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Earlier I wrote about an article I completed for Big River magazine about the invention of water skiing in Lake City. That is still scheduled for the January issue. I followed up on that with an article about the history of wing dams in the Mississippi River. These were rock and brush dams that were designed to funnel the water into the center of the river to make it deeper and help create a better channel for navigation. That article will be in a spring edition of Big River. More on this later.
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In January 2019, we launched a series in the RiverTown newspapers called 101 Things To Do In RiverTown. It was a look at all the interesting and fun activities and places that this region offers. This project was one of my focus assignments, and I spent many days driving around Minnesota and Wisconsin to talk with people and photograph their venues. We started by publishing one each week, alternating between the two states. All was well until COVID hit. Then, many of the locations were either closed or unsafe for us to recommend people to travel there, so we started publishing one every three or four weeks, using only the topics that were outdoors or otherwise safe to visit during the pandemic. Slowing down meant the project would take longer than its intended two-year cycle. In fact, it added on one year, as we published the final installment last Saturday. When I retired in March, I made sure that the articles and photos were in order. It's been interesting to be retired, yet still see my articles being published. With Stop Number 101, a cuckoo clock museum in Minneapolis in print, the project is finished. It was a great assignment for me, and I am happy that we were able to finish it in spite of the virus. Nice to see it completed.  Water skiing was born in Lake City, Minnesota, in 1922, when Ralph Samuelson strapped two boards, each eight feet long to his feet, and after many attempts, finally skimmed along the surface of Lake Pepin. This July will be the 100th anniversary of that event, so I wrote an article about his exploits. It has been accepted by Big River Magazine and is slated for their January 2022 issue.
I was saddened today to learn of the passing of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, the Hungarian-American psychologist who is the father of Flow theory. I heard him speak in 1996, and he influenced every class I taught for the next twenty years. I wrote several articles which included pieces of his work, and his theory formed a large part of the theoretical framework for my dissertation. He changed my teaching and the way I view life. He leaves behind a significant legacy.
We have long loved bicycling on the rails-to-trails projects in Montana, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. This one is a great ride out on the causeway into Lake Champlain just north of Burlington, Vermont. It is a great feeling to ride with the water on both sides of the path -- a classic trail.  Heading east for a visit to Vermont and the fall foliage. Along the way we stopped in the Cleveland area to visit both the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Really enjoyed both of them. I think you appreciate these buildings more with age. The contents bring back so many memories.  Pelican migration is in full force on the Mississippi River right now. There are hundreds of them all along the shore near Lake City.  I was working on an article about the public tours they give at U.S. Bank Stadium, the home of the Minnesota Vikings, so we got the chance to go along on a tour. What an impressive facility. The tour includes a visit to the suites, the locker room, and the field. Very glad we got the chance to see this.  The warm and calm days have been difficult for lawns, flowers, crops, and humans, but they have created excellent conditions for boating. We've been out many times on Lake Pepin and we are really enjoying it whether it is in the morning, afternoon, or evening. Here is a photo from a boat ride last Sunday evening.  We had heard that outdoor equipment was in high demand since the pandemic, and we learned a lesson about that. The rear rim on one of our bicycles went bad -- spokes breaking -- so we went in to get it replaced. Should have been a few minutes, but parts are so scarce now that it was over two months just to get a new rim sent to the bike shop. Nice to know more people are getting outside and enjoying activities, but I hope the supply chains get caught up soon.
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Photo by John Jancik
AuthorDr. Steve Gardiner is the author of seven books and over 1,000 articles. |