Colin J. Anderson

USA Day 6: Minnesota: Land of 10,000 Lakes

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USA 2016 part 9: Wednesday 16th November

The state of Minnesota is known by various nick-names: the Gopher State and the North Star State, and my favourite – The Land of 10,000 Lakes – which sounds like it could be a remote part of Middle Earth, perhaps little known even to Tolkien. And I can testify to the lakes: there are a lot of them and they are all of different shapes and sizes, from small-ish to bloody enormous.

I have always wanted to live by the sea but I have never been lucky enough (wealthy enough?) to achieve that particular aim in life. But I am at least within a few miles of the sea in south Devon. On the face of it therefore, it would seem obvious that Minnesota is not a state I would choose to live. For one thing it is cold and, whilst I like to see the snow now and again, I do not want to be buried in it for five months of the year. For another it is thousands of miles from the sea.

BUT, with this many lakes in close proximity and with so many of them being so vast, I am not at all sure I would miss the sea. In fact, water frontage is so plentiful it might actually be easier – and less expensive – to have a home at the waters edge here than in, say, California.

Anyway, no sooner than I had arrived at the Twin Cities airport – Minneapolis & St.Paul – and on my way to my home for a few days than I was taken out for a walk in the local area. These are pleasant suburbs. The lake in the map above is where I took a few snaps looking north towards the city centre; I hope the photos give an impression of the size of this particular lake within the city itself.

I enjoyed my walk, which felt like a walk in the country rather than the suburbs. Incidentally, I found my dream home right next to Lake Harriet; a modern European-style home in one of the photographs below. What a change of scenery: New York breakfast and Minnesota dinner! And there was a fantastic sunset, which set me up well for the early Thanksgiving dinner my hosts treated me to. Most enjoyable.

Click on an image to view full-screen and at correct aspect ratio. Images are reduced in size and quality. Taken on Sony A6 with 15-35mm Zeiss/Sony lens. Contact me if you would like copies of originals.