Ford Parkway Bridge

Looking towards the St Paul side of the Ford Parkway Bridge.

The Crafts Of Flugtag 2010

I wanted to show a closeup of some of the crafts from the Flugtag 2010 event on Harriot Island this past weekend in downtown St Paul. A lot of time and energy went into making each of the aircrafts. Some claimed 200 hours of time. In the end, the skit/performance and pushing the craft off the ramp for flight lasted all but 120 seconds.

View all of the Flugtag 2010 photos.

  
  

Little Boxes, On The Hillside

Which Is More Shocking?

The tattooed legs caught my eye initially, but take another look....which is more shocking, the tattooed legs or the legs wearing shorts and over the calf socks? I mean really?

New World Record Flugtag Flight In The Twin Cities

More than 90,000 people witness Major Trouble and The Dirty Dixies fly their craft 207 feet, breaking the old record of 195 feet set back in 2000. Their flight really pumped the crowd up as the aircraft landed just past a buoy that marked the previous record. From my vantage point, I thought they crashed into the water around the 40 foot mark, but the wings took lift and sailed to victory. The video is worth a look.

Here is the video of their historic flight.

The plane design is based off of one of the eight remaining B-25 Doolittle Raiders named Miss Mitchell. Frequent readers to this blog may recall my posting from May featuring Miss Mitchell, which is housed in the Commemorative Air Force, Minnesota Wing hanger at Flemming Field. I would have to guess, since there is the CAF logo on the plane, they either helped in the design and construction, or they were a sponsor for the project. Then again, there is also a Commemorative Air Force, Dixie Wing division as well, so perhaps they are just fans of the plane?

  

Flugtag 2010 Twin Cities

The RedBull Flugtag 2010 Twin Cities was held this past Saturday. The event coordinator was hoping for 50,000, but the draw of the Flugtag, estimated the crowd by the St Paul Police at 90,000 people. Overall, it was the most unique event I've ever witnessed. 35 teams were selected to make an craft with a theme and perform a short skit, they would then, push their craft off of the 30 foot ramp to see how far they could make it fly. A small number of the crafts managed more than 50 feet including a record setting 207 feet. While most of them, like the one pictured, topped off at 20-35 feet.

The team in today's photo is the 'Band Of Bunyans'. According to their Facebook page, they are all from the Good Ideas Club of UW-Madison. Their theme was Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox, local Minnesota folklore. The wings on their aircraft was painted in Maroon and Gold, the University of Minnesota school colors on one side and Red and White, the University of Wisconsin school colors. I believe their craft landed in the 30 foot range.

  

This Is Not An Exit

Graffiti found on the supports of a St Paul bridge. The path to the right, that the 'exit' leads too, is a one hundred foot drop off....so, ummm, no....this is not an exit I'm looking for. The path to the left, I cannot read what it says....so I ain't going there either.

Keep On Riding

If your in Minnehaha Park and are looking for a quick way to visit the park, these four person bike carts are available for renting. I'm unsure of the cost, but I did see plenty of these on the road during my time at the park.

Say Hello To Mr. Creepy

These insects look rather nasty to me. They are called an earwig and looks like something out of a Hollywood creep show movie. Earwigs are generally nocturnal while hiding in dark moist areas in the day. To me, they're simply creepy!

Cruising Main Street

Back on July 4th, I posted a close up photo of a very patriotic couple wearing red, white and blue outfits to celebrate the occasion. Today I'm showing you the vehicle they were traveling in during Afton's 4th of July parade.

Summer Fun

Friends splash each other at the base of Minnehaha Falls at Minnehaha Park in Minneapolis. More than 800,000 people visit the park each year. The falls, featuring a 53-foot drop, are the star of the show.

Natures Bug Zapper

Dangerous storms rolled through the Twin Cities on Saturday leaving a bit of destruction in it's path. High winds, heavy downpours, and lots of lightning.

Tiffany's Lounge

I loved the look of this neon sign. Very original, classic looking, but a very tough sign to take a photo of. The trees and leaves gave me a very small window to work with, but if I took one step back, I would be standing in traffic on Ford Parkway. So this will have to do. If you've been on Ford Parkway and Cleveland Avenue in St Paul, you'd be a stones throw away.

The New View

The Minnesota Twins have played half of the 2010 baseball season and I'm still finding my self in awe of the view from inside Target Field. We've been inside the Metrodome for so long, going to the new stadium, I felt like I was visiting from out of state. You know what I mean?

The Right Idea

The tropical weather hit the Twin Cities on Wednesday. I found several groups of families and friends keeping cool in this clearing, downstream from the Minnehaha Falls.

Minnesota Gopher Stadium

The new Gopher Stadium finally built back on campus seats 50,805 and is horseshoe in design. There is room for future expansion to bring the total seating capacity to 80,000 seats. I'm unsure where the expansion would take place to raise the number of seats. Easily they could remove the horseshoe shape and complete the oval, but is that the expansion they are talking about or is there a much simpler option that I'm not seeing?

Caught In A Web

We've had quite a bit of rain lately in the Twin Cities. I captured today's macro shot shortly after a more rain passed through my area. These are water droplets caught in a spider web.

To Cross Push Button

Since when did it become this difficult to cross the street? This crossing the street instructions have become so long, the light will turn red before you finish reading them all. What ever happened to simply 'Walk' and 'Don't Walk'?

Sky's The Limit

Hello St Paul skyline, I've missed you....

Streets Of St Paul

A typical city street in St Paul. This photo is from the West Side neighborhood. I believe I was on Manomin Avenue and Winona Street looking North.

Bitte Im Sitzen Pinkeln!

I know, very unusual post today....I was a bit confused by the signs when I entered the restroom, but they looked picture worthy with the bold colors. Bitte im Sitzen pinkeln! Eh?

Cumulonimbus Clouds

Thunderstorms ahead!

Hidden Gem

I had missed my turn and needed to make a u-turn. So I drove down to the next street, took a left to turn around in the drive way were it was safer. There sat this rusting beauty waiting for me to take it's photo....

Happy Birthday America!

Happy Independence Day to all my fellow Americans....I captured this photo exactly one year ago and have waited all year just to post this on the 4th of July.

Yo!

Hello, from the Minnesota Zoo....

White Wall

Captured this shot while I was a passenger in a moving vehicle. I need some help on what the make and model of this car is. Where are my vehicle identifiers?

Theme Day: Reflections

Welcome back once again to all my fellow City Daily Photo bloggers making your rounds during the June theme day of reflections. In all honesty, this photo was an accidental capture. I somehow must have click the shutter button and captured my son while playing on a beach in Bemidji. Up until now, I've never show this photo to anyone, I thought it was a fitting photo for the reflections theme day. Lucky for me eh?

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