Tom and I grew up near small, Minnesota towns and out in the country; Tom near a river and I near a lake. Spring always brought snow and ice thaws, extra water in lakes and rivers, and hope for summer to come SOON. I still remember playing out back on the dirt road, where puddles and streams formed, and I could form dams and pretend lakes. I loved trekking through the mud.
So...we both thought it would be fun to check out our normal route to and from Bloomington and see how much mud and water there was.
We have the good fortune to travel along the Minnesota River, underneath the Cedar Ave. bridge and past the Black Dog plant, where the big smoke stack is. Through the seasons we see leaves come and go, plenty of wild life, including bald eagles and deer, and fishermen, trying their luck at catching fish. We are thankful for these few minutes that take us back to what we saw as children - the natural beauty of rural Minnesota.
Due to all the flooding, our normal route to and from work (Black Dog Road) is blocked off, but not to hikers. Our walk down Black Dog revealed robins, cardinals, geese, and plenty of planes. We were right under the path of flights landing at MSP! And as you can see, we could only go so far until we'd be walking in water.
