Lisa's Photo Collection

Kaposia Landing- May 2015

2015-09-06T22:40:00.004-07:00

Many a times I have roamed the trails of Kaposia Landing while waiting to pick up Matt from work. Rehabilitated around 2006, Kaposia park is located in South St. Paul. What once was a construction and demolition landfill, the park now includes hiking/biking trails and a large dog park. I have found that it offers great views of the Mississippi River while jogging around the paved trail.

The Mississippi River view from the trail.

Barges on the river.

A nice distracting view while on a run.

The South St. Paul Swing Bridge; sometimes you have to bend the "no trespassing" rules to get a good shot! I snuck on to the tracks to get this view of the bridge. (The risk paid off; I had this photo featured on Capture Minnesota's Instagram page!)

Backtracking

2015-09-06T13:19:00.000-07:00

Whoa. It's already September! Clearly I am way behind on blog posts. This summer was jam packed with lots of events and photo opportunities; it is time to catch up and post! For the next few weeks, I hope to backtrack and post everything that has been going on over the last few months.

So in the meantime, a photo I recently took of the turn of the season; the first signs of autumn upon us. The neighbor's walnut tree is beginning to litter our backyard with touches of gold foliage; making for great color interest in this shot.

This is the neighborhood stray (for a couple years now) whom we've recently nicknamed "Tux". Over the last couple months, we have been slowly gaining his trust, which in turn, has lessened his feral ways. He now meows when he sees us, and we've even caught him purring a time or two. Earlier this year, we could hardly touch him without him nipping at us or growling; now we can pet him, pick him up, and even play with him. He's taken such a liking to us, that he seldom leaves the yard. I have found that he's very photogenic as well, as you can see in this photo I snapped of him. Such a great subject to practice my "portraits" on!

More Minneapolis Cityscapes

2015-05-08T19:24:00.001-07:00

A couple of weekends ago I took some time to get back to Minneapolis again to shoot some more landscapes.

Boom Island and the lighthouse.

The Wisconsin Central branch bridge. I was terrified to walk across this, but slowly did it!

Boom Island pedestrian bridge.

Boom Island lighthouse

The side of the Wisconsin Central branch bridge, graffiti.

Later, a walk through Minnehaha Falls park. Looking up from under a bridge along the trail. A sliver of the moon on the left.

Ford Parkway Bridge

Locks and Dam #1

My first feature!

2015-04-26T20:01:00.000-07:00

Tonight I had my first ever photo feature!

I posted this photo to my Instagram account tonight. I really didn't know what to think of it, but posted it anyway, tagging my usual hashtag accounts along with it. Best of Minnesota (#bestofminnesota) liked it so much, that they featured it on their Instagram page! I was pretty flattered none the less!

This weekend was great for photographing! Saturday evening I ventured over to Minneapolis to photograph the Minnehaha Falls area. Right at dusk, I headed down to the Lock and Dam #1 to get some reflection shots along the river. As I was headed back to my car, I stopped and shot this final shot of the night of the Ford Parkway Bridge through the trees.

Selective Colorization

2015-04-24T20:15:00.000-07:00

I created this photograph the other night in honor of Arbor Day this year. I thought selective colorization would make this Maple seedling really stand out. I've only experimented with selective colorization one other time; I'm still in the early learning stages!

Thanks to Matthew for getting his hands dirty and modeling for this photograph! :)

Minneapolis Cityscapes

2015-04-21T09:10:00.000-07:00

This past weekend brought us above average seasonal temps in Minnesota, which made for a great day for an outing! Matt and I made a trip over to Minneapolis Saturday morning so I could do some photography.

Minneapolis skyline viewed from Boom Island Park

Minneapolis and St. Anthony Falls viewed from the Stone Arch Bridge Walkway

Minneapolis skyline

Mill Ruins/Stone Arch Bridge

2015-04-19T11:43:00.000-07:00

Friday night we ventured over to Minneapolis to take some photos around the downtown area.

Mill City Ruins and Gold Medal Flour

A long exposure of the Stone Arch Bridge walkway. It was a beautiful, calm night! Many people were out and about and can somewhat be seen as blurred images in this photograph.

The Stone Arch Bridge at dusk. We walked down a rickety flight of wooden stairs to get to this view. It was fun watching the lighting change for a good half hour before I began shooting. Well worth the wait!

Lilydale Park

2015-04-17T10:19:00.000-07:00

Sights around Lilydale Park in St. Paul

Smith Ave High Bridge and the St. Paul Skyline

A big Oak tree along the Mississippi River

An old rusty chain along the river bank.

Mississippi River Swing Bridge #15- still in use today!

St. Paul Sunset

2015-04-13T07:46:00.003-07:00

Sunset this past Saturday (April 11th) over the St. Paul skyline. View taken from Mounds Park.

St. Paul capital

St. Paul

2015-04-11T20:00:00.002-07:00

St. Paul Skyline viewed from Harriet Island earlier this afternoon.

Apostle Islands

2015-03-07T22:32:00.002-08:00

Last weekend, Matt and I took a day trip to the Apostle Islands near Bayfield, WI to see the ice caves. The caves were finally open for the first time this season.

To get to the ice caves, you have to trek a mile over the frozen Lake Superior. A lot of the lake was clear of snow, giving us a chance to see the clear glass ice. There were also big cracks, like this one all over the lake. But not to worry, the ice was at least 8"-10" thick!

Matt climbed up an ice shelf to get this photo. He had a nice "slide" down.

A great wall of ice.

Lots of ice hanging from the rock cliffs.

To get this shot, I laid down on the ice and shot this looking up at the ice hanging from the rock cliff.

Bubbly ice formations.

Some of the ice from this huge formation had broken off.

More interesting ice formations looking above.

Matt by the ice.

Several hundred (total of 10,000 over the weekend) visitors came from all over to see the caves last Saturday. I captured a few of them checking out this cave of ice.

A cool collection of icicles.

Another shot looking up inside the ceiling of one cave.

Mother nature's artwork!

A youngster checking out the caves.

This was my favorite find inside a tiny cave! Frosted icicles!

Inside the frosty cave, looking out to Lake Superior.

Lots of big ice!

Spectators of the ice caves.

It was a chilly 20 degree day with blustery winds, but we were bundled up enough to enjoy the day.

On our "glide" back to the beach parking lot, we stopped so I could get a photo of the ice on the lake. Little bubbles forced their way up to the surface of the ice as the water froze, giving it this cool "pins" look.

Old boats along a wayside rest in Cornucopia. Boats that once ventured on Lake Superior.

The Eagle

Twin Sisters.

An old blue boat.

Halfway Point!

2015-02-12T12:37:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I reached day five of the 10 day clean eating detox challenge. So far, it's going well! The cravings have decreased greatly since days one and two (not to mention my jeans getting a tad bit more loose!). I've had a chance to try new foods and excellent recipes; some of which I believe I will be adding to my regular diet!

A few of the meals that I've prepared throughout the challenge.

Interested in trying the challenge yourself? Here's a link to get some info on the challenge! http://www.wildcraftedcleanses.com/?mc_cid=cb337be5f7&mc_eid=9e26f71891

Time for a detox!

2015-02-06T19:33:00.000-08:00

It's time to try something new! Through guidance from Wildcrafted Way, I'm embarking on a 10 day clean eating detox challenge beginning tomorrow. The program actually kicked off on Tuesday, but due to work related stress and still recovering from a sinus infection, I decided to hold off until Saturday to begin. With the hellish work week over and fully recovered from illness, my mind is "in the game" and ready to jump into this detox!

Over the last couple of days, I've been shopping for items on the food list of what to eat. I'm all ready to go!

A sample of some of the food items I selected for the 10 day clean eating challenge. Lots of healthy eats!

Grey Cloud Island

2014-12-28T20:18:00.001-08:00

Earlier today Matt and I drove up to Grey Cloud Island. Matt remembers being a large Eagle's nest in a tree by the Mississippi backwaters, so we went to see if the eagles were hanging out. We lucked out!

A pair of eagles guarding the nest.

The winds were calm, and there was hoar frost on the shoreline.

Hoar frost on the seed heads of some weeds.

The fresh snow that we received the day before blanketed these rocks nicely.

Throwback

2014-12-22T10:14:00.000-08:00

The holiday theme week continues this week at work... today is Throwback Era Day! Only a few of us participated in this one today.

The inventory office gals...we all represent a different era!

Last Friday was Plaid Day. A lot of people at work seem to like this one. :)

DIY for Christmas

2014-12-20T22:17:00.000-08:00

I made this DIY dog treat jar for a friend of mine this year for Christmas. It was a fun and easy project to do!

Beginning with a plain glass jar, I applied Etch Glass cream to add the word "treat" and bone décor. Once the etching was done, I applied a simple red ribbon to the top. I also found a couple of homemade dog treat recipes on Pintrest to fill it up!

Sure to make my friend's furry companions happy!

Ugly Sweater Day!

2014-12-17T10:25:00.001-08:00

This year is our 2nd annual Sprit Week at work. We do a special theme each day up until our Christmas "break". Today we started off the festivities with Ugly Sweater Day. As you can see, the handful of us that participated really brought out the "gaud" with our ugly threads! On deck for tomorrow; Christmas colors day!

House remodel- Exterior

2014-11-19T10:00:00.001-08:00

This summer/fall we had an unplanned remodeling project come up. Our house's exterior got a full face-lift; new roof, gutters, and siding.

Before; what our house looked like before projects began.

Front of the house.

Back of the house.

Remodeling begins! Tear off of the siding. The roof at this point complete.

Our house was built in the 1800's. We found that the old asphalt siding was still attached to parts of the house.

Siding partially removed; old asphalt siding exposed (side).

New siding on the front! We chose to go with a new color; misty shadow.

Almost done! Just the shutters to put back up and the new gutters.

Shutters hung. Front and side view of the finished work.

Before and after!

Monster Dash Half Marathon

2014-10-30T12:50:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday (October 25th) I completed a milestone goal of mine; to run a half marathon before my 40th birthday! St. Paul held it's annual Monster Dash race, where some 18,000 participants ran either a 5K, 10 mile, or Half Marathon. This was my last race goal of the year, after running for the first time ever a 7K, 10K, 15K, and now half marathon.

Packet pick up for the race was last Friday. The lines were long! All my goodies, which included a Monster Dash race jacket, bib, timer chip, and some goo packets for energy.

Race day morning! The St. Paul Cathedral in downtown St. Paul; where the race started.

Running a half is no easy task! Around mile 11, my foot was cramping so bad that I couldn't run. Everything hurt. But mile 13 was sure a beautiful sight to see!! With .1 mile to the finish, Matt, who had been waiting on the sidelines for me, ran with me and cheered me on as we crossed the finish line together.

I find this photo funny; he looks more tired than I do!! Ha ha ha :P

YES!!! FINISHED!!!

Proudly holding my race medal afterwards. Total run time: 2 hours, 36 minutes. Satisfying time for a first time (there will probably be more)!!

A farewell to the Notch; a small taste of New Hampshire

2014-10-30T10:36:00.002-07:00

After our Mt. Mansfield climb, we hiked around the Stowe area a little more to get some final sightseeing in on our last full day in Vermont. There was just so much to see! Everywhere we turned, there was a beautiful sight to see.

Bingham Falls, near Smuggler's Notch State Park.

Bingham Falls- upper falls.

Bingham Falls- Lower Falls.

We took a little drive north to look for another covered bridge that we missed prior to Thursday. We had nice sunny skies that day that lit up the landscape's pallet of fall colors.

Grist Mill near Cambridge.

Grist Mill covered bridge.

The colors reflecting off the water were too gorgeous to not capture!

Near dusk on Thursday, we took another quick drive through Smuggler's Notch, hoping to catch some good light.

Matthew and I were feeling daring Thursday night, so we went back to Emily's bridge (the haunted one) after dark to see if we would witness any paranormal activity. We had no luck. I believe that is a good thing...

Friday morning, our last day in Vermont. :( Before we headed south to our destination in NH, we captured these photos of Smuggler's Notch before the fog had lifted.

I threw in the automobiles in this photo just so one can get a grasp at how large these mountains were around the Notch.

The winding road through the Notch.

One final photo in front of the state park before leaving.

I forget where this was taken; a small church in Vermont.

Vermont's capital, Montpelier.

Martin bridge in Marshfield, Vermont.

We decided since we had some extra time on our hands, we took the Kancamagus byway in New Hampshire. The Kancamagus has been known to be one of the most scenic drives in the U.S.

Nearing New Hampshire.

We got a kick out of New Hampshire's motto: Live Free or Die!!

Covered bridge 2004 in New Hampshire (don't recall which town we found this one).

This covered bridge was for pedestrian use only.

More mountainous regions along the Kancamagus byway.

Along the Kancamagus loop, lies Mount Washington, the tallest mountain in NH. The Mount Washington Hotel overlooks Mt. Washington.

Mount Washington.

Quite the hotel and view!!!

A small lake nearby.

Spectacular views along Kancamagus!

Albany covered bridge in Albany, NH.

Vermont and New Hampshire are known for Bed & Breakfast hotels. We stayed in a classic B&B in Greenfield, NH; the Greenfield Inn. As you can see, very "classic" B&B look.

This Inn was often occupied by Bob Hope back in the day!

Our head's in the clouds on Mansfield!

2014-10-23T12:18:00.000-07:00

On Thursday, October 2nd, Matt and I set out to climb Vermont's highest point, Mount Mansfield.

A little too early for Matt to want to be photographed.

The over ambitious side of me wanted to take an all day hike to the summit(Sunset Ridge Trail), but to take it easy on Matt who isn't used to as much physical activity as I'm used to, we opted for taking the toll road up to Mt. Mansfield. From the end of the road, there is an additional 1.5 mile hike from the parking lot to the summit. We had some spectacular views on the way up!

A beautiful foliage covered road. In the winter, this road is used for skiing.

A small little wedding chapel along the drive.

Clouds settling into the mountains.

Shortly into our hike, the clouds began to roll in on the trail. Matthew is in the clouds!

Enjoying the clouds passing through.

It was hard to see our summit destination at times when a bunch of clouds rolled in.

Finally, about half way to the summit, the sky opened up just enough to see below.

Matthew enjoys the spectacular views before more clouds roll by.

Matthew, meet cloud. Cloud, meet Matthew! Ha

The closer we were to the summit, the clearer it became on the one side of the mountain.

So much color below..

Taking a moment to "take it all in". The top of Mt. Mansfield has very rare Arctic tundra vegetation.

Behind the cloud, lies the "chin" or summit of Mt. Mansfield. Mt. Mansfield got it's name because of the view of its summit ridge resembles a profile of a face.

This cloud opened up its center, just enough to see the cities below.

Miles of mountain views.

A very short distance from the summit.

West chin natural area.

Views from the summit!

The summit (4393 feet)!

Just that quick, more clouds roll in.

Heading back down to the trailhead, clouds had completely moved in again.

A couple of hikers heading to the top.

The weather changes frequently on top of Mt. Mansfield; walking back down, the clouds were clearing again.

Mountain views for miles; shortly before heading back to the trailhead.

On clear days, one can see views of the mountains around New York and Canada from here.

More spectacular views as we headed back down the toll road and back into Stowe.

The long poles in the photo above are used to make snow in the winter for skiing.

Covered bridges, selfies, and ice cream...oh my!

2014-10-19T11:02:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday we headed north to our next camping destination. Stopping at the Woodward Reservior (I think?) to take some selfies in the morning fog.

Views along scenic byway 100. The colors were really popping by then!

Just north of Granville we came upon another must see in Vermont; Moss Glen Falls. The falls are right along highway 100.

Selfie by the falls.

Lincoln Gap bridge in Warren.

Village Bridge in Waitsfield.

Mill Brook

Matthew walking through the Village bridge.

We found 3 covered bridges before arriving into camp. This was the third, Pine Brook Bridge east of Waitsfield.

We made a pit stop before setting up camp to visit THE Ben&Jerry's Ice Cream Factory! The Ben&Jerry's ice cream truck outside the factory.

Matt entering the "Flavor Graveyard", a graveyard of all the past tasty flavors that have been retired. While on tour of the factory, we were able to sample one of the most popular of B&J's flavors, Strawberry Cheesecake. YUM!

A former flavor, White Russian.

Crème Brulee... how can this one be retired? :(

More flavors of ice cream past.

Vermonty Pithon!

Tennessee Mud

The big "silos" of sugar, cream, and milk!

Arrival into Stowe! This was our favorite town. A beautiful church among the awesome foliage colors.

A small covered walking bridge in Stowe.

Stowe.

Another selfie in front of Stowe.

Mountain views at our campsite at Smuggler's Notch State Park!

Our campsite (No. 3) at Smuggler's Notch.

Matt thought he had to snap a photo of me outside of the restroom.

Smugglers Notch State Park enterance.

Emily's bridge, also known as Gold Brook Bridge. This one is supposedly haunted! Legend has it that this bridge is haunted by a ghost named Emily. The story goes that Emily was supposed to elope with her lover, and they were to meet at this bridge. When he never showed up, a distraught Emily hung herself in the rafters of the bridge.

Many reportings of paranormal activity have occurred here, including banging on vehicles, scratches on either the cars or themselves, the sound of footsteps or tightening of rope, or a girl screaming.

A very vivid blue house near Emily's bridge.

Matthew trying to "communicate" with Emily.

Do you believe in ghosts?

Smuggler's Notch drive entrance. Some 200 years ago smugglers used this narrow passage through the mountain to transport illegal or embargoed goods across the Canadian border.

The Notch drive was a very beautiful and windy stretch of road through the mountain.

Besides smuggling illegal goods into Canada and a place for slaves to hide while fleeing into Canada, the caves of Smuggler's Notch were also used to smuggle and store alcohol during the prohibition years over 100 years ago.

Montgomery/Potter Bridge in Waterville, Vt.

Lamoille River

Jaynes Bridge, otherwise known as the Kissing Bridge (hence the sign)! Also near Waterville.

After searching for more bridges, we drove through the Smuggler's Notch. We loved how different the scenery changed along here, depending on the lighting and time of day, and weather as well.

On Wednesday, in honor of "Hump Day!", we went hiking around Camel's Hump Mountain. We took this short one-mile loop that gives great vies of the Camel's summit, but due to the cloudy and foggy morning, we were unable to see anything at all. :(

View along the loop trail. After editing these, I noticed a blurred out part of this photo near the upper right hand side. Though I used a tripod, this showed up. Knowing the history of the area (following next photo) and my superstitions, I somewhat believe this might be a ghost in the photo?!

A memorial at the trail heads of Camel's Hump. On October 16, 1944 a Liberator Bomber crashed 100 feet below the summit of Camel's Hump, killing 9 soldiers.

We took the Monroe trail that led halfway up to Camel's Hump summit. The trail was named after Will Monroe, who developed the trail. Along with his wife and many dogs, he is buried near the trail head.

Their dog Scottie, buried between the husband and wife.

The names and births/deaths of all their dogs.

Part of the Monroe trail lined with leaves. In the upper middle of the photograph, there is another "mysterious" blur, although I used my tripod.

The third "mysterious" blurred photo taken along the Monroe trail; this time in the lower left corner.

The end of the Monroe trail where it intersects with the Long Trail (also known to be haunted), the Dean Trail, and the summit to Camel's Hump.

Right about now I was trying to convince Matthew for us to continue to the summit...

It would appear that Matthew doesn't like hiking as much as I do! He didn't want to go to the summit. Ha ha ha :)

Long exposures of small streams along part of Dean Trail and Monroe Trail.

While I was shooting photos of water, Matthew was "playing" in the streams with his hiking stick.

Shortly after this shot, the hiking stick saved Matthew from falling face first into the stream after slipping on some wet leaves on the rocks. Rather a broken stick than a broken face!

Driving back towards Stowe, a great scene like this one had to be photographed.

Back into Stowe; Top Notch Racquet Club.

A broken wagon lies in the pasture next to the Racquet Club.

Brookdale covered bridge between Smuggler's Notch State Park and Stowe.

Waterbury River

With some help with the exposure settings and filter adjustments, I helped Matthew take his very first slow exposure of the Waterbury River.

Another long exposure of the riverbed.

A resort along the river; chairs along the river with views of the mountains in the distance.

More colorful shots of the river.

Back through Smuggler's Notch. We just missed the sunset over the mountain; another try for the following day!

Low lying clouds hanging in the mountains.

Woodstock, Coolidge, and a 6'er of Pumpkin Ale

2014-10-13T13:06:00.000-07:00

The first few days of our Vermont vacation were spent in Southern Vermont. We discovered some beautiful sights along the back roads; everywhere we turned there was something wonderful to see.

Sleepy Hollow farm near Pomfret.

There are a lot of gravel roads in Vermont that look like this; lined with falling leaves and full of autumn color!

The colors were a nice back drop for a selfie. :)

Winding our way back from the Sleepy Hollow farm, we came upon this very old cemetery. There were stones here from the late 1700's and 1800's; some couldn't be read anymore, some were sunken partially into the ground.

A single American flag still remains stuck into the ground next to an old stone.

While driving back roads, we realized we were very close to Sugarbush Farms. Sugarbush Fars is a farm in Woodstock well known for their homemade cheeses and pure Maple syrup. They had many cheeses, syrups, meats, jams, and mustards out for sampling. Matthew was sampling the mustards.

We took a walk through the maple grove where the syrup making takes place in spring time.

Tree taps on the maple trees.

The lines of tubing collect the sap in spring where it is collected to make syrup.

Sugarbush Farm.

Pleasant views from there!

Back into the main part of Woodstock, we stopped to take a photo of this quaint scene.

The Middle Bridge in Woodstock.

The city of Woodstock; a very historical town!

This old church in Woodstock still has one of the bells that Paul Revere rang when the British were coming during the war. There are a total of 5 bells remaining in Woodstock today.

The back side of the Middle Bridge. Most covered bridges in Vermont are still used to this day!

More historical buildings in Woodstock.

Matt taking a rest in a small park along the main road in Woodstock.

Windsor County Courthouse.

One of the mornings we visited the Coolidge Homestead, which was near Coolidge State Park. This was the homestead of our former president, Calvin Coolidge.

Plymouth Cheese, a store in which Calvin's father help open. This store is on the homestead and is still open today.

A barn on the Coolidge homestead.

Views around Coolidge's homestead.

Near the Coolidge Homestead lies the cemetery where former president Calvin Coolidge is buried. This was a very scenic cemetery.

Calvin Coolidge's stone.

President Coolidge's wife's stone. Her birthday was the same day as mine. :)

Overall view of the cemetery.

Lots of history here!

The large stone on the right had some significant history.

It reads:

"1775-1781 Erected by the state of Vermont to the memory of Ester Sumner Damon. Born in Plymouth Vermont August 1, 1814 Married in Bridgewater, Vermont Sept 6, 1835 died at Plymouth union, Vermont Nov 10, 1906. The last widow of a solider of the American Revolution."

Beautiful reflections found on a small lake on our drive to Killington.

A ski resort on the way to Killington.

Spectacular views around the Killington area.

While we were in the Killington area we did some hiking. This was the view along the trail that we took.

There were several little streams like this one along the hike.

Matt taking a break on the hike.

A small walking bridge that crossed a stream.

More breaks while I snapped away with my camera. :)

The small stream that was under the bridge.

After our hike we passed through Rutland. Here we sighted this gorgeous church; Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Another covered bridge find! The Kingsley bridge, in Claredon Vermont. It was a goal of ours to see as many covered bridges as we could while sightseeing.

More stunning color on our way back to our campsite.

Pico Mountain Resort in Killington.

I couldn't get over the colors!

Our last night at Coolidge State Park; trying out a local brew! Pumpkin Ale is quite tasty!

Having a little fun with light painting by the fire. :)

I love Vermont!

Tuesday morning, heading out of camp.

This was a nice state park to visit!

One last photo in front of Coolidge before heading North to our next campsite!

Hello Vermont!!

2014-10-08T12:36:00.001-07:00

Matt and I took a great vacation to Vermont last week. This was a trip I've wanted to do ever since I was a kid. Finally, we made it happen!!

Airport selfie! Bright eyed and bushy-tailed, anxiously waiting to board. Our flight left at 7:05 am, and we had been up since 4:00 am.

We crossed this cool looking bridge in Boston, on our way out of the city and to Vermont.

Car selfie!! Enjoying the drive to Vermont.

Almost there! We had about a 3 hour drive from Boston to our campsite in southern Vermont.

I just about missed the sign...

Views along the highway in Vermont. So much color!!

We were being the "typical" leaf-peepers... pulling over off the road several times to capture breathtaking scenes like this one!

We hit peak color season... can you imagine living here?

Entering Coolidge State Park.

Our campsite at Coolidge (site 18).

Matt unpacking

Flying into Boston versus driving out East, we had to pack minimally when it came to camping gear. We still managed to pull it off!

Heading into the nearby town of Woodstock to check out the scenes.

A little river under the bridge. There were so many photo ops like this all over Vermont.

Our first covered bridge siting! Lincoln Bridge. There are over 100 covered bridges in Vermont alone!

On our first full day in Vermont, we headed to the town of Quechee. Here we visited "Vermont's Little Grand Canyon", the Quechee Gorge. The gorge spans for one mile; roughly 13,000 years ago the Laurentide Ice Sheet retreated across this area.

It was a little foggy the morning we stopped here.

View from the opposite side of the bridge.

We took a short hike to the bottom of the gorge which runs along the Ottauquechee River.

Matthew taking in the view.

View of the Ottauquechee River and the bridge in which we stood on earlier. We also noticed a hot air balloon drifting across the sky.

The base of Quechee.

The day was very calm and I was able to capture some nice reflections of the foliage.

By the time we hiked back up to the bridge, the fog had lifted, so I took a few more shots of the gorge from the top again. This time you can see the mountains in the distance.

Matthew taking in the scenery.

A little south of Quechee, we headed to the town of Windsor, near the New Hampshire/Vermont border. There, we drove across the longest covered bridge (449 feet) in the USA, the Cornish-Winsor bridge. New Hampshire owns most of the bridge; up to the western high water mark of the river.

Above the entrance the sign still reads "Walk your horses or pay two dollars fine".

A couple from the area was nice enough to offer to take a photo of us together.

Mt. Ascutney in the background.

The bridge crosses the Connecticut River.

Mt. Ascutney

A nice reflection of the bridge in the river.

Back into Windsor; the Old South Church.

We stopped back into Quechee again on our way back to our campsite; we noticed on the road map that there was a covered bridge in town that we had missed before. This is the Quechee bridge.

Simon Pearce restaurant on the right in front of the Ottaquechee River.

A beautiful Catholic Church in Quechee.

Just west of Quechee lies another covered bridge in the town of Taftsville, Vermont. This is the Taftsville covered bridge.

Matt was amused by the name of this bridge; "Taft" is the name of the Mpls location branch of bus company that he works for.

Some info about the bridge. The bridge had to be restored in 2011 due to hurricane Irene.

St. Paul skyline

2014-09-15T10:37:00.002-07:00

This weekend Matt took me to a great overlook in St. Paul that offered great views of the skyline. I was able to get a couple of cool shots around sunset and dusk.

The barge was a nice added touch.