SOOC - Crossing the Mighty Mississippi

SOOC - Straight Out of the Camera - takes me back three decades to the headwaters of the long (2340 miles/3770 km) Mississippi River at Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota. Unlike the unpredictable and often dangerous waters downriver in places like Memphis and New Orleans, one can cross the river at its source safely, as a pair of then younger cousins do in August 1983. A lovely state of over 13000 lakes and lots of mosquitoes...

Whimsical Windows - Cathedral of St. Paul

Toby hosts the fun architectural meme, Whimsical Windows/Delirious Doors - we look for interesting portals and such. Today, I found this subject in a (big) bunch of photos I scanned last November. I was, however unaware of just what it was. Given the degradation of the color print, I deduced it was from the1980s...with some luck, I found this to be from 1983 and is the Cathedral of St. Paul, in the Minnesota city of the same name. Built in 1904, the architect was Louis Masqueray, the style referred to as Classical Revival. It is imposing even with the softer sepia edit. The mystery of what it was is now solved in this impressve structure...

Whimsical Windows - St. Paul Skating Siblings

St. Paul Minnesota, Michele, Ralph, Claudia, Terry - 1959

Same house, 1983

Whimsical Windows/Delirious Doors is back, and our gracious host Toby invites us to look foe portals and portholes, be they unique or fun. Stylish and/or classic is not what we see today, but memories from long ago in St Paul Minnesota.

To the left, siblings Michele (4), myself (3) and Claudia (2) are with Aunt Terry, and we were on our way to go Ice skating at a rink somewhere in the Twin Cities. The date stamp on the B&W print says January '59 (it looks like that era of suburban tract homes) at our house.

To the right, I fast forward to August of 1983 where I was visiting St Paul. Without satellite maps, Mapquest, etc. I piloted my rental Toyota, found the house and captured same. Both photos were unearthed on Friday, and the idea of a post took hold - the late 1950s memories, albeit faded, are fun...

Shadow Shot Sunday - Lush Lakeside

The land of sky blue water

Shadow Shot Sunday 2 is here as I go back a few decades. I have been scanning many old prints again from years ago - and return to a favorite vacation from 1983, the land of 10,000 lakes, Minnesota and Big Stony Lake, 200 miles (322 km) from the Twin Cities, 90 miles (144 km) from Fargo,North Dakota. Relatives have this for a summer retreat, and if I recall, these pictures were taken early, maybe 6:00-7:00 AM on an August morn with the sun just rising above the boat and over the dock. This is a place of solitude - ditch the electronic devices, bring a book and mosquito repellant to this place of quiet and watery shadows...

Whimsical Windows - Lakeside view

Toby graciously hosts the fun architectural meme Whimsical Windows/Delirious Doors. Windows allow us to look out hopefully at scenery of note. I unearthed these views taken in August 1983 and a vacation to a relative’s lakefront home in Minnesota. Big Stony Lake one of actually 11,842 (not 10,000) lakes in this beautiful state and four hours northwest of the Minneapolis/St Paul airport - close to the headwaters of the mighty Mississippi River. We are looking outside the living room window toward the boat on the lake 

The bottom view is looking up from the dock - nondescript in style, yet functional for a lakefront home. Inland is where we reside now, but summer in The land of sky blue waters is great for a respite, although the mosquitoes up there are the size of birds :)