I Love Minnesota
Chuck ♥ Minnesota
Minnesota is my home state. It’s the land of mythical Lake Wobegon, “Where all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average.” I miss it.
Growing up in Minnesota meant embracing winter. Our parents expected us to play outside on the weekends, regardless of how cold it was. We’d head to the sled hills, skating rink, hockey rink (every park had one), and friends’ houses to build snow forts and have endless snowball fights.
It meant Boy Scout campouts in January at -20 degrees. And there was the day spent cross country skiing at a wind chill temperature of nearly -100 degrees.
The only “Snowflakes” in Minnesota fell from the sky! School was only cancelled once from kindergarten through the end of medical school.
And it meant being ingenious. Back in the day, automobiles had carburetors, not fuel injection systems. Getting your car started in the bitter cold was an art. I used to take the battery out of my car and keep it in my warm apartment so it would produce enough juice to turn over the engine.
My Minnesota cars all had electrical plugs sticking out of the grill. Electric tank heaters really helped the car to start. As did putting a hot Weber Grill under the engine at night.
Grand Marais Adventures
Fellow photographers Scott Fuller and Jon Christofersen weren’t deterred by the weather during our recent trip to Grand Marais, Minnesota, just south of the Canadian border.
It was a “brisk” morning, but we were prepared with good boots and layers of clothing.
The Shot
We were at the Tombolo, the site of last week’s Friday Photo. Jon noticed it first, and then Scott and I were drawn to the heart-shaped ice feature along the shore.
After trying a horizontal composition, I flipped my camera 90 degrees and fired off this vertical shot. It seemed to sum up my love for Minnesota and the winters during my younger years.
Thanks for looking,
Chuck Derus