Tested a walk I’m developing on a friend: it explores Henry David Thoreau’s little-known 1861 visit to Minneapolis.
Category: Urban Hike and Bike
Urban Bike: Mill City
Much of the early wealth of Minneapolis came from grain. This grain legacy translates into locally headquartered companies like Cargill and General Mills.Cargill, the largest privately held company in the country, manages 25% of US grain exports. General Mills manages ubiquitous brands like Betty Crocker and Pillsbury.The first flour mill in what is now Minneapolis…… Continue reading Urban Bike: Mill City
Atlanta Bike Ride
Explored on rented bikes.
Urban Bike: City of Lakes
Today I’m off on my bicycle to visit every lake in Minneapolis, City of Lakes. It took some effort to draw up a list of 16 Minneapolis lakes, or, to be more precise, lakes and other notable bodies of water. The Minnesota DNR (Department of Natural Resources) defines a lake as follows: A lake…… Continue reading Urban Bike: City of Lakes
City Of Lakes
Posted Urban Bike, City of Lakes. My explorations of every lake in Minneapolis.
Urban Bike: Yard Art in a Civil Society
I see things from my bicycle I don’t see from a bus or car. It might be an old guy on his bicycle, stovepipe hat, bushy beard, archaic black clothes, a character from a Dickens novel. Or a bearded guy cycling the Midtown Greenway in a girlie dress. They seek attention, or inhabit an alternate reality, or…… Continue reading Urban Bike: Yard Art in a Civil Society
Urban Bike: Car-Free Minneapolis Bridges
Irene Hixon Whitney Bridge. Below me sixteen lanes of traffic roar. I’m standing on the Irene Hixon Whitney Bridge, one of many Minneapolis bridges I cannot cross in a car. The bridge takes me between two parks: Minneapolis Sculpture Garden and Loring Park. Loring Park. In Loring Park, the zig-zag approach to this old bridge tells…… Continue reading Urban Bike: Car-Free Minneapolis Bridges
No Cars Here
Posted Urban Bike: Car-Free Minneapolis Bridges.
Urban Hike: Disputed Tracks
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. It’s…… Continue reading Urban Hike: Disputed Tracks
Urban Hike: The Green Line
The Green Line, and stadium construction June 14, 2014, the Green Line starts light rail service between Minneapolis and St. Paul. Back in December, when I hiked the Green Line, there was deep snow, no trains, and the Metrodome was still standing. Green Line, under construction; Metrodome about to be demolished I had planned to walk…… Continue reading Urban Hike: The Green Line