Wisconsin Blue

I choose to believe that this is one of those brain teasing pictures where it is possible to see two different images it you stare long enough.

I say this because for a full thirty seconds I sat amazed that a graffiti artist would commemorate the fact that Barack Obama won the state of Wisconsin in 2008 and 2012.  By why did the artist include the UP in their image of Wisconsin.  And, wait, why is it dated 2016?

Then I saw the bird.

Alright, maybe I am just a bit dense or, maybe, I need to tune down the political banter in my mind and get outside a little more.

St. Anthony Falls

From Wikipedia:

Antoine Hennepin was born in Ath in the Spanish Netherlands (present-day Hainaut, Belgium). In 1659, Béthune, the town where he lived, was captured by the army ofLouis XIV of France. Henri Joulet, who accompanied Hennepin and wrote his own journal of their travels, called Hennepin a Fleming (i.e. a native of Flanders).
At the request of Louis XIV the Récollets sent four missionaries to New France in May 1675, including Hennepin, accompanied byRené Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle. In 1678, Hennepin was ordered by his provincial superior to accompany La Salle on an expedition to explore the western part of New France. Hennepin was 39 when he departed in 1679 with La Salle from Quebec Cityto construct the 45-ton barque Le Griffon, sail through the Great Lakes, and explore the unknown West. 

Hennepin was with La Salle at the construction of Fort Crevecouer (near present-day Peoria, Illinois) in January 1680. In February, La Salle sent Hennepin and two others as an advance party to search for the Mississippi River. The party followed the Illinois River to its junction with the Mississippi. Shortly thereafter, Hennepin was captured by a Sioux war party and carried off for a time into what is now the state of Minnesota.^[2]In September 1680, thanks to Daniel Greysolon, Sieur Du Lhut, Hennepin and the others were given canoes and allowed to leave, eventually returning to Quebec. Hennepin returned to France and was never allowed by his order to return to North America.^[3] Local historians credit the Franciscan Récollet friar as the first European to step ashore at the site of present-day Hannibal, Missouri.^[4] 

Two great waterfalls were brought to the world's attention by Hennepin: Niagara Falls, with the most voluminous flow of any in North America, and the Saint Anthony Falls in what is now Minneapolis, the only waterfall on the Mississippi River. 

Painting by Douglas Volk.  The First People's were not impressed.

Snapchat

I'm still trying to figure out Snapchat, but there does seem to be one use beyond teenagers sending revealing photographs to one another.

A friend who spends more time along the rivers of Minneapolis/St. Paul sent me this cool photograph of a coyote in the city.

At 42 I'm leaning into that age when I become harder to convince to try anything new.  I have my hands full with blogspot.  It does pay to have the app downloaded on a phone so that my younger, hipper, and more energetic friends can show me what they've seen.

Northeast Minneapolis

Northeast Minneapolis has a lot to recommend it though visiting it in winter, when some landlords are not adequately compelled to shovel the sidewalks and none of the ethnic delis have their curbside patios set up, requires creativity to find the joy amidst the effort.

We'll be back, though I might have to reach out to some co-workers who live in the area for recommendations.

My oldest son's nickname among his peers is "Otter."

The nation runs on container transport and rail...

...and both presume globalization.

Rails, highways and, in the distance, the skyscrapers of downtown Minneapolis.

The local Marionite Catholic Church, right across the street from a highly recommended Lebanese deli.

A co-worker, half Ukrainian and a self -described connoisseur of the perogie, and I need to make a date to check out the offering of the Ukrainian Catholic church one block down from the Lebanese.  

I'm just thankful there are still some schools out there named after Thomas Edison.

I do love this trooper of a dog.  15 miles and she was ready to wrestle with the other members of the pack.  She was downright sullen that I left her at home the next day.

Stone Arch Bridge

Northeast Minneapolis

Saturday provided a great day to explore an area of Minneapolis that I'd yet to been exposed.  It was a good time and I got an opportunity to scope out some areas for later exploration.  

Sheridan Memorial Park does a great job expressing the costs of war.  Including the youngest and unheralded victims.

"War is the beast that makes every mother cry."

Each of the nation's wars and those conflicts which had the most local impact receive its own post and its own death mask.

Natural Dangers at the boat ramp.

Minneapolis Parks and Rec office.

Artsy?

Artsy!

Isn't it iconic?  Don't you think?

Good Guys at Graco, or "when lawyers are order takers not order givers."

"Minneapolis is dam nice."

Finding shoes or other items I would presume the homeless would value, is relatively common on my walks.  This is by far the nicest pair of boots I have ever found.

Nice boots.  I hope the owner gets them back.  I'd like to know the story. Yes, I did check the river for 30 yards up and downstream.

Walking Pace

A few years ago the I35 bridge in Minneapolis collapsed.  Thirteen people were killed and one hundred and forty-five were injured.

This photo was taken from the east bank, underneath the new bridge that replaced it and you can see a retaining wall failure on the west side of the Mississippi River.  It looks as if the ground underneath the roadway is giving way as well.

These are the kinds of things you notice when you move at a walking pace.

I had just begun to ask myself who I would call to notify of the erosion when I noticed the orange safety barrels at the bottom; someone already knows about the problem.  I decided to trust that someone was monitoring it.

A couple of days later I got a better look from the other side.




This is not the first landslide along the improved banks of the Mississippi.  Why just last year the hillside gave way just outside my workplace.  They still haven't re-opened the roadway beneath it.

The thing is the Mississippi, and all rivers, are not stationary.  They move over time but the things we build do not.  There is a Sapien hubris at work when we build a structure to last two hundred years where the river will want to be in seventy-five.

We may call this era the Anthropocene, but our power is not totalitarian.  Our actions may move the planet one direction or another but the laws of physics are not suspended.

We'd do well to remember.

Save the Date

Nala was on the Stone Arch Bridge in Minneapolis helping her sapiens with their engagement photos.

Walking Minneapolis

I took a chance.

Saturday mornings tend to be slow for tracking calls.  Sundays tend to be busy.

If I want to be fresh for a busy Sunday, the odds of a good day sleep improve if I can get a good walk in on Saturday.  The sun was out this past weekend and the temperature at dawn was a perfect 40 degrees.  Our last best chance to have a snow-free stroll until March.

Thank you El Nino.

This really is my favorite spot in downtown.

Dogs dig sculpture.

Squirrel!

"Child!"

"What exactly are these things anyway?"

Winning: great coffee, off-street patio to tie off the dog, and a corporation that utilizes existing buildings.

Barista: You look like the outdoorsy type.
Daniel: You're right about two things.
B: Two?
D: I am the outdoorsy type.  I am also the "leave a bigger tip for the barista who looks at me close enough to guess my type" type.
B: (blush)

This boy needs a dog.

"Fo-Shay!"

Hatched too late: Chick the size of a pigeon laying on Nicollet Ave.