Timberwolves

Wifey took the kids to the Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley this past week. She took the camera along and snapped this wonderful shot of two timberwolves waiting for or looking at something. Wish I was there to see what it was they were so interested in.

Snowing In May

Well, it may look a tad like snow, but this time of the year brings a storm of cotton from the cotton trees. Trust me on this, do not leave your window open near one of these trees or you will have the cotton in all parts of your interior. It is neat to look at until it rains, then it looks like one giant, soggy, cotton ball.

Memorial Day

It's been quite windy for most of the Memorial Day weekend. It's been a southernly wind and the air is hot and humid.

Just In The Right Spot

Just happened to be in the right spot to get the sun's reflection off of the top of this building in downtown Minneapolis.

Outdoor Plumbing

This water parked opened up recently called the Grand Lodge in Bloomington, MN. I'm not sure if it's suppose to be the largest indoor water park in the country or just in Minnesota. I've only seen this view from the outside of it so far. It is located across the highway from the Mall Of America.

Southern View

Headed north into Downtown St Paul. An early morning snapshot on Sheppard Road, one of my favorite roads to travel on. There is so much to see and enjoy.

Calm River

Drive by shooting of the Mississippi River view on the Wakota Bridge looking south. Ashland Oil Refinery in St Paul Park, right in the center of the photo, are the stacks poking above the tree line. The things in the water mark the path for which boats must take if they want to avoid bottoming out. There is a red set and a green set, I believe your suppose to stay to the left of the buoy depending on what direction you're heading.

Ice Palace 2004 Series

I have a few photos of the Ice Palace that was built downtown in 2004 for the Saint Paul Winter Carnival across from the Xcel Energy Center. I have a some daytime photos during the construction phase and some evening shots once it was completed that I will be posting from time to time.

With the blue sky and sun shining, it looks like it's nice and warm. Well far from it. When we were taking pictures it had warmed up to 2 degrees fahrenheit. For those who are not from an area where it snows and the temps drop below zero, you betcha that's darn cold. All construction photos are courtesy of Travis T.

This photo I believe is from the back side of the main palace, with one of two large circle areas on the left with the sun shining through the ice blocks. Each ice block is about the size of a bathtub

Rusty Bear

This massive rusty iron bear is on Highway 494 and Penn Avenue in the parking lot of one of them sporting goods super stores. I'm not sure if all of the Galyan's had them or just this one in particular, but it's quite visible from the highway as you pass. Too bad there was a vehicle in the way, but a photo from the other side of the framework, into the sun, was not going to happen.

Fourteen Feet Three Inches

There's not too many places where you can drive under two separate bridges at the same time, but at this point on Sheppard Road, the Robert Street Bridge and the Railroad bridge all intersect at this point. The railroad bridge is quite a piece of history. You can just see the top most portion of one side of the lift bridge that is needed as it crosses the Mississippi River. I'll have to get a photo of the lift bridge one of these days.

The Robert Street Bridge was rebuilt over ten years ago. They kept the original design of the bridge, but gave it all new concrete. It is one of two bridges that connects the lower West Side to downtown St Paul. There is also a very large decal on the bridge on the large pillar at the far left that I have no clue what it says. It has got me very curious about it and I'll have to get a closer look someday.

Opening View

Way off in the distance, probably 20 miles as the crow flies, is the Minneapolis skyline. I'm on Highway 77 [Cedar] just before it crosses Highway 13. One thing I really like about the Twin Cities is how hilly it is. Both downtowns can be seen from so many areas from great distances.

They Sell Furniture

How often do you see a sign in this bad of shape, yet all of the neon letters are working correctly? This furniture store has quite a history and is still in business in a strange location. It's located off of Concord Street and Highway 494.

Salute As You Pass

I'm not quite sure how many flags are on the Wabasha Street Bridge that connects the West Side to Downtown St Paul, but I count ten flags in this photo alone. They travel the length of the bridge that crosses the Mississippi River. The green bar is a resting area or a place to look out and view the sights, not really sure what they call that area. Perhaps it's just artwork for the bridge. I'll have to get a photo driving up the bridge some day. It's a split bridge that is crooked at the bottom portion of the bridge.

Grass Is Greener

Another photo from the Mall Of America. This is the area around the escalator which brings the West and South hallways together. There are these pots filled with grass all the way around the open area on the second floor that make for quite a different visual display. If you look close enough, the grass is fake, but the initial look is quizzical.

Race For The Cure

I honestly don't know how much rainy days we've gotten in the past two weeks, but I've taken to being indoors quite a bit. Was out at the Mall Of America in Bloomington, Minnesota this past weekend. There almost always is some event going on in the circle rotunda, today was no exception. The Twin Cities Race For The Cure was held on Mothers Day is a 5K run/walk to help raise money/awareness for breast cancer. The banner was amazing reaching four stories high.

Mysterious Square Panels

I'm not sure exactly when they were put in place, but those square panels attached to the top of the Xcel Energy Plant [I had to edit as I first called it the NSP plant as it was originally called before Xcel Energy bought them] had not always been there. I don't know what their purpose is, but they must do something. To this day I wonder what their function in life is. Exactly how were they put there? You'd need a very long ladder to reach to the top of the stack as it sits around 600 feet in the air. Perhaps someone can shed some light as to what they do up there but distract my driving as I pass by the High Bridge Energy Plant in St Paul.

Sheppard Road View

I'm heading East on Sheppard Road along the Mississippi River headed into downtown St Paul. This is one of my favorite drives when I'm in St Paul and gives a different perspective of downtown from the road. I'll have to take a few more photos along Sheppard Road and show off the somewhat unknown road.

Winter And Road Construction Seasons

It's often been said that Minnesota has two seasons, Winter and Road Construction. In my daily commute, I've been driving through road construction since 2002 and the project is scheduled to complete a year later then expected in 2008. Only two more years!

These are some photos I had taken back in 2002 when I was borrowing a really crappy digital camera with poor quality, yet it was better than I had at the time.

Interstate 494, Wakota Bridge and exit to Highway 61 from 2002



Taken a week ago in nearly the same spots with my new digital camera from almost the same spots. Just showing the progress here and quite the difference in the appearance that area now has.