A not-quite-knitting-related post

Posted by Emily

I had a fantastic day for a change. It could have started out poorly. Traffic was backed up earlier than usual but I still got to work early. Upon arriving, I checked my phone and discovered a message from my boss. She called me last night to tell me I had the day off because there weren't any tour riders scheduled. Luckily, my boss happened to be at the store, so I chatted with her a bit and got a free pass to the Mill City Museum, my parking validated, and instructions to make a list of books that we could use at the store.

The museum didn't open until 10am, so I had about an hour and a half to kill. I decided to go check out the Power Park and the Father Hennepin Park along St. Anthony Main, then walk across the Stone Arch Bridge. I figured that would kill plenty of time and I'd get to read some of the informational signs they have peppered throughout the parks.

The Power Park was nothing too exciting. It was kind of cool to get a first-hand idea of where the dams and mill ponds were and learn how hydroelectric turbines work, but it wasn't overly impressive. I did scare a blue heron that was trying to rest out in the middle of the park. My bad.

Father Hennepin Park was hands-down the coolest park I've ever seen in the metro area. It was like a tiny little nature reserve smack in the middle of the city. Once you were down at river level, you had no sense of the city around you. I saw a bunch of ducks, a bunch of geese, numerous small song birds, a couple heron (including one catching and eating a fish), and a muskrat swimming around the backwater. All the trees were blooming and leafing out, so the greens were stunning and it smelled great on account of it not being too warm and just breezy enough to keep the stench of the river from hanging in the air. Hard to believe that such an area exists right in the middle of Minnesota's largest downtown, tucked up against skyscrapers, heavily traveled pedestrian paths, train tracks, and highways.

The Mill City Museum was excellent as well! Such a clever little museum nestled inside the shell of one of the largest flour mills in Minneapolis. The single exhibit floor was dotted with creative little exhibits, all colorful, informative, and interactive. The two lab spaces were populated by school groups having fun. I really have to go play in the Water Lab at some point, which features several small flumes with running water to illustrate how mills utilized water to power their machinery. The highlight of the museum was a truly clever little moving exhibit made out of a freight elevator. It moved up and down through 8 floors of the mill and was narrated by folks that had worked there, explaining the milling process and the conditions in which they worked.

The museum also features a short film entitled "Minneapolis in 19 Minutes Flat." Written and performed by local actor/humorist Kevin Kling, it quite literally takes the audience through the history of Minneapolis in 19.5 minutes (with credits). It's funny and informative, featuring photographs and other media to give you a first-hand understanding of the changes along the river.

I made my little list of books for my boss and bought a couple as well (can't resist), and then drove back home. For what could have been a pretty awful day, it ended up being awesome! To top it off, I get to go to knitting tonight as well.