I sometimes wake in the night and listen for a distant train, a steady rumble as locomotives pull a mile of freight cars. Oil from North Dakota, coal from Wyoming or Montana, grain from Minnesota or North Dakota. I’m standing next to the railroad. The first snow of winter has melted, fresh snow is falling.… Continue reading Urban Hike: Disputed Tracks
Category: Connect
Changes of Gauge
Delta flight 160, Denver to Amsterdam, landed today (December 1, 2014) in Amsterdam with no Denver passengers on board. This is not uncommon: it also happened with DL160 on November 13. The explanation starts with a “change of gauge,” a term rooted in railroads.Track gauge is the distance between the inner faces of the two… Continue reading Changes of Gauge
Views from a Rooftop Bar
“Great view.” I kept looking at the Acropolis. Then I realized I was being spoken to. I turned around to see a man in his 70’s. I muttered something in agreement. Hearing my accent he started a “Your Country” routine about British politics. “Wrong country,” I interrupted. Once he determined my actual citizenship he started… Continue reading Views from a Rooftop Bar
Nagasaki/Saint Paul
Nagasaki aesthetics, Como Park, St. Paul, MN. Minneapolis and St. Paul are twins; Nagasaki and St. Paul are sisters. In March 2014, I got to meet St. Paul’s sister. I decided not to stay at the Hotel Saint Paul Nagasaki, its name designed to attract my compatriots. I had not come all this way to… Continue reading Nagasaki/Saint Paul
We’re in This Together
When he saw I was bringing my backpack, the six-year-old decided to bring his. When he saw we were bringing backpacks, the five-year-old decided to bring his. Three backpacks, each containing one bottle of water. Fifteen miles, three happy guys, in this together.
Maps, Kids, and Adventures
What does this have to do with a map? My nephews (5 and 6) have known about maps from an early age. I’ve given them age-appropriate, map-themed books. I’ve mailed them maps on postcards from faraway places, along with postcards showing photographs of those places. In the process of finding a world map for them,… Continue reading Maps, Kids, and Adventures
Urban Hike: Nordeast Minneapolis
Nordeast, looking towards Downtown. Last weekend, the annual Art-a-Whirl artists’ studio tour drew crowds to Northeast Minneapolis (“Nordeast”). Nordeast was a quieter place back in February when I went there on an urban hike. It was a winter’s day, but I took advantage of the shoveled sidewalks and warm, locally owned businesses for coffee and lunch. I… Continue reading Urban Hike: Nordeast Minneapolis
Urbex Lite
United Crushers, Dinkytown, Minneapolis Recently, a friend and I “walked the Green Line,” a light rail line between Minneapolis and St. Paul which starts service in June. Along the way, many structures caught our attention, including the “United Crushers” grain silos in Dinkytown, Minneapolis. The silos have been disused for years. There is no “United… Continue reading Urbex Lite
Frozen Lakes and Lost Places
Frozen Lake of the Isles, Minneapolis Kilauea caldera, Hawaii Big Island “Why do you live in Minnesota?–The winters are too cold. You should move.” I hear this from a person who brought up a family in a Minneapolis suburb. When her husband retired, they moved to a new subdivision in the Arizona desert. There is… Continue reading Frozen Lakes and Lost Places
Selling LEGO
As LEGO Technic creations go, this vehicle is as basic as they come. For me, it represents a point in a process I’ve been following with my two nephews (5 and 6): I’m trying to discover if they have the potential to be interested in LEGO.We designed the car together. I asked the boys what… Continue reading Selling LEGO