Minneapolis has a number of spots are the ruins of once prosperous industry. I find these places have a beauty all their own, perhaps more than when these places were hopping with commerce and activity.

On our way back from the “Stone Arch Bridge Art Festival” Matthew and I passed a typical warehouse building with an odd sign out front, “Soap Factory Open”. I couldn’t resist investigating what that might mean. So in we went. It turns out that the “Soap Factory” is an art space for experimental art. We walked in and Matthew announced loudly to the volunteer/docent “It stinks in here.”

Here is what appears to be an enormous knit shawl. It’s easily 12 feet across. I would hate to see the size of the knitting needles.

This was easily my favorite installation. It was a rickety rube goldberg-esque ride where you watch a small translucent piece of paper. As the wooden cart moved around the room, the scene projected on the paper kept changing. Matthew seemed to have enjoyed it almost as much as I did.

Matthew isn’t yet burdened with the adult notion that art needs to mean something, so he has always enjoyed avant-garde art.

The shadowy figures in the photograph are Jeannie and Matthew working on Matthew’s bike riding skills. He’s getting the hang of going without training wheels. He still steers like a distracted drunk and sometimes forgets to pedal, but he is much better than I was at that age.

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bike

I never really got the hang of riding a bike when I was grade school aged. When I lived in Richland Center, Wisconsin we lived with my maternal grandparents. While my grandmother had lots of admirable traits, she was in the final analysis very flappable when it came to activities resulting in road rash. Her nervousness combined with my own ineptitude made learning to ride nightmarish for me. So I checked out for a few years.

When I was 13 or so I was determined that I would learn to ride a bike. Our house had a sloping alley behind it. Every night during the summer I would wait until nearly dusk and then launch myself down the alley on my moms rusty three speed bike. Sometimes I would make it to the end of the alley and I would push it back to our garage and start the process over again. I frequently fell into the neighbor’s bushes on the way down the alley. I would dust myself off, find my bent up glasses and keep riding. After doing that for a good month or so I finally got the hang of it. A month or so later my dad won a ten speed from Dr. Pepper. I rode that bike everywhere until I moved to Minnesota.

This is pretty much the way I’ve learned everything in life, launching myself down an alley until the skill was second nature.

Paul has started blogging. Welcome to blogging. Have fun, let’s just try and not blog about about me and our days at LM. Paul knows where the bodies are buried, mainly because he helped me bury them.

Hero, aka Ying Xiong, is on the of the most visually stunning movies I have ever seen. The colors, scenery and the movement in the film were mesmerizing. It made movies like The Matrix seems flat and derivative by comparision. Best of all the storyline was every bit as interesting as the swordplay — top notch.

I will queue up more movies directed by Ying Xiong.

I just wish I could fly like the characters in the movie.

I recently did a little camping in the rain with the usual suspect and first time backpacker, his wife. We didn’t have the best weather for camping but the trip turned out fine in the end. We did about 10 miles on the SHTA behind Silver Bay, Minnesota.

The walk to Bear and Bean Lakes ordinarily has some great views from the ridgeline overlooking the lakes and the forests. Unfortunately, it was so foggy and rainy that there wasn’t much to see on Saturday, although we did get to see it coming out on Sunday.

I always wondered how well my gear would do in the rain. I managed pretty well, although I wouldn’t really want to be out in a cold rain for too many days with my current gear. The poncho makes a decent leanto, although then of course I don’t have a poncho anymore, which is a problem. I also wished I would have put on my hefty pack cover a lot sooner. I kept thinking the rain would let up. By the time I realized it wasn’t going to let up, there was no point on covering the pack anymore.

Getting outside and taking a longer walk does wonders for my mood and my soul. I need to figure out ways to do it more often.

Getting ready to hike out in the morning.

If you need a larger version of this suitable for framing, let me know.

Foggy Lake Superior Shoreline.

Photo showing the poncho and a tarp set up for a rain shelter. It really was nice to have some place to get out of the rain without being in the tent.

Here are some ideas, based on this weekend trip, for introducing someone to backpacking for the first time.

1. Only go if the weather is perfect.
2. Make sure that the walk is in the 1-3 mile range if possible.
3. Have some clear understanding of how to communicate comfort level for all participants.
4. Keep expectation low.
5. Exceed expectations.

Occasionally I do odd things like making bread, throwing pottery, dripping paint, taking photos, writing or hiking alone in the woods. I’ve been asked on more than one occasion, “Why do you do it?” The best answer I’ve seen so far is in this Craft Manifesto.

How to Avoid the Exhausting Planning and Preparation That Goes Into Making a Second Date. I’m glad I’m not the only one who goes to a coffee shop and thinks funny thoughts about the other patrons.

[Link courtesty of Dooce]

I saw Halloween, Alaska last night. It was an awesome show. Although the whole band was great, their drummer, David King was in some ways the star of the show. When I had heard their music my assumption was that the rhythm was provided by layers of synthetic drum tracks, but from what I could tell Mr. King generated them all by himself with his small drum kit. It was really amazing drumming. I have to check out another group he is in called Happy Apple. The vocals combined with the complexed layered music was just phenomenal. I can’t wait to go to their CD release party scheduled for September. Their cover of LL Cool J’s
“I Can’t Live Without My Radio” was awesome in person and it’s slated to appear on their next album. If they come to your town, go see them.