Across The Mississippi

Tugboat Row

Tugboats lined up along shore of the Mississippi River near downtown St Paul.

Just A Rowing

A little bit different view from last months similar subject, which can be seen here.

To The Other Side

From the bluffs of downtown St Paul. The Science museum, the building on the right, the High Bridge in the distance with the Mississippi River flowing through the photo....

Big Boat, Little Boat

I saw the rowing team gliding along the Mississippi waters. From this distance, I believe this is a woman's rowing team. Though I'm unsure of any other information about them.

Water Gadge

The River View

The Doors Of Steel

In May of 2007, I had stopped by the Lock and Dam Number 2 in Hastings, wanting to get some shots of what the insides of the locks look like. I was greeted with a big fence and a warning sign stating that this was as closes as you'll get to the dam. It became protected after the Twin Towers attack on September 11. If you'd like to read the sign, I have a photo of it here.

This afternoon, another co-worker of mine, Dave J, forwarded me a photo of him traveling inside of the lock and damn while on his boat. The photo was taken with the camera on his cell phone. I've been inside of the locks a couple of times and it is a strange feeling when the lock doors close and your encased in steel walls, while holding onto a rope to keep your boat next to the side of the wall. The water rises or lowers slowly, and before you know it, you venture on your way. Thank you for the contribution.

All Tied Up

On the banks of the Mississippi....

Covington Inn

I stumbled across the Covington Inn while looking for an old restaurant from a long time ago. The restaurant had changed names, but was still there and had an expanded menu. Right across from the restaurant is the Covington Inn, which is a floating Bed and Breakfast on the Mississippi River. It's docked up on the river in St Paul within Harriot Island [across from downtown St Paul]. I looked around their website for their rooms and rates. From what I see is they have four different rooms [I couldn't tell if they had four rooms only, or if it was four different themed rooms]. Each suite offered a unique view of the city with the Pilot's Room being the favorite. If anyone who stumbles across this and has stayed there, I would love to hear some feedback from you.

Dual Bridges

Jumping back south into Hastings for today's photo. It features two of the bridges that cross the Mississippi River, The Milwaukee Road [rail road] bridge, and the Hastings Bridge. The Hastings Bridge is slated to be replaced starting the the fall of 2010. The project will take 3-4 years to complete. I have posted about construction of this bridge in May of 2008. There was some major bridge maintenance work being done to it that essentially prolonged the life of the bridge until State funding was available. Before last years maintenance work, it had one of the lowest bridge ratings scores in the state.

Slow....No Wake

Soon, Very Soon

Very soon, these mallard ducks will return to the open waters in the Twin Cities. Though, tomorrow morning I will be shoveling the snow from my driveway. Hello spring....

Icy Mississippi River

I've posted a couple other views of the Hastings Bridge from this vantage point in the past: October 26, 2006 and December 7, 2006 Both photos had been taken in the fall season. I made a return visit this week to the Hasting Bridge and the frozen Mississippi River. It was really a quiet place to be in the dead sound that winter can cause. The top layer of water was frozen, not a sound of water flowing. It may look like sturdy layer of ice, but with the moving waters underneath, you would be a fool to venture out onto the ice.

Nighttime On The Mississippi

I was looking through my photos and stumbled upon this one overlooking the Mississippi River. I took this on day 4 of the Republican National Convention back in September. I really had the ISO set high, thus the graininess in the photo. Believe it or not, I didn't use a tripod for this one, but I was holding it against a railing.

The Still Of The Night

The air was very calm as I drove over the Wakota Bridge yesterday evening. The bridge cross the Mississippi River from Inver Grove Heights into Newport. The plant you see in the distance is the Ashland Oil Refinery. I've been wanting to take this shot for quite some time now. The factory has a ton of lights, in the cooler months it throws steam everywhere. These long streams of lights on the river, I see from time to time. I had to turn around and find a location to shoot from. I was a bit under dressed for the sub freezing temps, so I didn't venture to far from where I parked. I am curious how the area will photograph once the river freeze over and there is snow illuminating the banks of the Mississippi River.

Mississippi River Fishing

I caught this group of boys fishing in the Mississippi River while I was in Inver Grove Heights. I made a visit to the construction site of the Wakota Bridge. It was quite a colorful photo shoot as this picture shows. A lot of the colorful things in the photo, a urinal, a power generator, waters reflection, rusty iron, plus some green. I really didn't notice all of the color until I was digitally processing the photos.

Boat Lift

Just your typical 'boat lift' one could find in the Twin Cities area.

Optical Illusion

While this beautifully red painted paddle wheel looks like it's in good working order. Take a close look at the slats of wood that are just about sitting in the water. By the lack of paint, this tells me that the paddle wheel is just for show and never moves. I do know there are a couple of boats docked up at Harriot Island on the Mississippi River in St Paul that are permanent. I would have to guess this was one of the fixed ships.

Two Different Elements

Where else can you find a beautiful, all glass building, with a river barge parked right in front of it? I'm across the Mississippi River with downtown St Paul nearly at my back for this shot. The two extremely different man made objects really contrast each other.

Along The Peer

I was trying to capture the railing as it trailed off along the bank of the Mississippi River, but it sort of gets lost with all of the water and the bridges in the shot. Perhaps I should have zoomed in more on the railing?

Liftbridge Control Center

This control center lift bridge crosses the Mississippi River. Downtown St Paul is to my right. I couldn't imagine sitting in that small building all day for a job, waiting for boats to pass so I could push a button to lift the bridge and allow large boats to pass through. I certainly could not, but would this be something you could do for a living?

Wordless Wednesday

My Favorite Part Of Town

I've featured this area quite often. It's a personal favorite location in the Twin Cities of mine. You have the Mississippi River, the road is Sheppard Road, the bridge in the distance is called the High Bridge [it was also my the same bridge myself and Kate [Visual St Paul] posted for the bridge theme day]. On the left is Harriot Island with a couple of, decorated in lights, paddle fords that have stuck around for the frozen winter months.

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There Are Good Things About Winter

Despite my latest trend in posting for the past couple of days, wishing for the Spring season to start, winter does have it's good points.

No Yard Work - Working in the yard is not an option. I cannot mow the lawn, water flowers, pull weeds, working on landscaping projects, trim the trees, rake leaves, and many more. It just can't be done. The frozen ground plus a lack of seeing the ground while it is covered in a layer of snow prevents this fabulous chore.

Fireplace - Only in the cold winter months do I light up my fireplace. We have a wood burning fireplace that keeps the family room oh so warm and toasty on the frigid and blustery winter nights. While the summer heat is enjoyable to me, staying warm via the fireplace is a delight in itself.

Family Time - In this fast paced world we live in, the cold weather forces us to stay indoors more this time of the year and enjoy each others company. Playing board games, watching a movie, getting to know each other.

Snow Days - Who doesn't enjoy calling in to work because the snow and/or ice is making it impossible to get yourself to work. I enjoyed them as a child, I still enjoy them as an adult.

Winter Beauty - While taking photos in the winter can be quite a challenge, you can also get some outstanding captures that can only be taking this time of the year. Not dressing warm enough is the major factor. The winter elements can give you one of those outstanding photos to an area that you're familiar with, yet it looks entirely different in a winter scene.

Ice Age Coming

I tell ya, this has been an unusually cold winter here in the Twin Cities of Minnesota. We are not alone as Canada, China, Hong Kong among others are reporting similar record breaking cold spells in their part of the northern hemisphere. Some of these articles I read just get me thinking about the current trend in the global warming theory.

Solar Activity Diminishes; Researchers Predict Another Ice Age
GISS: January 2008 was the coldest month since May 1995
Global warming on other planets

This headline I just don't understand at all: Global warming blamed for unusual cold spell.

Huh? Warming causes cooling? What? I guess it all depends on what you're willing to believe? While I do believe there may be some global warming happening, I don't believe that humans are the root cause. I have a hard time believing the press or politicians as it is and I'm sure many of you share that simple belief on the press and politicians.

Sorry for my little rant, today's photo is from the Mississippi River, just some river ice that has founds it's way down into the Twin Cities area. I really like the pieces of ice that have smashed on top of another, but then have frozen in place to form a solid piece of ice. The shadows are from a lift bridge.

Caution Thin Ice

On January 14, I posted a photo of the Mississippi River where it is very wide and the water flows fast. Today I'm posting from the same location, yet it's the channel of water south of Raspberry Island. Less water flow, the distance from shore to shore is less, thus giving the appearance of solid ice. Trust me, it's not something you'd ever want to walk on. There is still water flowing under the layer of thin ice. What I like about the photo is, since the layer of ice developed, it has not snowed on top. This leaves the surface nice and reflective for the sun and giving a neat effect for this photo.

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Looking For Adventure

I've posted photos of Sheppard Road at various locations before as it's one of my favorite roads to drive along. It's a great shortcut between areas, it can get you to the airport, it's not traveled my many, and the views it shares as it runs along the Mississippi River can be quite a show. I am looking west up the river. The first bridge you see is the Wabasha Street Bridge, the second bridge, which is hardly visible and is way in the distance is called the High Bridge. Mitch from Daily Minneapolis Photography recently wrote about the depth of view in photos caused by an atmospheric effect. My photo today reminded me of his post.

It's pretty rare to see ice covering this stretch of the Mississippi River. It has to be mighty cold for a long period of time for the top layer to look like a sheet of ice. I did hear, by weeks end, we might be in store for one of those cold spells to hit this area.

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Harriot Island At Night

I'm not sure if you can make it out, but look closely at the photo and you'll see the building I featured in yesterday's daily photo. It's there in the open field, near the almost frozen Mississippi River.

Have I Left The Country?

Nope, this photo was taken along one of my favorite areas in Minnesota. I'm just south of the Twin Cities on Highway 61 traveling to Winona. The body of water you're looking at is Lake Pepin, which is in Lake City. Lake Pepin claims to have invented water skiing. What's strange about Lake Pepin is, this is really the Mississippi River. There is just a very large area of water that Lake City decided to call a lake.

The bluffs you see on the right is Minnesota, the land you see on the left is Wisconsin side. Highway 61 snakes around the bluffs and is quite the drive during the fall time of the year. When I took this trip down to Winona, we missed the peak fall colors by about a week. It was still a very enjoyable trip and I'll be posting a few photos of the area over the upcoming holiday weekend.

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Raspberry Picking

If you cross this inviting bridge, you would be on Raspberry Island. In the background is downtown St Paul and the island sits on the Mississippi River. The bridge you see on the right that cross Raspberry Island and the river is called the Freedom Bridge, though I've always known it as the Wabasha Avenue Bridge. It was renamed when they rebuilt the bridge. Raspberry Island has not always been call what it is today. I've always known it as Navy Island. I grew up in this area and I'm always taken back at how much changes when you've been away from the area for so long.

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Casual Saturday Up The River

Made a quick trip along the bank of the Mississippi River to catch this empty barge cruising up the river to it's destination. It's easy to tell that the barge is empty because if you look closely at the paint above the surface, you can see rust lines of where it usually sits in the water. I would estimate there is about 8 to 10 feet above the water line that is now visible in comparison to the open doors on the tugboat.

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Mississippi Stillness

Crossing the Wakota Bridge from Inver Grove Heights to Newport on a calm and dreary afternoon.

Pipes, Tubes and Water

The lock and damn in hastings. Just showing a little bit of the mechanics of the damn.

Crossing The Mississippi River

Just showing the view as you cross 35E going south over the Mississippi River. Take note of the few houses you are able to see in the photo. [click to enlarge]

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Engineering Hydropower

Would You, Could You, On A Bluff?

Yesterday's photo featured high rise living space with a great view. Some of you, from what it sound like, were a bit unsure about living way up in the sky. Today's photo is similar in nature, but on a bluff over looking the Mississippi River below. These homes can be found in Hastings with a spectacular view of the river, lock and dam #2, plus sun rises and sun sets. The homes are technically on ground level, yet have a vertical plunge that isn't desired by many. Could you live in a home at this location?

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West Point

Looking at the west point of Raspberry Island, home of the Minnesota Boat Club and a broader view of the banquette hall. The point of the island collects a large amount of drift wood that flows downstream on the mighty Mississippi River.

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Minnesota Boat Club

The Minnesota Boat Club is located on Raspberry Island in St Paul on the Mississippi River. Established in 1870, it is the states oldest athletic organization. The building to the right is a banquette hall and can be rented for events. I've recently posted an areal photo of this building on July 2. The club offers competitive and recreational rowing opportunities for members of all ages.

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Hop, Skip And A Jump

If you scroll down to yesterday's photo, you can see this very peer that I'm standing on taking a photo of. It's a new addition to the riverside off of Harriot Island. The last time I was here, there was a narrow three foot wide peer to walk on, but that only got you to the boat you see tied up to the peer on the left. That is a restaurant that used to be called the 'No Wake Cafe'. It's now called the 'River Boat Grill'. I'll have to eat here and give a review of it some day soon. The boat on the right is a new addition, it's a Bed and Breakfast, called the Covington Inn, that is open about nine months of the year. It's closed from the end of November until sometime in the spring. The peer and both of these two river boats make this a place to visit if you're ever in town.

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Floaters And Drifters

As I wrote in yesterday's daily photo entry, I would post a photo from the tip of Raspberry Island. To answer a question: No, there are no raspberry bushes on the island. The island used to be called Navy Island, but in this politically correct world we live in, the city planners thought a festive name would sound better than anything to do with the military. Thus the happy and joyful Raspberry Island.

Sorry for that little tangent. Out on the tip of Raspberry Island is the collection of river drift wood. I've always wondered if the logs I see floating down the river ever end up in the Gulf Of Mexico? There is nearly 100 river dams along the way, how would they make through each dam? But where do the collect if they miss this island? I'd like to have a tracking device on a piece of driftwood and see where it ends up some day. Another tangent....

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A Elite Club To Belong Too

The building you see belongs to the Minnesota Boat Club. I'm standing on the Freedom Bridge that crosses the Mississippi River into downtown St Paul. The building is located on Raspberry Island [use to be called Navy Island]. There is a small bridge, about a cars width, that allows people, cars, bikes to travel across.

I recall growing up and seeing this building as a teen. It was nothing to look at back then. The windows were boarded up, the roof was deteriorating, the walls were in need of repair....my what a difference this building is today. The roof, the arched doorways, the chimney stacks, plus it's location, it's become one of my favorite looking buildings in St Paul.

Take note of the walking path you can see. It's in the upper right corner of the photo on the island that leads to a large block of cement. There are two people sitting on a step in front of the block if you look close enough. Tomorrow's photo I'll give you a closer glimpse of what is located on the tip of the island while I am sitting in their location.

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Mississippi Boat Line Up

Just a few of the boats that were lined up on the Mississippi River, docked up by Harriot Island in St Paul. I would have liked to have had more of a clear reflection shot for this one, but the river waters and the wind was moving rather fast this day.

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Far And Wide

I want to expand a bit off of yesterday's photo about the Lock and Damn number 2. It's a very interesting place to visit, I'm a short distance from the dam for this shot. The bad news, if you read the sign on the closed entrance gate in yesterdays photo, the dam is closed for visitors. So, that is about as close as one can get to the dam and the observation platform. It does have to do with the terrorist attacks on September 11.

Read the expanded warning message about why the dams are closed for the moment.

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Dam It Is Closed

Payed a visit to Lock and Dam Number 2 which is located near the Hastings border on the Mississippi River. This is the entrance to the observation area which obviously leads to the area where you can watch the boats rise and fall, depending on which way they are headed.

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The Land Down Under

This perspective is from the underside of the Wabasha Street Bridge in St Paul, heading into downtown. This bridge was rebuilt about 10 years ago, give or take a couple years, and was then renamed the Freedom Bridge. I'm not sure why the bridge was renamed nor the purpose for the name. The bridge is very patriotic as it is lined with many United States flags on the top side of the bridge. Makes for a fitting name.

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Build It And They Will Come

The Mississippi River shipping season is open to barge traffic now as of March 28. Almost a month later, the river is starting to warm a bit, but the small boat docks sit empty. Soon they will be filled with boats of all flavors and variety.