I started this blog in the spring of 2015. I was fairly new to living in downtown Minneapolis. I had gotten rid of my car and was adapting to the car-less lifestyle, finding pleasure in walking along the Mississippi River trails and learning the bus system. But I remember how disgusted I felt when I saw all the trash floating along the river's edge. Why wasn't the city doing something about it? Whose responsibility was it? The first time I took a garbage bag out to pick up trash along the river I remember feeling slightly embarrassed that I was doing this work. Keep it to a weekday and maybe no one would notice me. I remember that first year I was working along the river just north of the Hennepin Bridge, two police officers approached me and asked me what I was doing and had I seen anything suspicious that I might like to report. I hated that feeling that the park is supposed to a dangerous place. And so I started to write about my "just taking a walk and picking up some trash" adventure. And today I end my blog, not the walking or the picking up trash part, just the writing about it. This last picture I include was taken a few weeks back just south of Bassett Creek. I've spent a lot of time on this beach picking up trash but it was overtaken by homeless campers in the summer. It started out with one tent pitched way too close to the water's edge and by now that tent has got to be flooded out. Later, another tenter arrived and in early September there were seven or eight so I took my trash collection efforts to the other side of the creek. The campers are mostly gone but the mess remained. I haven't walked back through the area and I suppose Park and Rec could have been notified to clean it up. I think Minneapolis has its hands full right now with the giant homeless camp that bloomed along highway 55 and the Cedar Avenue exit this summer to pay much attention to this one. I've not gotten involved with the homeless issue, just trying to help out when folks abandon their camp and help restore it to its natural state. So on the positive side, what else have I discovered with this picking up trash adventure? First, you can get to a heck of a lot of parks in the Twin Cities using public transportation. Second, I have developed a new interest in identifying the beautiful wildflowers that I see along the trails. And lastly I think that there is an absolute positive mental and physical health benefit that occurs while walking in nature. So, I'll keep exploring the excellent park system we have in the Twin Cities and also take a bag with me to do my small part in keeping the parks looking great.
