Happy Holidays

Merry Christmas to all....

Got Lights?

Found this house last Christmas and thought I would visit my photo vault for you all to enjoy. I have not driven by there this year to see if they put this many lights up again, or maybe they have added more?

Seed Arch Bridge

One of the more unique contest at the Minnesota State Fair is the seed art. You take any several types of seeds and you create a picture or replicate a famous scene. It's a simple concept, and the results are outstanding, some of them are remarkable. What I like about this one is, the Stone Arch Bridge in Minneapolis is a highly photographed bridged in the Twin Cities, but to see it created with crop seed was a photo I had to capture.

Monster Slide

From atop the monster slide at the Minnesota State Fair back in August, I captured this shot while making my way to the top.

End Of Line

Closer view of the end of the Twin Cities Rapid Transit tunnel.

Selby Avenue Trolley Tunnel

I first learned of the remains of the Trolley Tunnel from a PBS show called "The Lost Twin Cities" back in the 1990's. This tunnel was part of the Twin Cities Rapid Transit Company. There is a big controversy of the demise of the well established trolley in it's day, and apparently, according to the PBS show, this tunnel and the tracks are the only visible sign that there were train tracks for the trolley system. The rest of the tracks have been removed, buried under concrete or covered with black top.

I had wanted to visit this tunnel for quite sometime, but never made time to do it. Finally I made it this summer. They had built the tunnel because the grade on the hill was too steep for the trolley cars, so they lessened the grade to make it up the steep hill towards the Cathedral.

  

More Urban Decay

This wall is very close to the Saint Paul Cathedral. It is down the hill and is part of the remains of a very historic part of the Twin Cities.

More From The Bank

Another shot of the TCF Bank Stadium sign.

Historic Store Front

One from downtown Hastings early this year.

Saint Paul Cathedral

I've taken quite a few photos of the Saint Paul Cathedral, but I'm never really happy with them. The colors always seem off from what I want them to look like. I thought I'd try shadowing the photo border would help a bit.

Hastings Bridge Circa 2006

One of my old captures, that I believe, never made it to my blog of the Hasting bridge, that crosses the Mississippi River. Today, there is a new bridge being built along side the one in the photo that is nearly completed. Once the new bridge is complete, they will tear down the old bridge, then build a second bridge to expand the lanes of traffic.

Not Much Going On

NHL Lockout 2012 continues. Just a bunch of waiting around doing nothing while the players and owners settle their differences. Will it end this season or will the entire season be canceled soon?

Outside View

We are outside Target Field, home of the Minnesota Twins.

State Theater

From much earlier in the summer, the State Theater in downtown Minneapolis.

Contrast

I've always liked the contrasting building materials, reminds me of the political scene at times.

Slice Of Guthrie Theater

Just a small portion of the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. To see it in person is the way to go.

Happy Halloween

Our attempts at pumpkin carvings from 2011. Happy Halloween, be safe and enjoy.

Spirit Of Halloween

A three stitch photo contribution today from swc of a house decorated to the max for Halloween. I do laugh when I see this much stuff in a yard for the spooky Holiday. Where do they store all of this the other eleven months?

Street Talking

Unsure what the conversation was about, but they made for a great photo subject.

Run DMC

A few of the stars that can be found outside the First Avenue nightclub in downtown Minneapolis. Many of the past performers have their own star painted outside the building.

Close Up

Close up view of the neon sign. Quite rusted and a top section has completely fallen out!

Smile

I'm at a loss for words on why you do this to your vehicle....

The End

Tonight was the final showing for the Cottage View Drive-In. The weather was cold, damp and dreary. I guess, fitting weather to the theater's 46 year run. In it's place will be a a very familiar super store that starts with a "Wal" and ends with an "art".

I first photographed the drive-in back in 2007 in late August, but didn't post the photo until September 10. I know it was August because it was a very hot and buggy night, I really needed bug spray badly and made a very short night of it. The very next season, half of their lights burnt out and I never got second chance to improve this shot.

That very photo, from the hot buggy night, can be seen in my local Applebee's Restaurant on their wall. It is part of a photograph mural of sites of Cottage Grove. What's funny to me is, they never asked for permission to display my photo on their wall, but there it is. What do I do? I'm honored to have my photo there and never want it to go away. Soon I will take a photo of me by my photo and post it here on the blog.

As for the theater closing, it is a bummer for the community, but the city will benefit in the long run. The taxes collected are ten fold since the drive-in is only open seasonally. I believe they estimated $20,000 versus $230,000 from the Super Store. I don't quite remember the exact figures, but it is pretty close. A piece of our history has closed, but the untold story is, the theater would be soon closing, regardless of the Walmart purchase, as they needed a projector upgrade from an analog film projector to a digital one, thank you Hollywood. The cost of the upgrade was $70,000 and with the small grossing theater, it was never going to happen. So really, it was a matter of time before they closed and the lot collected no tax dollars.

As sad as it is to see it go from the city of Cottage Grove, I am happy that I was able to give my kids ever lasting memories of the Cottage View Theater for the last six, seven, eight years, or whenever it was I first brought them here.

Steve's World

Back in May, I found a place called Steve's Wine Market, a store with my name on it. While driving through the city of Mora, I found Steve's World!

Glass And Brick

Roof Tops

Contrasting buildings, contrasting materials.

Pinata Time!

You're going to need a very large stick to break open this gigantic pinata. Just make sure you're out of the way when the candy starts to fall out of the belly or you could be crushed!

Gopher Football

Made it to my first football game at the TCF Bank Stadium this past Saturday. The Golden Gophers squared off against the Syracuse Orangemen. The Gophers were victorious by a score of 17-10 and have a 4-0 non-conference record.

End Of Summer

Summer 2012 is nearly completed. Let's enjoy this summer sunset and await the return of the warmer weather.

Split Rock Lighthouse

It was put in place in 1910 out of necessity for the shipping industry. With the advent of the GPS, all it's used for today is tours and photo opportunities. Well worth the trip to Two Harbors to hear the history of it.

The Dock

Oh Lake Nielsen, your sunsets still look wonderful to me.

It's All In The Details

Love the tops of this building in downtown Minneapolis. I'm sure the details are often overlooked, but they were quite creative back in the day.

Stone Arch Bridge

I've never photographed the Stone Arch Bridge, but I see many photos of it from the local bloggers. This photo is from a distance and I was in quite a hurry. Here is more info about the bridge:

The Stone Arch Bridge is the only bridge of its kind over the Mississippi River. It is made of native granite and limestone, and measures 2100-feet long by 28-feet wide. The bridge consists of 23 arches, and spans the river below St. Anthony Falls in Minneapolis.

Indiana Harbor

Indiana Harbor leaving port in Duluth. This cargo ship, for sure, was 1000 feet long. I don't recall what it was hauling, but out it goes onto Lake Superior.

Kaministiqua

I'm pretty sure this is the 700+ foot cargo ship entering the port in Duluth. It was on it's way to get loaded up at one of the energy companies. Watching the ships enter is quite the draw of people. There were several hundred here to see it in action. Most ships arrive empty and leave with a full belly of various material.

Port Lighthouse

The entrance to the port in Duluth, Minnesota has this smaller lighthouse. Duluth is about a two and a half hour drive from the Twin Cities area.

Attention Please

In case it's hard to read, it says, "My art does not come from an easel". Well said my friend, well said.

Mystery Item

I'm not sure what it is, or what the purpose of the window cover does, but the added graffiti was a nice touch. This rusted cover is found at the Mill City Museum.

Messy Wall

Whenever I see a wall in this condition, it makes me wonder how it became this way over the years. There is so much happening, or has happened to the brick and windows, where does one begin?

Gopher To Badger Half Marathon

This past weekend was the 2012 version of the Gopher To Badger Half Marathon race. I am somewhere past the start line, way past the start line. This was my first time running a half marathon. I finished with a time of 2:03:27 and a 9:26 pace. I felt great at the finish line and was very happy with my time.

The name of the race, for those not familiar with the Gopher and Badger. Those are college mascot names. The race starts in Minnesota and finishes in Wisconsin. The mascot names are for the two Big Ten schools accordingly.

Spiral Stairwell

My daughter was with me when I took this photo. She really liked the spiral stairwell and insisted I take a photo of it.

Three Doors Down

Summit Avenue entrance into the Saint Paul Cathedral.

Stub & Herb's

I hear a lot about this place, but I've never stepped inside the building. It's located on the U of M campus and is near the place where I park when I watch basketball or hockey games. One of these days I will have to stop inside.

Green Stripes

The field is striped and ready for play.

Modern

This is quite the updated look for a city skyway. The original skyways were black, basic, simple. Skyway 2.0 has a bit of artsy to it.

$14 Dollars A Week

Downtown Ghost Ad.

CLEAN
COMFORTABLE
ROOMS
$14.00 a week and
By the DAY $5 ????
FIREPROOF B???