Walk to Ole Olson Park

About 2 miles north from downtown Minneapolis is Ole Olson Park, a small park of only a couple of acres. The Park and Rec path from downtown dead ends here just before the railroad bridge. There is a lot of trash to be picked up here. Maybe I'll walk back up here in March to work on it.  We noticed the slope going down to the river was bare.  Friends of the Mississippi is working with Park and Rec to remove invasive species and restore the slope to dry savanna.  The details of that project can be found here:  https://www.minneapolisparks.org/_asset/y5ssr0/orvin_ole_olson_park_fmr_factsheet.pdf

Now that the slope has been cleared you can see that it's a graffiti playground under the BNSF Railroad Bridge.  It was so bright yesterday morning and the shadows so intense, it was a challenge to take photos. By the afternoon it was in the high 50's.  Not normal for February in Minnesota.

Leftovers from the party.  Nice shoe.

Freshly done? The graffiti here is mostly stylized lettering and while I have little appreciation for that I do like the color combination here.

If I were going to go back to clean the litter in this area, my policy to still to leave homeless camps alone.

Here is where I have a problem though.  This is a closeup of a burn pile for removing the insulation from copper wire.  There were several burn piles here.  Whether or not this stuff was obtained legally or not, you don't burn it. It's illegal and we don't need these toxins released into the air or the river.  

http://www.scrapmetaljunkie.com/873/burning-wire-illegal

Ok, enough whining and time to start the walk back home.

University of Minnesota River Flats

We took the light rail from downtown to the U of M yesterday morning.  I wanted to see what the beach looked liked on the east bank of the University.  Just behind the medical center is a staircase that takes you down to the river flats area.  I saw the familiar Park and Rec trash barrel so I guess that makes this city of Minneapolis park land.  The stuffed elephant was waiting there at the bottom of the staircase. No, I did not throw him in the barrel.  My bag was half full of trash just with what I picked up on the staircase.

I don't remember ever exploring this side of the river.  On our way down to the beach we came across this little gem.  This graffiti work at least does a nice job of blending into its environment.  I wonder what's in that little locked door.

The beach area has several larger items that need to be hauled out.  This one looks like a heavy duty metal frame for what maybe was once a dormitory sofa.  Wild party in the dorm.  Next day the sofa is missing.

More large items...propane tank and I don't even know what that other piece of metal was from.

 There were some interesting things down at the beach.  I like that minimalist fork sculpture.

If you leave the River Flats area and take the path downstream you will get to the foot bridge and the area under the I 94 bridge.  By the time we arrived there my trash bag was full.  I saw another empty bag near the foot bridge and went to get it.  I reached for the bag and realized I was looking right into some guy's make shift home.  He looked to be about 20 years old and was sound asleep.  I backed out of there as quiet as I could.  If you walk in any of the urban paths along the Mississippi River, there will be evidence of people living along the river.  That is just a fact.  There is more graffiti along the way too.  The graffiti that I see on the bridges and cliffs just isn't particularly well done and it doesn't add anything to the experience.  It seems most of it is less about artist expression and more about dare devil skills of getting onto and under the bridges and scrambling up rocky cliffs.  Further downstream is the Franklin Avenue bridge.  The bridge is closed for repairs and the path under it is also closed.  Under the bridge and up in the cliffs is more graffiti and another makeshift home. Sticks and blankets shield the entrance to a cave.  Someone has hung a swing from a tree for entertainment. Time to turn back.  Had the path been open, we would have been in St. Paul and continued onto other parks along the river.

Spray Paint Cans and Graffiti

It's supposed to rain later today so I had an early morning walk over to Nicollet Island and the Heritage Trail loop.  According to my new (used) book on Mississippi River bridges, this bridge was built in 1893 by Great Northern Railroad.  It spans the east river channel between the Island and 2nd Avenue.

There's a lot of graffiti parties going on down there.  I talked with a woman walking her dog who said that the city used to do a better job of getting rid of it.  The good part about this spot is you can't really see it unless you walk down there.  I don't need it cleaned up.  I just wish there were better artists working this area. Most of the graffiti in the area is "tagging" and while I admire some color combinations, I can't say that I find it that interesting.

Under the bridge, I found this giant skull.  I reminds me of things I've seen in Mexico.

On the other side of the channel is a rat riding a skateboard. Or is that an opposum?  I give it an A for effort in terms of just getting down there.

That storm drain over there looks like it's got some interesting stuff inside.

Back home to downtown.