Check out a few river shots from this past weekend.
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Google biking. Very rad.

In a Feb. 18 post the maps for the proposed Cross City Trail — which will connect the Munger Trail to the Lakewalk — were laid out, with photos showing the various route options for the westernmost section shown in the comments. A Feb. 28 post showed a photo tour of the middle section of the proposed trail.

In this post, the route options for connecting Clyde Park to the Duluth Lakewalk are shown. Here are the maps to follow along with:

29th Avenue West to 18th Avenue West
18th Avenue West to Mesaba Avenue
Mesaba Avenue to the Lakewalk

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The ski hill at Chester Bowl is scheduled to stay open through this weekend, but it looks like Mother Nature may not be patient and cooperative. Already this weekend, the creek started flooding the bottom of the hill. So if you’re interested in taking or watching a waterskiing run at the Bowl, today might be your day. The lift is open from 4:30 – 8:30 tonight (Monday 3/8). The next scheduled day the lift is open will be Thursday, but that’s a long way away. Lift tickets are $5 at the concession stand. While you’re there, pick up a nifty Chester Bowl Hoodie or long-sleeve T-shirt at the concession stand.

Full Circle: Hike Around the Greatest Lake
Presented By: Mike Link and Kate Crowley
Thursday, March 11, 5:30-6:30 p.m.
Great Lakes Aquarium Lobby
Free

Full Circle Superior is not just the first shoreline circumnavigation of Lake Superior by foot in recorded history – it is an incredible international bridge that brings together people, ideas and issues from areas as diverse as science, community, economy, education and the environment intricately into a web interlacing around and in the midst of this great lake. Join us as Mike Link, executive director of Audubon Center of the North Woods and Full Circle Superior hiker, describes the planning, preparation, and goals of this historic hike.

For more information call Sara Kubarek at 218-740-2013.

This YouTube video has gotten a decent amount of traffic recently. Check out the icy hills of Duluth from the saddle of a fixed-gear bicycle.

Designed: Chelsey L

Earth Hour will be coming back to the Duluth area this March! From 8:30p.m.- 9:30p.m. on March 27 the World Wildlife Fund asks individuals and businesses to turn off their lights for the hour. Nearly one billion people from 87 countries participated in Earth Hour last year! (more…)

Maybe this isn’t really a local enough topic for PDD, but given the earlier post on whether we’re vulnerable here to earthquakes, a Yahoo news story today seems interesting and relevant. The Chile quake apparently may have shifted earth’s axis, and made earth days slightly shorter. And this has happened before with big quakes, too.

Reminds me, too, of a Harper’s article from 2000 about dam building. There’s a quotation in that article that says: “The planet accommodates 40,000 large dams–dams more than four stories high–and some 800,000 small ones. They have shifted so much weight that geophysicists believe they have slightly altered the speed of the earth’s rotation, the tilt of its axis, and the shape of its gravitational field. Together they blot out a terrain bigger than California.”

So, any thoughts–think we’re headed towards shorter Perfect Duluth Days due to earthquakes and dam building?

In a Feb. 18 post the maps for the proposed Cross City Trail — which will connect the Munger Trail to the Lakewalk — were laid out. In the comments I included photos of the various route options for the westernmost section.

The middle section of the trail — from Ramsey Street to Clyde Park — has only one option, so there’s not a lot to seek feedback on, but I thought I’d shoot some photos anyway.

This bridge is actually NOT part of the proposed trail; I just like that a tree is growing through it.

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So, we were at Park Point on Sunday. It was pretty far away and after a 45 minute walk on the sand we finally realized what it was. Can you tell?
(picture by Michael Kehn)

Click for more detail.

All Photos are all Rights Reserved!
Click for more… (more…)

Check out 21 photos from Gooseberry Falls State Park and the north shore of Lake Superior in this slide show by MPR photographer Nate Minor.

The links below are to PDF files of maps showing proposed routes for the Cross City Trail, connecting the Willard Munger State Trail with the Duluth Lakewalk.

Page 1 – 75th Avenue West to 66th Avenue West area
Page 2 – 66th Avenue West to Central Avenue area
Page 3 – Central Avenue to Ramsey Street area
Page 4 – Ramsey Street to 40th Avenue West area
Page 5 – 40th Avenue West to 29th Avenue West area
Page 6 – 29th Avenue West to 18th Avenue West area
Page 7 – 18th Avenue West to Mesaba Avenue area
Page 8 – Mesaba Avenue to the Lakewalk area

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OK, so nobody’s going off Big Chester, but there will be a basics of ski jumping demonstration Sunday at Chester Bowl.

I believe anybody can try – registration at 11:30, bring your own alpine skis and helmet. Jumping from 12:30 – 2:30

The local Duluth Area Family YMCA is in the running for a grant offered by Pepsi in their “Pepsi Refresh Project” (Learn more here) to build a high ropes course at Camp Miller. They are current ranked #2 and need your help by voting for them.  It is easy, click, signup and vote. Vote now here — >: http://www.refresheverything.com/YMCACampMiller

You know you’ve always wanted to see somebody go off those jumps at Chester Bowl, now you can.
Just in time for the Olympics, learn about Duluth’s world-class ski jumping history, and support both Chester Bowl and WDSE public television at the same time. Come take in a movie and hear some stories from Chester’s ski jumping legends. Kid-friendly early and late showings, conveniently overlapping the Paul Lundgren Happy Hour right upstairs.

The Ski Flyers: a Jumping Tradition, including additional archival footage of ski jumpers
Wed Feb 10, 5:30 and 7:00 pm Zinema2
Tickets: $3 for 5:30 show, $5 for 7:00 show. Seating is limited; advance tickets and more info are available at this link. Remaining tickets will be available at the door.

Don’t forget to watch one of the Northland’s most amazing tributes to our cultural heritage (in my opinion, at least): The John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon!

The “Meet the Mushers” event starts at noon, the race starts at 1:00. It is really a majestic sight. If you’ve never seen a sled dog race, I’d put it at the top of your to-do list for tomorrow!

Lake Park Soccer Complex
Race Start: 1 p.m.
Jean Duluth Road & Riley Road
Duluth, MN

www.beargrease.com

Today my boyfriend and I had our own sled dog adventure on the Munger Trail! Makes the winter more tolerable, that’s for sure.

Not that my photo (from Tuesday) is special at all, but the moon has been kind of impressive this week, hasn’t it? Must be how clear the skies have been. Full moon action is tomorrow. Get your werewolf on.

Watch CBS News Videos Online

CBS News’ Bill Geist travels to Embarrass, Minnesota.

Last winter I must have went jogging on the Munger Trail 70 times and never once saw anyone skijoring.

Today I went jogging on the Munger Trail for the first time this winter and saw two different people skijoring.

Was it a coincidence that I saw two today and none before, or does it mean something — like the activity is growing in popularity or maybe there’s an event people are preparing for?

Spring-55 degrees
Summer-77 degrees
Fall-68 degrees
Winter-18 degrees

Wookiefoot – Trampled by Turtles
Heatbox – God Johnson – The Histronic
Pert Near Sandstone – The Limns – Jon Wayne

I have went up to the Snowball Fest for the past 3 years.  It is a great time.  Snowboard during the day and jam at night!

More info: Snowball 2010 | Wookiefoot | Lutsen Snowball info

Thought I’d check here to see if anyone has any suggestions.

I’m looking to replace my ‘ol generic JCP winter coat with a “high quality” brand.  Had been looking at Canada Goose but I’d like to stay away from down filled coats because of the cleaning issue.  Anyone got anything they’ve found that really does the job with warmth along with a water repellant and/or water proof exterior?  I realize warmth is relative but shoot some suggestions.  Thanks.

Today’s report is from Lincoln Park. It was well packed down yesterday, and frozen rock-hard today. So, the speed on the way down is totally out of control, and the ride is full of solid bumps that threaten to permanently damage one’s sphincter ani externus muscle.

At the bottom of the hill is a giant slush pond. If you abort your mission and jump out of the sled, you increase the odds of experiencing the aforementioned injury. If you stay in your sled, get ready to be wet.

All in all, it’s still fun. And nine times out of ten, when kids crash into a tree and say, “I can’t feel my legs,” they’re just trying to get attention.

Parked (?) train blocks view of Lake Superior from http://duluthdailyphoto.vox.com/

I thought this was intended as a temporary winter seawall.

But Duluth Daily photo (above) and later the Duluth News Tribune had some good coverage of this that straightened me out, apparently these coal cars are just being stored on those tracks, even though they do sit in a storm prone spot. Now, DNT’s Brandon Stahl writes that the train will be moved to Leif Ericson Park. (more…)

Can anyone recommend a good spot to take the kids?

I just drove from the West End to the East Hillside. Here’s what I observed/experienced:

• Visibility is very poor. This has improved quite a bit since I first set out, since the sun has come up. Mainly your enemies today are wind and blowing snow.
• I-35 is quite clear, but slow going. I had to completely stop twice. I think the top speed was about 45, though it might have reached 50 for a moment.
• Mesaba is a traffic jam. No surprise.
• Second Street has a lot of snow on it. Also people are having difficulty finding their lane. There are three lanes on Second Street, and even in the best conditions it is wise to choose one. Thankfully, no one is doing that thing where you blow through the lights just as they change green. That would be stupid on a day like today.
• Fourth Street is worse than Second Street.
• The avenues are slippery and difficult to negotiate. As you’re spinning your wheels up them or sliding down them sideways, please take a moment to realize that this is why your house with an incredible view is affordable.
• No matter how bad it gets, there’s always someone who is in a big effing hurry and thinks that tailgating will help. You will encounter that person today. Please try not to be that person today.

Please post your experiences and the road conditions for your part of the region in the comments. If you are somewhere that’s warm and doesn’t get snow, and feel the need to point that out in the comments, please realize that the rest of us are rolling our eyes and making the “jerk-off” gesture with our dominant hands