Rivers, Lakes and Waterfalls

For a place being covered with snow six months of a year, Twin Cities have the most green space I have seen in the united states.

In the last few days we have been to more lakes and parks than I would have been in a year during my college days.

Here's are two we really enjoyed:

Como Lake:
"Como Lake is a 68-acre (280,000 m²) lake up to 15.5 feet (4.7 m) deep in St. Paul, Minnesota.^[1] It, along with the neighboring Como Park, has been a recreation area for residents of the Twin Cities for more than a century. It was named in 1848 by local farmer Charles Perry. A pavilion sits on the west side of the lake, and plays host to theatrical performances and concerts during the warmer months. The park features a variety of attractions, including the Como Park Zoo and Conservatory, and is heavily used whenever good weatherbeckons people to go outside."





While we were there the neighborhood kids were performing Wizard of Oz in the beautiful pavillion, we could hear it loud and clear while we walked the 1.6 mile trail around it. 




Minehaha Falls:
"Minnehaha Creek is a tributary of the Mississippi River located in Hennepin County, Minnesota that extends from Lake Minnetonka in the west and flows east for 22 miles (35 km) through several suburbs west of Minneapolis and then through south Minneapolis. Including Lake Minnetonka, the watershed for the creek covers 181 square miles (469 km²). The creek might have been unremarkable except for the 53 foot (16 m) Minnehaha Falls located near the creek's confluence with the Mississippi. The site is not far from Fort Snelling, one of the earliest white settlements in the region.

While the name is often translated as "Laughing Water", the correct translation is "curling water" or "waterfall". The name comes from theDakota language elements mni, meaning water, and ȟaȟa, meaning waterfall.^[1][2] Thus the expression "Minnehaha Falls" translates as "Waterfall Falls". The "Laughing Water" translation comes from Mary Eastman's book Dacotah, published in 1849. On the Fort map of 1823, the falls were named Brown's Falls. The Dakota called Minnehaha Creek, "Wakpa Cistinna", meaning "Little River".^[2]"

^{The park is quite beautiful and we went around it a few times in our Single Surrey, made it for an interesting experience. It wasn't easy to maneuver or ride, it was a bit of a workout going up the slopes.  We passed by the Old Railway Depot, Veterans Home and John Steven's house.} 

Since the park is close to Bloomington we had lunch at Ikea and then walked around Mall of America which  was packed as usual. No matter what the economy, having no sales tax makes this mall extremely attractive to locals and out of towners.