Alexa’s Elixir
📷 Canon Elan 7e | 🎞️ Fuji 200 (developed in Cinestill) | 📍Detroit Lakes, MN
They say forests have their own inhabitants. In Detroit Lakes, they happen to be giant wooden trolls with expressive faces and a better sense of purpose than most people I know.
I saw this trail, Alexa’s Elixir, in TIME’s list of 50 places to visit in 2025 and decided to check it out. Danish artist Thomas Dambo, eco-activist, created these trolls with help from hundreds of volunteers. All from recycled materials. The final task of the forest quest? “Don’t buy anything new today.” Naturally, it ends at a gift shop selling “I found the rabbit” t-shirts.
It was my first time in Detroit Lakes. Can’t say I loved the place. The town recently refused to fly the new Minnesota state flag - the one that finally doesn’t stereotype Native Americans. That tells you a lot. And if that wasn’t enough, the mile-long beach featured the entire Lord’s Prayer, displayed foot by foot along the sand. It felt less like a vacation and more like stepping into a lightly sanitized cult.
But the trolls? They were worth it. Playful, strange, slightly haunted. Like they know something we don’t. Like they’re watching us scroll through Amazon right after finishing the “don’t buy anything” quest.
Anyway, I found the rabbit. But I didn’t buy the shirt. Small wins.
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North of Somewhere 🇺🇦
Graham Webster