Whose view? From where? January 2011
First off, theres some important business to cover this month in Whose View segment. (What important business could be generated by a column where people guess things about a photo? Well )
Laying to rest any pretense that I actually take each of these photos; I in fact, do not. I, Robert, your loyal editor of this segment, dutifully pulled this months photo, as I do many months, from amongst our archive of many thousands of photos of the river corridor taken by a wide variety of people over the last 17 years of our organizations history.
So it turns out that the January photo caused a bit of a stir. As one of our governmental partners and good friends was quick to point out, one is not supposed to take a photo from the location shown in the photo. Not only is the ice in the area the photo was taken slippery and dangerous in the winter, but traversing the area erodes the slowly-crumbling stone footing of one of Minneapoliss most storied landmarks. And one has to pass by several no trespassing signs to get to the area from which the photo was taken. I dont know who took it.
But in short, it has become apparent that I goofed. If you think the view in the picture is pretty, then dont go to where it was taken, so it might be preserved intact for future generations. In what was perhaps my favorite answer this month, FMR volunteer Marjean Hoeft ever-so-gracefully painted a picture of the slippery slope upon which I found myself, your loyal segment editor:
Not that I would know from personal experience, as there are prominently posted signs all over Minnehaha Falls park NOT to enter the dangerous yet awe-inspiring area behind the frozen falls. Yet, one hears stories of the translucent soft light filtering through the ice, the muted sound of the remnant water still spilling over the edge, the heart-racing traverse to reach this magical place. I applaud the ingenuity of the photographer to capture this month's image, accomplished no doubt through mirrors and wires, given the law abiding nature of FMR staff and members. In any case, one of my favorite views (theoretically, at least) of the Mississippi/Minnehaha Creek.
Yes, Marjean, yes! It took some awfully grand ingenuity to take that photo in a law-abiding nature! So please, dont try this on your own. This is also one of the photos that generated the most correct answers, and cheers to that congrats to all! So here are the responses, in the order I received them:
Terrie O'Dea:
January's view seems to from behind Minnehaha Falls looking downstream. We are very lucky to have such natural spaces right in our cities! I used to ride my bike from Lake Harriet along the parkway to the falls as a kid in the '60s.
Scott Schuldt:
That is the view from under the frozen Minnehaha Falls. The walk from Minnehaha to Ft. Snelling is still one that I do every time I visit Minneapolis.
Chandi McCracken:
This is from behind the Minnehaha Falls looking downstream at the walking bridge. It is a prominent feature in South Minneapolis that provides a great recreational space in the community and is easily recognizable throughout history. It is part of a significant tributary to the Mississippi in Minnesota. It has a special place in my heart because I have grown up near the falls, visiting it when I went to my grandparents' house and now I have lived a couple blocks away from it for the past few years in my grandparents' old house. In addition I now work for the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District, whose focus is to improve and protect the water resource that flows down to this spot and into the Mississippi, connecting us to the rest of the world as it flows into the Gulf of Mexico.
Brian Nerbonne:
The photo was taken from behind Minnehaha Falls, looking downstream. The photo is unusual because the creek typically does not flow in the winter because the outlet at Lake Minnetonka is closed. Our family enjoys biking to Minnehaha Park in summer when we can buy some ice cream, look at the falls, and let the kids splash in the creek further downstream.
Eric Otterness:
This is Minnehaha Falls in the winter. The photographer has climbed up behind the falls, which in winter is an icefall not a waterfall. There are many dramatic icefalls in the river gorge in the winter. This year is a good one for that.
Joe Mulcahy, Jonathan Riehle and Dan Ray also correctly identified the January image!
About Whose view? From where?
Each month in this section, we feature a photo somewhere along the river corridor in the Twin Cities that is in some way significant or important or just plain scenic. Individuals may then e-mail us and identify the view and explain why they believe it is significant to the community or important to them personally. Well publish some of your responses in the next issue of Mississippi Messages, where we will also reveal the correct answer.
To submit your guess and response, e-mail Bob Spaulding, River Advocate, through our contact form. The respondent to provide the first correct identification of the view and hopefully some interesting thoughts about its significance will receive a valuable prize for their effort. All entries must be received by the first day of the following month for consideration.