Big Day in the Big Cities

We were in St. Paul a few weeks ago for the FMCA convention, but were so busy convening, we didn't get to see any of the Twin Cities. Excepting one short excursion to the Mall of America, we never left the FMCA venue.

Our camp in Hinkley is about 1 1/4 hour drive from "the cities", so we decided to go back to town. We didn't know precisely where all we were going, but we had several places on our list. We considered leaving Matilda behind because it would be difficult to take her to some of places we could go, but ultimately we decided to take her with us, so we could stay in the cities as long as we wanted to. I think it turned out to be the right choice.

Our first stop was the Cathedral of St. Paul, located on the highest point in the city of St. Paul. This Cathedral of St. Paul is the forth, and likely last, cathedral of St. Paul in this city. Construction was begun on this architectural marvel in 1907. The exterior was completed in 1914, and it has been undergoing almost continual additions since that time. We spent about an hour wandering through the cathedral on our own, then went on a formal tour. Later we walked around the Minnesota state capitol, a few blocks from the cathedral.

Next we went to the visitor center for the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area. This park includes 72 miles of the Mississippi River above and below the Twin Cities. It is managed by the National Park Service, but in a very different manner than most national parks. The National Park Service actually owns less than 1% of of the land included in the park. The land is actually owned by a variety of local government entities, and is a collection of city, county and regional parks. We spent some time at Minnehaha Regional Park in the Mississippi Gorge section. There we saw Minnehaha Falls, made famous by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in his "Song of Hiawatha". Lock and Dam No. 1 is just above the park. We took a self-guided tour of the lock works. This is one of 29 locks and dams allowing barge and pleasure boat navigation from St. Anthony Falls just above Minneapolis to St. Louis. We waited, but no ships came through. The dam here also provides hydroelectric power to the Ford Motor Company assembly plant across the river, where Ford Rangers are made.

Finally, we visited the Mill Ruins Park, St. Anthony Falls, the Stone Arch Bridge and Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam, all in the St. Anthony National Historic District near downtown Minneapolis. This area contains the only falls on the whole Mississippi River and the remains of many historic mills. Minneapolis owes its existence to St. Anthony Falls. Water power was harnessed here, first for saw milling and later for flour milling and hydroelectric production. Between 1880 and 1930 Minneapolis led the nation, and at times, the world in flour production.

The Twin Cities area is the most biker-friendly area I have ever seen. Bicycle commuting is very popular. There are many bike lanes on the city streets and there are a multitude of bike and walking trails connecting regional and city parks and the downtown areas.

This area is only a few blocks from the Metrodome where the Minnesota Twins play. They were playing as we toured the park and will be playing at home the rest of the week. Hopefully we can catch a game before we head north.