of community projects, including making plans for Mystical Horizons.^[6] He died in Normandy Park, Washington, on August 28, 2001.^[7]