Adventures In Time & Space

Google Earth

2012-01-29T00:18:00.003-06:00

Occasionally, I get bored and start looking at Google Maps with the satellite view turned on. If you zoom in far enough, you'll sometimes be switched to a street view. This doesn't work everywhere, mostly in moderate to large cities in the Western world. If it did work everywhere, I'd be posting photos from Sierra Leone, Cairo, the Yukon, and rural China. But, this'll have to do.

Antarctica: Not very exciting from this angle.

Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France

There's probably more attractive views of
New Orlean's Bourbon Street.

Somewhere in Bucharest, Romania.

Bucharest again.

If all roads lead to Rome, why did it take me so long to
find it on the map?

Those strange, symmetrical formations? They're
Disney World's ridiculously large parking lots.

"Hey, guys! Free chair!"
~somewhere in Florida

Looks familiar....
Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
in downtown Minneapolis

Hoover Dam

Las Vegas ~ the city that gambling addiction built.

Protesters in Parliament Square in London, 2008

Somewhere in Rome.

Oh, dear. Those pants.
(I'm kidding. She looks like she's on a fitness walk
and Savannah, GA would be a lovely place to do that.)

Vatican City

Westminster Abbey, London, England

January 24, 2012

2012-01-24T22:15:00.000-06:00

Winter can't end soon enough. Grey snow, colored by car exhaust, is ugly. And, unfortunately, this is what most city streets look like in the winter.

The Nokomis Turkey

2012-01-22T15:35:00.002-06:00

I let this blog fall into inactivity for a couple reasons. One: I quit smoking. The instant I did that, all thoughts seemed to leave my brain and transform into one giant "I'd really, REALLY like a cigarette now." Even with the help of Chantix (which did work for me), quitting smoking was really all that I could concentrate on for the first three weeks. After that, the cravings dropped to a tolerable level.

Also, after a while of not posting, I stopped carrying my camera with me everywhere. So, even when I did see something worth blogging about, I didn't have my camera with me. And, personally, I like having pictures in nearly every post.

But, the past couple days, I did happen to grab the camera. And I'm glad I did because I never expected to see a wild turkey near Lake Nokomis this morning, which is in a fairly urban part of Minneapolis.

The Residents of Wood Lake Nature Center

2012-01-21T14:30:00.004-06:00

Since I find bicycling absolutely impossible in the middle of a Minnesota winter, I decided to pick up walking during the winter months. Which, for the most part, isn't very exciting. But, as I was wandering around the trails in Wood Lake Nature Center this morning, I spotted something on the trail.

"Oh my God! Is it...?" I thought as I fumbled for my camera.

It darted off the trail and into the woods before I was able to get my camera out. I sulked, certain that I wasn't going to capture it. But, wait! There was movement in the woods. I aimed the camera forward and took random shots even though I couldn't see much of anything.

At first glance, it looks like the forest and not much else. But, look closer!

I moved forward on the trail, nearer to the sight. They didn't move much, all three of them simply looked back at me and stood fairly still.

Still not completely obvious...

Allowing me to finally get a clear picture.

Yay! Deer! <3 <3 <3

Lincoln Park Zoo

2011-12-25T13:34:00.003-06:00

Just some photos from the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, IL on December 18, 2011.

And the oh-so-exotic squirrel :-)

Mostly Because of the Chantix

2011-12-02T16:04:00.001-06:00

The Euro sign should be a dollar sign.

Click here to create your own QuitSmokingCounter.com

Chicago Trip Cancelled...Kinda

2011-11-08T17:38:00.001-06:00

I'm starting to think I have a curse following me when it comes to travel. A mere two hours ago, I was all prepared for my trip to Chicago to see a Morrissey concert. I was all "Yay! Morrissey! Yay! Lincoln Park Zoo! Yay! Maybe Sears Tower* if I have the time!" And, then, I logged into my email to find an email from Congress Theatre saying the concert had been cancelled and moved to December 17. For 2 minutes, my heart dropped into the pit of my stomach. 'But, but, but....' I thought as the 15-year-old who wants everything "OMG! NOW!" within me howled in despair.

*I refuse to call it by its new name, Willis Tower. Except I just did.

But, it could've been worse. I could have found out after I had gotten to Chicago. Most concerts are cancelled the day of the concert (usually due to illness). Since there was some advance notice, I was able to cancel my hostel reservation before I would've been charged for a night. (Though, if I had been too late, I would've just gone anyway. What's $30 more for a second night?) I only paid $2.50 for the Megabus bus tickets so I wasn't out much for the travel. There are people who fly in from far-away states and other countries just to see a concert. Those people lost hundreds of dollars and can't easily reschedule unless they've got a lot of spare cash.

And, it's not totally cancelled. It's simply postponed until December. I've already bought new bus tickets for the December show. And, because Greyhound was actually cheaper than Megabus (Only $10.50 roundtrip!), I get to wait in a nice warm terminal instead of shivering in a downtown parking lot.

P.S. Just to clarify, I'm not angry about the show being postponed. Things happen and I'm just glad there was some notice.

Music Monday...

2011-10-21T21:06:00.004-05:00

....is sometimes a way to fill empty space when you have nothing to say. :D
Also, Orgy was fantabulous.

October 10, 2011 - Random Photos

2011-10-10T15:08:00.001-05:00

I had a doctor's appointment today in a faraway suburb. Normally, I don't mind taking the bus but this was a loooong ride that takes about 3-4 hours round-trip. I should've just biked but I didn't know how long it would take and I wanted to be on time. But, on the bright side, I got to wander through downtown Minneapolis again.

I don't know what seagulls are doing in the middle of Richfield, Minnesota. The Mississippi is quite a few miles away from where these pictures were taken. And, other than a few scattered ponds, there's not many bodies of water in the area.

Sculpture of St. Francis of Assisi
at 2nd Avenue and 9th Street

On the way back, I wandered past Government Plaza, in front of Minneapolis City Hall, where the Occupy MN protesters are camped out. I considered joining them but I have a neurotic fear of having my picture taken or being interviewed by the media. So, I ran away.

Signs from Occupy MN, an offshoot of Occupy Wall Street.

More slogans

A Walk Through The Saint Anthony Falls Heritage Trail

2011-10-07T07:28:00.003-05:00

Yesterday, I headed to downtown Minneapolis to look at the Stone Arch Bridge. There's a pedestrian and bicycle path across the top of it.

I've never traveled it before so I decided it had to be done. It's probably the best place to view St. Anthony Falls.

Blurry photo of St. Anthony Falls in Minneapolis, MN

Which was far more interesting to look at in 1865 before the lock and dam tamed it.

St. Anthony Falls, 1865
Photo Credit: St. Anthony Falls Heritage Board

I've been on the west side of the Mississippi many times before but I'd never been in this particular part on the east side of the river. Lovely scenery!

This would be a better photo without all the shrubbery and power lines.

And a hilarious historical marker

Which reads:

"Pettingill's Wonderful Water. A natural spring flows from the rock at the base of Hennepin Bluff below this spot. According to tradition, the iron-red mud at the spring provided pigment for the Native Americans. White settlers of the 1850s believed the water had medicinal qualities. In 1875 the enterprising M.P. Pettingill capitalized on the popularity of the falls as a tourist mecca and health resort by building a spa and selling the water. The business was abandoned in the early 1880s when the source of the spring was traced to a dirty swamp some distance away."

Oops.

Nice Ride MN Bikes

2011-10-06T18:05:00.000-05:00

A Nice Ride bike rack in downtown Minneapolis

Between April and November, Minneapolis and St. Paul have a neat bicycle rental system called Nice Ride MN. Basically, you buy a subscription for 24 hours, 30 days, or the whole season. Numerous bike racks are set up around the two cities. Whenever you want to use a bike,you enter the unlocking code or key that Nice Ride gives you and you can ride it for up to 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, they start charging you trip fees. But, you can reset that 30-minute timer by returning your current bike to a rack and getting a new one.

If they had racks closer to where I live, I'd absolutely get a season pass. No worries about bike theft or flats!

Bad part: You do need a credit or debit card to buy a subscription. And I've heard that they hold something like $200 for a number of days if you use a debit card.

The Midtown Greenway in Minneapolis, MN

2011-10-04T11:16:00.000-05:00

The Midtown Greenway is a 5 1/2 mile set of bicycle and walking trails that cuts through the middle of Minneapolis. Before its current incarnation, much of the path was railroad tracks that were barely used, if at all, by the 1990s. The first time I rode it, I thought it was one of the most uninteresting paths to look at. But I continued to use it because it's a much faster way to bike through that part of town than the city streets surrounding it.

But, as time passed, little details started to pop out at me: the graffiti murals painted on the walls of old brick industrial buildings, the small community gardens next to the trail, the bridge that goes over Hiawatha Avenue and gives a fantastic view of the Minneapolis skyline, and the public art. Some of these features have shown up as the trail became more developed. Others were probably always there.

Looking north while on the Martin Olav Sabo bridge in Minneapolis, MN

One of my favorite features is a public art installation on the east end of the trails. A number of benches are set up and on each one is the sculpture of a pair of shoes.

I found a total of nine pairs but there may be one or two that I missed.

Update: Oops, make that eight. I looked closer and I think the top middle and middle ones are the same pair.

Wonderland, The Amusement Park of Lake Street

2011-10-03T16:05:00.000-05:00

I was cycling down the Midtown Greenway today when I came across this display that gives little blurbs of info on the history of the area. I'm not going to transcribe the whole thing because this post would be huge if I did. But, if you click on the photos and make them full-size, it's easy to read.

My favorite blurb is the one on the very bottom of the second photo. It talks about Wonderland Park, an amusement park that used to be on Lake Street. If you traveled down the street today, you'd never have a clue that an amusement park used to be on the land. Lake Street is almost all small to medium-size retail businesses now.

I will copy the Wonderland blurb.

"Wonderland was a popular destination for thousands who came by streetcar from St. Paul and Minneapolis. In addition to its 120-foot illuminated tower, roller coaster, acrobats, Old Mill Boat Ride, and other standard amusement-park fare, the main attraction was an exhibit of the new technology of incubators for premature babies. The Infant Incubator Institute, operated by Martin Couney, M.D., was housed in a building that still stands at 3101 East 31st Street. After the 10-acre park closed, the property was soon developed for housing, with lots selling for about $450."

I also found a small blurb and some fantastic photos of Wonderland at Placeography (link) Supposedly, people would pay a fee to see the premature babies in their incubators. Which is kinda creepy and strange. And that just makes me want to visit Wonderland all the more.

Hello, Autumn

2011-10-03T14:40:00.002-05:00

Pierre "Pig's Eye" Parrant and Fountain Cave

2011-10-01T03:13:00.003-05:00

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

Sometimes, I become fascinated by people from history. Most of the time, they're obscure figures that most living people have never heard of. And, just as often, they're a little bit dodgy. That's the case with Pierre "Pig's Eye" Parrant.

Pig's Eye was one of the first European settlers in the area of St. Paul, Minnesota and that town almost ended up being named after him. Before moving to Minnesota, Parrant was a fur trader. But, sales had started to die down and he ended up in a squatter's colony near Fort Snelling where he supported himself by making liquor and selling it to Native Americans, soldiers, and the other settlers. But, in 1837, he was driven out of the area because of his very illegal bootlegging.

He didn't move very far away, though. Just across the river where he staked a claim in front of Fountain Cave. And, for awhile, Fountain Cave became "Pig's Eye Tavern". The locals began calling the area Pig's Eye and even addressed their mail that way.

Around 1841, a Catholic priest named Lucien Galtier moved to the area and built a small church. When he discovered that the town was named after a tavernkeep, he was horrified and somehow convinced the residents to rename the area to St. Paul.

Parrant continued his business until about 1844 when he lost his claim to the land. And nobody really knows what became of him after that.

Sadly, you can't visit Fountain Cave anymore. The entrance to the cave was buried during road construction in 1960. But, about a year ago, I came across this historical marker telling a little bit of the cave's story.

It reads:

"Fountain Cave, a landmark known as early as 1811, was named for the sparkling creek that flowed from its mouth and continued some 375 feet through a ravine to join the Mississippi River about 140 feet downstream from this marker. The cave attracted such noted explorers as Stephen H. Long in 1817, Henry R. Schoolcraft in 1820, and Joseph N. Nicollet in 1837 - all of whom described it in their journals.

Before the land east of the Mississippi was opened to settlement, Pierre "Pig's Eye" Parrant, a vagrant voyageur who sold whiskey illegally to soldiers and Indians, in 1837 staked a claim where the ravine met the river. Here in 1838 he built a saloon - a small hovel that was the first building on the site of what is now St. Paul. He was followed during that year by several refugee settlers who had been ousted from the Fort Snelling military reservation.

For many decades tourists visited Fountain Cave to view its pure white sandstone walls and mysterious interior chambers. Through the years debris accumulated to block its entrance. Construction of a highway in the early 1960's made it necessary to fill in most of the ravine, so that there is now no visible indication of where the cave is located."

I remember reading a book written by a Minnesota man who spent his free time exploring the sewers and caves of Minnesota. One of his quests was to find Fountain Cave. Don't know if he ever found it.

References:
Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Parrant
Minnesota Fun Facts - http://www.minnesotafunfacts.com/st-paul-history/pierre-pigs-eye-parrant-one-of-the-first-st-paul-settlers/
Fort Road Federation - http://www.fortroadfederation.org/westend.htm

More Yard Sale Crap

2011-09-27T21:09:00.001-05:00

"Wow, your paintings have brush marks!" ~Homer Simpson

At $5, I probably overpaid for this painting especially since it has a little bit of damage but I genuinely liked it. Unfortunately, I didn't think to ask the woman who was selling it if she knew anything about it. And now I'm dying of curiosity about who painted it. The signature in the bottom right corner reads "Webster" but a web search pulled up nothing. It's probably a little-known artist but, in my horribly uninformed about art opinion, it's excellent.

I also need to find a better place to take indoor pictures. The lighting is terrible in my room so everything's cast over with an orange tint. When I tried to use the flash, the picture turned into a sea of white.

Never Start Smoking Cigarettes

2011-09-24T19:40:00.001-05:00

Ugh, never start smoking cigarettes* (or drink alcohol or do street/unprescribed prescription drugs.) If you never start, the desire will never even be there. Last night, I calculated how much I spend every month on cigarettes. Approximately $400/month. Considering I only get $635/month (and odd little amounts from various online sources), that's killing me financially. Technically, I should quit for my health. I have a mild to moderate chronic cough that's probably the beginnings of COPD. But, the addiction to nicotine is stronger than any real concern about my health. I tried to quit last night and lasted about 13 hours. Which isn't that impressive considering I slept for 9 of those. So, the new plan is to restrict myself to 1 cigarette per hour, which should cut my smoking down to 1/3 or less of what it was.

*Not that this will reach the audience it should. Pretty sure the few readers I have are all 30+ and most people start their addictive behaviors by the time they're in their twenties.

Pinhead Bobblehead

2011-09-20T22:30:00.000-05:00

He needs a serious cleaning but I love this photo of a bobblehead of Pinhead from the "Hellraiser" movies.

Geese

2011-09-16T16:15:00.001-05:00

Geese at Augsburg Park in Richfield, MN

When I lived in Las Vegas, there were a few too many pigeons in the city. In Richfield, MN, it's geese (and squirrels). Fortunately, I think they're all awesome.

Guard Kitties!

2011-09-15T14:14:00.001-05:00

September 14 Randomness

2011-09-14T10:26:00.000-05:00

So, I was trying to take a self-portrait of myself smiling that didn't make me scream in horror. (I'm a tiny bit self-critical. The geek girl with the coke bottle glasses will haunt me forever.) When I realized...Why did nobody ever tell me I have a wonky eye?!?

You can't see it that well in this picture but it's there. Haunting me. Gah.

September 10, 2011 - Random Photos

2011-09-10T15:58:00.001-05:00

It was absolutely perfect weather today. Sunny and in the upper 80's. When I first set out, I was just going for a short ride. But, I couldn't resist staying out longer.

What the hell happened to the tree in the middle?

As I was taking the picture below, I heard a little girl's voice say, "That girl's weird." I turned to find her staring directly at me. I snickered and went back to taking the picture of the tree. (Which is a bit odd, I s'pose.) Get used to it, kid. You're in Minneapolis, land of the liberal hipster. I'm super tame in comparison.

Willow Tree

A picture can't really convey how tall and overpowering this willow tree seems.

And, as I was headed home, I stumbled upon a group of yard sales. On one table, this called out to me:

Count Chocula bobblehead

He's selling for $7.50+ on Ebay. And I paid $1. I'm totally not selling him though. Like Scooby-Doo, he's one of those cartoon characters from childhood that I super pink heart.

Seriously?!?

2011-09-09T00:00:00.002-05:00

The FAQ page at the Congress theater reads:

Q: Can I smoke cigarettes at the Congress?

A: As of January 1, 2008, the City of Chicago has banned smoking in all public places, including the Congress Theater. Pass outs are not allowed for smoking or any other purpose. Cigarette lighters will be confiscated at the door for all shows.

Are they serious? I mean, I understand. Especially in what looks like a beautiful historic theater. Cigarette smoke tends to cling to surfaces and damage them much more quickly. But, confiscating lighters is way too strict. I can't leave my lighter out in the car. Because I don't have a car and, I imagine, many Chicago residents don't either. And who knows what's open at that hour around there? Last time I was in Chicago, I noticed almost every business closed up long before midnight.

I wouldn't mind the no-smoking policy if they allowed you to smoke outside. Anyways, I'm so not buying a thing from their food stands/bars because of that policy.

September 8, 2011

2011-09-08T10:51:00.002-05:00

Woohoo! I caught a passing plane in the picture below.

Enlarged

A Foggy Morning

2011-09-07T07:56:00.003-05:00

Fog over Todd Park in Minneapolis, MN

It looked better in real life. :-)