Cycled past Pig’s Eye Lake, en route to Battle Creek Park. In 1841, the name of the settlement beyond the rail yard was changed from Pig’s Eye to St. Paul.
Category: St. Paul
Unusual Swing Bridge
On my cycle ride, stopped to watch barges being pushed through a gap in a rail bridge across the Mississippi near St. Paul. One span of the bridge, built 1915, had swung open. Unusually, the swing span is pivoted towards one end, requiring counterweights.
Frogtown Park and Farm
On a cycle ride, discovered Frogtown Park and Farm. Opened in 2015 in a St. Paul low-income neighborhood, it includes extensive native plantings and one of the largest urban farms in the country. The small buildings include food preparation facilities and a wood-fired pizza oven.
Eagles at Pickerel Lake
Included West St. Paul on our cycle ride. At Pickerel Lake, spotted an eagles nest sitting directly on a power line. Eventually, two eaglets peered out, probably impatient for food to be delivered.
Three-Morning Walk
Completed a three-morning walk along University Avenue (connecting Minneapolis and St. Paul) with a friend, pausing at architecturally interesting buildings. Today, our walk along “Asian Main Street” included wonderful Vietnamese pastries.
The Best Croissants
Continued exploring University Avenue with a friend. Visited a modest Vietnamese bakery for one of the best almond croissants ever. I was experiencing a consequence of a convoluted path from French colonialism to skilled Vietnamese refugees and their offspring.
Traces of Ox Cart Trail
Met a friend at St. Anthony Falls in Minneapolis. Tried to trace the route of the Red River Ox Cart Trail ending, here, at Lambert’s Landing in St. Paul. Until the railroads took over in the 1870’s, this was one of the busiest steamboat landings in the country.
Huge Water Tank
Cycled up a hill to St. Paul’s water supply.
Historic Markers
Cycled through St. Paul’s Dayton’s Bluff neighborhood past Indian burial mounds built 1,500 to 2,000 years ago, and a historic aircraft beacon erected in 1929. The beacon still has a rotating light at the top. It’s one of many that once lit the route between Minneapolis and Chicago.
Sheltering at Union Depot
Sheltered from the rain at St. Paul’s Union Depot.