Photo of the Day 278

Fourth of July Fireworks, Bowlus, Minnesota, 2000

Photograph by Richard Olsenius

Fireworks light up the sky over a grain elevator in Bowlus, Minnesota. The volunteer fire department sets off the display every year on the Fourth of July, during Bowlus Fun Days. The daylong celebration is a "big thing" in Bowlus, says Charlie Sobieck, who owns the grain elevator. "We have bingo, a snow-cone stand, cotton candy, polka bands, and a parade with floats. It's a good gathering for people to see people they haven't seen in years."

(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "In Search of Lake Wobegon," December 2000, National Geographic magazine)