The Great Eastern Loop

I tossed the idea of swinging through Sandstone, MN, on my way home.  A quarter of a tank was left when I saw the sign - $2.299 per gallon.  I stopped to filled up.  Sandstone holds a strange curiousity for me.  My father's brother was once mayor of Sandstone.  My grandmother died in Sandstone in August of 1995.  The last time I spent any length of time in Sandstone was for my dad's brother's funeral in the early 2000s.  I drove past my uncle's old house - his widow still lives there - the house looked nearly identical.  The nursing home where my grandmother lived and finally died was still there, too.  It looked smaller than what I could dig up from my memories of the place.

As exciting as it was to drive anonymously past my aunt's house or by the nursing home, I was not there for a family gathering.  I wanted to check out the rivers and streams in the area.

Earlier in the day, after my originally scheduled task of why I found myself in Minneapolis on this fine, gray day had been completed, I wandered across the East Bank Campus of the University of Minnesota to a pedestrian bridge which sits behind the Education Sciences building.  An interesting side note and bit of trivia on the Education Sciences building - it originally housed the Mines Experiments Station.  This is the building where a meaningful process by which taconite could be turned into steel was developed.  The picture to the right is the recently renovated Education Sciences building located on the East Bank Campus of the University of Minnesota.

It turned out to be a very gray day in Minneapolis.  It was not a great day for photographs, but I managed to snap off a small pile of them.  Most are gray-toned and lack dramatic shadows.

After my trip through Sandstone, I back-tracked a short distance and headed to the St. Croix State Park.  I did not make it down to the St. Croix River - it was looking like rain and I was getting tired.  I did take some photos of tamaracks in addition to a small trout stream.

Just before the Grand Casino Hinckley, there is a boat land on the Kettle River.  I stopped here, as well.  Again, gray-toned photos that lacked life.

You can see all the photos uploaded today (not all were taken today) here.