St. Paul, MN: Charles Schulz, Cathedral, Mickey's Diner, Quadriga, Capitol, Part 1 - Thurs., July 12, 2018

Warning: This is our favorite day on the trip so far. Be prepared for multiple blogs to cover it. This is Part 1.

As I was getting ready for breakfast, the news and weather forecasters on TV in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area were blathering on about flash flood warnings and the possibility of thunderstorms. 

Upon checking "My Radar" app on my SmartPhone, I did not see any impending significant storms. Susan pooh-poohed the TV weather reports because she was looking at her iPhone which showed hot, humid weather for the morning. Our capital Volksmarch is a go for this morning (but I took my umbrella "just in case"). 

From Eagan, Minnesota, it was a short drive to St. Paul. We found the Super America gas station on Grand Ave. from whence our walk would start. After signing in and picking up the State Capital Walk instructions, we needed to find on-street parking nearby. Within 1-1/2 blocks, we found a shady spot to leave the Escape Pod (my name for my Ford Escape) for a few hours. The car was on our return route, so that worked out splendidly. 

After walking back to the start point, we started our walk on Grand Ave. in the Historic Hill neighborhood. Definitely an older section of St. Paul, the businesses in this area reflect a different era. 

Victoria East's dragon

The building below used to be a Studebaker dealership. Big picture windows used to let potential buyers see the car of their dreams as they drove by. Now, this building houses Bonfire Wood Fire Cooking which, according to Google, has been there for 15 years. (However, by the time I wrote this blog, this business, too, had closed. Its owners say they will reopen in another part of town. Time marches on.)

Bonfire Wood Fire Cooking (now closed)

Maybe a gas/service station originally?

Below is a sweet tribute sculpture to William Francis Skally, an old beat cop in the Rondo neighborhood who would buy winter boots for children who did not have any.

It never ceases to amaze me, what can be learned from walking in a city I've never been to before. Did you know Charles Schulz, the Peanuts cartoonist, was born in Minneapolis and spent most of his life in St. Paul? His very first cartoon was published in Ripley's Believe it or Not. He was 15 when it was printed. What a great start for the richest cartoonist of all time. 

His last original comic strip was published the day after he died in February 2000. For five years after his death, artists put up sculptures around St. Paul in his honor. The large sculptures that people flocked to see funded permanent bronze sculptures at Landmark Plaza and Rice Park in St. Paul. 

Found this on Grand Ave., others are
scattered throughout St. Paul.

Schroeder and Lucy at Landmark Plaza

Charlie Brown and Snoopy at Landmark Plaza

Sally Brown and Linus Van Pelt at Landmark Plaza

The back view of Linus and Sally 

Besides the art deco buildings and Charles Schulz "shultziana" (as one writer referred to the nostalgic pieces), Susan and I loved the architecturally beautiful old apartments and homes in the Historic and Capitol Hill neighborhoods we entered next. Here we go...

Apartment building

Tudor style home

Photo below: Rowhouse where F. Scott Fitzgerald lived with his parents while writing This Side of Paradise.

F. Scott Fitzgerald House, 599 Summit Ave., St. Paul

Our favorite Victorian home.

Love the rock around the windows
and along the edges of the home.

On Summit Ave., after we followed the turn in the road to the left, we came upon Summit Outlook Park. This was originally the site of Carpenter's Hotel. The 1850's Victorian building was a towering wooden structure. It had three stories above ground and a two-story basement with windows cut into the stone retaining wall along Ramsey Hill. It is believed the hotel was destroyed by fire. By the mid-1880s, it had been demolished. Since 1887, the property has been a public park.

View of the Mississippi River Valley from the park.
No view of the river, only a tennis court and trees.

[As an aside, we never did see the Mississippi River when we were in St. Paul. That will be reserved for another trip.]

The history of the New York Life Eagle sculpture in Summit Outlook Park (taken from the historical marker in the park): 

In 1890, the commission for the New York Life Eagle sculpture was given to Augustus Saint-Guadens on behalf of the New York Life insurance Company. Augustus sketched the conceptual form and the sculpture was carved in marble by his brother Louis St. Gaudens which was to be cast in an edition of three for New York Life's frontier expansion buildings in Kansas City, Omaha, and St. Paul. 

In the heart of downtown St. Paul, the New York Life building's three-story main entrance was topped by this powerful allegory of protection. The majestic bird is poised on a rock ledge, wings spread to shelter its eaglets, its talons grasping a threatening serpent. 

In 1967, preservationists saved the sculpture when the building was demolished and installed it outside the Pioneer Building parking lot. Public Art Saint Paul secured the title to the sculpture in 1999 and restored it. In June 2004, the sculpture was raised to this perch overlooking the Mississippi River Valley where bald eagles abound along the bluffs and palisades.

New York Life Eagle sculpture

New York Life Eagle sculpture

Colonial 

James J. Hill's Summit Avenue home
(now a museum)

James J. Hill's Summit Avenue home
(now a museum)

Railroad & shipping magnate & related
businesses -- one of the wealthiest and
most powerful men of America's gilded age

 Across the street from James Hill's estate sits the Cathedral of St. Paul. The cathedral is like a beautiful woman: from her perch high atop Cathedral Hill she dominates the view, you can't stop looking at her, and you want to see her from every angle. (Well, maybe you don't, but I did.)

Cathedral of St. Paul as seen from James Hill Estate

Entrance to Cathedral of St. Paul

Cathedral of St. Paul as seen from The Quadriga
on the Capitol building (zoomed in).

Cathedral of St. Paul from the bottom of the hill.

Cathedral of St. Paul

The side of Cathedral of St. Paul

From the James Hill estate, we walked a few feet down Summit Avenue and then turned right down some stairs on our way to the historic marker for the Selby Streetcar Tunnel.

(To be continued in Part 2.)

The Nature of Things - Sat., Nov. 25, 2017

It's not often I get out of bed earlier than necessary, but it happened today. I hadn't read our walk instructions closely enough, which said our start time was 9:00-11:00 a.m. I was there at 8:15 a.m.

Other club members were already at the pavilion at Southside Lions Park to mark the trail, set up for a hot dog lunch, put out flyers, and get ready to register the walkers. I was asked to set up the upcoming event flyers. 

Having walked the Southside Lions Park Salado Creek Greenway Trail many times before, I signed in early and started walking.

Today, Bob did his last training run (10 miles) for the San Antonio Rock 'n' Roll Marathon next Sunday, December 3. He wasn't able to join us on the walk.

If you know me at all, you know I'm a nature girl at heart. I'll share photos of the natural beauty (and some man-made) that we saw today. Off we go...

The path crossing Salado Creek upstream
from Pecan Valley Lake

Early-morning sun silhouetting trees

Fisherman at Pecan Valley Lake

Southside Lions Park

Pecan Valley Lake is a very nice size. Early in the morning, there are always fishermen lining its banks. The birds hang out here, so the fishing must be good. Today, I saw neotropic cormorants, Northern shovelers, double-crested cormorants, American coot, and great egrets.

A fountain in the lake

Water lines

Double-crested cormorants

A little fall color

Double-crested cormorant and Northern shoveler

Pecan Vally Lake - a halcyon sight

Neotropic cormorant "displaying"

The path around Pecan Valley Lake is one mile, marked at one-tenth mile intervals. From the lake, we took off on the Salado Creek Greenway Trail. 

Map of the park, we started at #2.

Wide, paved path

Trail markers all along the way

I'm sure most of you know what a "nurse log" is, but in case you don't, the photo below is a perfect example of one. A nurse log is a fallen tree that becomes a nursery for new plants that live off the nutrients of that fallen tree. They are an important part of forest ecology. We saw these a lot in the Pacific Northwest, but I haven't seee many in Texas.

Nurse log nurturing new plants

A very nice feature of many bike paths in San Antonio are the "turn-outs" (one is pictured below). They are multipurpose: use the rocks as a place to sit and rest or eat a snack, stretch, tie your shoelaces, or just chat with friends. 

Path turn-out

I wonder what lives in this snag?

Along part of the creek are palmetto palms. This is in a particularly cool, grotto-like area. 

Palmettos

Pretty rapids

Comanche County Park

Entering Covington Park

South Salado Creek Greenway -
Rigsby Avenue to Southside Lions Park sign

J Street Park Trailhead, our turn-around point

Beautiful Spanish moss at the turn-around point

And bamboo along the trail!

Charlie from the New Braunfels club

Andy coming under Rigsby Road overpass

Andy carrying walk essentials:
water and a cell phone

Salado Creek glistens in the sun

The hot dog lunch for $5.00 was very good. In additon to the hot dog, we had chips, soda, home-made dill pickles, and home-made pumpkin crunch dessert or blueberry-pineapple crunch dessert with Cool Whip. (Most of us sampled each of the desserts which were provided by our Southwest Regional Director Susan Medlin. Thank you, Susan. The desserts were wonderful! Thanks, too, to John Ives for barbecuing the hot dogs.)

Hot dog lunch bunch

Chatting after lunch

Pavilion #2 - used for our start, finish, and lunch 

It was a lovely day for a walk. After walking, I went home and wrote blogs.