ScooterBob - Red Wing, Minnesota

When I first learned that SB might make the trip to Minnesota, there were a few absolutely essential places that I would make sure to visit and photograph.  Truthfully, those handful of things were about the only ones I could come up with  as 'these will happen' until the reality of the scooter actually arriving came to be.  Never sure if the wooden scooter would be here during riding season or our other season, my plans were to remain flexible, focusing on Red Wing proper as an absolute bare minimum.  Hoping to get a chance to "ride the region", but not really counting on getting that lucky, things nearby, the same things I'd have shared with Bob had he stopped for an afternoon or quick evening were my main focus.

Water.....

Bob's riding adventures were always fun and so very easy for me to relate to.  At the same time, his exploits and discoveries often weren't that far off from mine.  Of all the Posting that Bob did, the ones consistently my favorites were the ones along the Vancouver waterfront.  His walking along the docks, the photographs he took and the life in those places, human and otherwise really struck a chord with me.  Everyone of those little trips brought the sounds and aromas of the Pacific all of the long way back to the Midwest.

Having been born within shouting distance of the Mississippi River, our big water has always had a deep connection with me.  Even though I've spent precious little time on this river, being near and in the vicinity of has always brought comfort, whether it's here on the upper river or further downstream.  Red Wing's connection to the river has been and essential kinship from its earliest days and so, sharing a part of this river with Bob to the extent that I could was something I was very much looking forward to.

Red Wing's area famous Floating Boat Houses......

I came to appreciate Bob's sense of exploration, something I thought he and I shared.  Seeing the inscription on this plaque reinforced that and just seemed like the right spot for SB to pause for a bit in the quiet river park.

Baypoint Park's "The Boy" statue.....
"What kind of man would live where there is no daring?  I don't believe in taking chances but nothing can be accomplished without taking any chances at all.  Charles Lindbergh

Red Wing's waterfront, Barn Bluff in the distance.  The Mississippi running very high for mid-summer due to the region's recent heavy rains.

Kid's Fishing Day.......

They don't do Crocs but they do specialize in footwear and have been for 111 years.....

 

Up to Memorial Park (Karen was there when in town), this plaque explains our limestone bluffs and glacier-eroded valleys.

Barn Bluff off SB's tail, the main channel of the river immediately beyond.

In the Lower Quarry section of Memorial Park, signs commemorating the limestone mining industry.....

This flat section of the park (very little flat around here) is the floor of the quarry, rock removed, shear walls all around.

Another sign mentioning this valley's continental flyway....

There, a taste of Red Wing and a few of the local things I was anxious to share with our friend Bob Scoot.