Twin City Photos

I was visiting my parents in Maple Grove when the tornado started it’s path through Minneapolis. When I left them I took Highway 10 heading east. As I got close to the river, leaves and branches started falling out of the sky. Turned on the radio and heard the tornado was basically following 35W towards Forrest Lake. Always up for an adventure I headed up to Forrest Lake, and actually got ahead of the tornado, having driven through some torrential downpours. Near Forrest Lake I pulled off 35W and parked myself on a county road. The cell that had produced the tornado moved in, but this point the tornado was starting to fizzle out, and it actually got quite calm. I did get this shot of the leftovers.

Many participants in the City of Lakes Loppet push themselves to the limit, often reflected in their facial expressions, some of which are not necessarily flattering.

This participant looks like she’s having fun.

Last weekend we had the City of Lakes Loppet, a collection of skiing related events centered on Lake of the Isles. This photo shows the launch of the Sons of Norway Minne-Loppet, taken while I was waiting for the crew of Mitchster, Rob, and Matt to arrive for our trek onto Lake of the Isles.

Another graffiti photo. Wonder about the implications of having multiple posts with the same title. Maybe I should number them, like Xavier? BTW, Xavier will be at the Uptown Art Festival this year again. Stop by at his booth if you happen to be there.

This shot was taken underneath a bridge across the Mississippi. That whole area was fairly tricky to walk around on, mini valleys and canyons, unstable soil. That’s one of the reasons I like to wear solid leather boats on photo shoots like this. They protect your feet and ankles, and give good ankle support. Unfortunately that doesn’t work during summer. Leather boots and shorts, now that would be a sight.

While I was taking photos, I heard this odd rumble behind me. Turned around a watched a section of the hill about the size of a refrigerator break loose and tumble down. Glad I wasn’t standing there :)