A sunny day in Minneapolis

Remember last week, when we had that gloriously warm and sunny day, before the cold and wind and rain and sleet and even--gasp--snow returned? I spent that day exploring various places in the Twin Cities, armed with my trusty camera.

FYI, at the moment I'm wrapping up work on an iPhone app called Twin Cities Essentials. I put out a query via Twitter and Facebook, asking people what they thought should be included in an app like that. The overwhelming winner was this place:

Minnehaha Park and Falls. 

That's an understandable response. A nearly 200-acre natural oasis in Minneapolis, Minnehaha has it all: trails, off-leash dog park, huge picnic areas (some of which are reservable):

Live music during the summer, historic sites, numerous picturesque stops, and, of course, the waterfall.

You can explore the Park by foot, as I did, or you can rent some wheels.

Wheel Fun Rentals provides a notable variety of wheel options. They're open daily Memorial Day-Labor Day; Sat-Sun in May, Sept (after Labor Day) and Oct.

You won't necessarily want to take a bike here.

Nor will you want to take these stairs, especially up, right after eating a hefty lunch. I'm not going to go into details on why I know that. Perhaps by Friday I'll tell you.

But after you've seen the falls, you can wander off to find the popular event site of the park:

This long pergola makes a beautiful backdrop, along with the flowers planted all around, for weddings.

The park has some history as well.

The John H. Stevens House was built in 1849 and was the first wood frame home west of the Mississippi. It's the gathering spot where community leaders came up with the city's name, and where the governmental structure for Hennepin County was created. Guided tours are offered on Sundays and holidays during the summer.

The Longfellow House, built in 1906 as a 2/3 replica of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's home in MA. Currently it's used by the Minneapolis Park Board as an interpretive and information center.

Given that the forecast for today looks a bit gloomy, I hope you enjoyed this mini-tour of Minnehaha Park, and I hope that the weather improves quickly so y'all can go there and enjoy it yourself. So--besides Minnehaha, what should be on my Twin Cities Essentials iPhone app?

Comments

[Sue]

Centennial Lake Park in Edina.