Home sweet home... it's amazing how inspiring a sunny day in the middle of fall can be!
Obligatory Starbucks run. But this almost never happens - Starbucks in the cup holder in my car!
That's because I went to Starbucks in Eagan (at the Transit Center, which I didn't fully utilize), instead of the one downtown in Macy's. Because I didn't go to work (well, I drove by and stopped outside while a co-worker brought down some boxes and loaded up my car, but that hardly counts).
The view of downtown from New Main on Metro State's campus. We had just gotten done staring into that sun for an hour while a presentation was made and a fairly interesting panel discussion was had. But on the bright side (ha!), as someone was introducing the award recipient, a bald eagle flew by the huge wall of windows that we were all staring at. That was cool.
A view of Metro State's campus from New Main.
And here’s where the mystery begins…. Let me explain how this will work. Below are 40 (yes, 40) thumbnails of pictures I took after class on Tuesday. Clicking on each one will bring you to the large version of the picture. When you think you know where I was, note the # of the picture you’re on and include it in the comments with your guess (for example, the picture below is entitled “mystery1.jpg” so you’d say “I think you were at the Mall of America, and I only needed 1 picture!”). Understood? I’ll include my regular witty comments as we go, and for those of you who don’t feel like playing, there will be clues along the way (links you can click on to get more information, which you can also click on once you’ve made your guess officially in the comments). Now, no cheating! Let it be known that I get a report daily of what links are clicked on and how many times, so I’ll know. And don’t go Googling for the answer either.
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Yes, some of the pictures look very similar. So sue me. I didn't fully capture what I wanted to in this one, but I did have to stand atop a stone fence and was nearly blown off (it was very windy on Tuesday) and into the ravine. So I stopped trying to get a better picture.
The sky was so amazingly blue - perhaps it seemed that way simply because for the two weeks prior, it had rained almost every day. But Tuesday, couldn't have asked for better weather.
Hmm. This is a huge clue. Of course, I don't expect anyone to guess it from this. I lived in St Paul proper for 5 years (the longest of anyone I know) and didn't even know this place existed until Tuesday.
My camera is very good at taking sunbeam pictures. I like it.
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A slightly different view of that waterway.
I think this one might be my next desktop wallpaper.
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Doesn't this look like Wisconsin? Or northern Illinois? Did I mention that I used the Google Maps Pedometer and from where I parked my car I walked in a loop and didn't go further than half a mile.
Not exactly the type of picture you expect to be able to take in an urban area. I love Minnesota.
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This is my other nominee for desktop wallpaper. I'm undecided.
This one didn't fully capture the river like I wanted to. You can't really tell, because this only shows the one big curve, but really the river snakes along, back and forth, for quite a ways.
Is that... yes, it is, the skyline! Is that giving you any hints?
I was trying to be artistic. I don't think I got there, but I like this shot nonetheless. It'll probably show up on my desktop as wallpaper in the winter. It'd probably make a very nice framed art pieced, were I so motivated.
More skyline
Yes, the skyline gets a little fuzzy, since I tried to use the zoom on my camera and it's not the world's greatest camera. But you get the idea. A great place to go if you have a high-megapixel camera and want a shot of downtown.
The sun kept going behind clouds and then coming back out, so this one I took because it was sunny.
Another zoom picture, and I didn't quite capture what I wanted to, but oh well.
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Now this might give it away if you're familiar with local artwork or recent additions to the scene. I didn't take a picture of the very controversial piece, however.
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Why yes, that is me in the shadow.
College brochure, anyone?
Of course, there were swings, and of course, they had to be photographed. No, I didn't play on them. It was starting to get late and I was cold. I don't think you can tell from the picture, but there was another playground below to the left, with more swings.
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Well? What do you think? I have several sites to link to that give the history of the area, etc, which I’ll post in the comments in a few days.
I’m going with Indian Mound Park or some such name. How did I guess? I’m from Ohio where we have a fair amount of Indian Mounds including these which I did a report on for elementary school and Serpent Mound which is the most famous mound even though I’ve never been there.
I have no clue. Sad that I live in the same state as you do and don’t know. LOL
I was going for Fort Snelling.
Liz, you were technically (mostly) correct. It’s Indian Mounds Park, which is on the East Side of St Paul (a place few of us venture, unless you happen to go to Metro State) in a neighborhood known as Dayton’s Bluff. It’s actually a really nice area, or at least parts of it are, and a lot of St Paul history is there. The Historical Preservation Society is hard at work there as well, restoring some old buildings, etc. Anyways, if you’ve never been, I highly recommend going. There should be enough information here to give you directions etc, but just ask if you want more.
Alright, well here’s some more information for those of you who are interested.