365 in 365: Images 126 through 132

This series of pictures was taken the second week of May.  I took a business trip to St. Louis toward the end of the week and returned in time for my mother-in-law's visit.  She and The Wifey traveled to Wisconsin for much of that weekend, but we did have some time to touch base while she was in town.  At least I was able to mix it up a little during this series.

No. 126:  05-06-2013

I'm not sure what kind of bird this is, but the solitary nature of
the image is what struck me.

No. 127:  05-07-2013 (placeholder)

From left to right:  Guthrie Theater, Gold Medal Flour grain silo,
the ruins of a flour mill that blew up many years ago, a bunch of
condos, a pillar with a Star Blanket sign, and the Whitney Hotel

No. 128:  05-08-2013 (placeholder)

My promise to you is after July 7, I will not post another picture of
the Carlyle and the Third Avenue Bridge

No. 129:  05-09-2013

The Blueberry Hill Restaurant in The Loop section of St. Louis

No. 130:  05-10-2013

The hotel I was staying in St. Louis was hosting
a gamer convention.  This wasn't online gaming.
It was role-playing board gaming.  You can
probably imagine the attendees.

No. 131:  05-11-2013

An interesting take on the protection fences surrounding
construction zones.  This one is near the Walker Art Center.

No. 132:  05-12-2013

After dropping off my mother-in-law at the airport, I crossed paths
with this turkey condor.  I'm sure the two events are unrelated.

365 in 365: Images 091 to 097

The last couple of months have been a whirlwind of business travel, family visits, and illness, so I haven't been as diligent in creating blog posts as I would want.  I have been doing my best to take pictures on a regular basis, so I have quite a few to post, with a fair number of "placeholder" shots to make up the difference.  After a six-month respite, I hope I can get current and stay there.  Here is the next set of pictures, keep in mind these were taken the first week of April, when the weather was still sucky in MN.  Enjoy!

No. 091: 04-01-13

Fallen tree next to Lake Harriet.  I wonder, was anyone around to hear it
make a sound?  That was almost poetic!

No. 092:  04-02-13

Grand Spectacle on Grand Ave. in St. Paul.  They must have positioned
the eyes like that on purpose.

No. 093:  04-03-13 (placeholder)

This must be a hottie in the duck world, as she attracted the attention
of two males.

No. 094:  04-04-13 (placeholder)

The slowly retreating ice on Lake Harriet

No. 095:  04-05-13 (placeholder)

Sunset over the band shell on Lake Harriet

No. 096:  04-06-13

Foggy morning looking at Minneapolis from the Mississippi River Blvd

No. 097:  04-07-13

What I thought would be the first Spring thaw in our backyard

A Road Runs By It

Friday is casual day at my work and I usually take advantage of the day to take a “casual” commute.  One of my favorite drives is along the Mississippi River Boulevard.  I connect with the road in St. Paul where it is known as Warner Road and Shepard Road and am afforded a lot of picturesque views of the river as I make my way west.  The name change to Mississippi River Boulevard happens at the crossing of Highway 5 and that’s where I met this rafter of wild turkeys (yes, I looked it up).

This wasn’t my only run-in with wild life while traveling on the river road.  This past October, I stopped at an overlook near Lock and Dam No. 1 across from the defunct Ford Ranger Assembly plant to take some pictures of the fall foliage.  After getting a couple shots of a very bright sugar maple, I was returning to my car when I heard an unusual screech.  I looked into the trees on the river side of the road and saw a bald eagle perched on a limb.  I approached him slowly and took a couple pictures.  I watched him for a few minutes and then caught a flash of movement in another tree further down.  There was a second eagle, which I presumed was its mate.

Another time, during the warmer months, I was driving and slowed to a stop before disturbing a red tailed hawk standing in the road.  A rabbit was unsuccessful in crossing the road and the hawk, being a skilled opportunist as well as hunter, was standing over the carcass.  The hawk seemed to be debating his next move.  A car approached from the other side and also stopped a respectful distance away.  Now, with a growing audience, the hawk made a quick decision, grabbed the rabbit in its talons, and took off toward the trees.  I think the rabbit might have been a little too large as the hawk stayed very low to the ground.  As I passed the other driver, we gave each other a “thumbs-up’ to the scene we just witnessed.

One early morning last year, I saw what first looked like a dog come tearing around the corner of the Ford Plant, dash across the street, and ran toward the woody bank of the river.  When it passed my car, I got a better look and realized it was a grey wolf.

Also near the Ford Plant is a second overlook to the Hidden Falls – Crosby Farm Regional Park.  I had pulled into the parking lot to get some pictures of the sunset.  I walked toward the stone wall separating the lot and the steep bank of the river and was immediately face-to-face with a doe.  We looked at each other in surprise, as if asking “what are you doing here?”  I had my camera in my jacket pocket and I knew any sudden movement would spook the deer.  I slowly pulled the camera out and took a couple pictures.  The deer never moved.  So, I selected the video feature and recorded about 30 seconds of the deer chewing a leaf.  I slowly backed away from the stone wall and took some pictures of the surrounding countryside and setting sun.  Unfortunately, all that evidence was lost to a computer virus.

My last memorable run-in with wild life was with a pig, who gave me a speeding ticket for going 35 miles per hour in a 25mph zone.  Just kidding!  I mean, I did get a speeding ticket, but I have nothing but respect for our men and women in blue.

As I mentioned before, when not encountering wildlife, there are some amazing vistas to see on the River Road.

Las Vegas Day Four (Part 1): May 28th, 2011



We saved the best for last, which worked out well; otherwise we would have spent the rest of our trip recovering.  I don’t think any of us had much of a hangover, but we did sleep into the late morning.  Mike went downstairs and returned with three cups of coffee and a newspaper.  The coffee was just what the doctor ordered.  We eased into our day and took stock of what we still wanted to do while in Las Vegas.  We had tickets to Anthony Cools and wanted to go to Coyote Ugly, which would take care of our evening.  We felt baked from the intense heat of the past couple days, so we weren’t eager to sit by the pool.  The European soccer championship was in the afternoon and since Rob and I had money on the game, we wanted to watch it.  A foam party was scheduled in the Monte Carlo pool area starting at noon and lasting until six, which sounded like a lot of fun.  We had a pretty big window to catch the party and figured we could stop by when we had some free time.  We hadn’t done any souvenir shopping and we were leaving early tomorrow morning, so we decided to do that to get the day going.

We visited the local places, like Gameworks and the M&M store, across the street.  We didn’t walk around for long before I started to feel a little light-headed, probably for not having breakfast after an alcohol-fueled night.  We made our way over to the MGM Grand to visit the shop next to the lion’s cage.  Inside the store, there was a window where people could view a lion cub being fed from a bottle.  There was an older couple with a trainer in the room and I assumed they had paid for the experience.  I also took the opportunity to redeem my $15 ticket I had from video poker on our first night in town.

The soccer game had an early start time for us on the West Coast, and just in time for lunch.  We re-crossed the street to New York, New York and found a place with immediate seating at the Nine Fine Irishmen.  Barcelona was well represented in the bar, but the table we sat was in an area where most people were cheering Manchester United.  We had lunch and Sam Adams while we watched the game.  It became pretty obvious that Man U was out-matched in talent, but the score was tied 1-1 at the half.  I knew if Man U had a chance to win the game, the final score would have to be 2-1.  When Barcelona scored its second goal, my hopes faded.  When Barcelona scored its third goal, they evaporated.  At least I waited until the official end of the game before tearing up my ticket.  Mike paid for lunch and we headed outside.