Plymouth: South Shore Drive Bridge Replacement

Comment: We cross this rustic bridge to and from church. It will be rustic no more


South Shore Drive Bridge Replacement

Excerpt:

The South Shore Drive project is located from 10th Avenue to the City of Medicine Lake and from the City of Medicine Lake to the cul-de-sac, and 13th Avenue from South Shore Drive to Nathan Lane.

The improvements will include a full depth mill and overlay for this project. A full depth mill and overlay will remove the entire bituminous surface, between 4-6 inches in the area, to the existing gravel section that is between 17 to 37 inches deep. It is proposed to install and grade approximately two inches of recycled aggregate material to direct storm water runoff off of the new street and to bring the new street to the proper elevations. Finally, it is proposed to install four inches of bituminous on the aggregate material. In most cases the street widths will be installed to match the existing widths, which are generally 22 to 25 feet wide, with some areas between 33 and 40 feet wide.

Map - Street view

Custom Ice House stolen

Custom-Made Ice House Stolen Off Medicine Lake

Excerpt:

Tyler Vandal and his father, Mike, were ready to go ice fishing this week. They had all their gear and they had a very special ice house to go to.

But they ran into one big problem -- someone else thought their ice house was cool and stole it right off the ice.

...

It wasn't just any ice house. Tyler and his dad bought the navy-colored shell and spent about $12,000 customizing the inside of it. They put in basswood and black walnut, along with bunks to sleep three people and a heater for the space.

"It was a good project for him and I to get into, and we put a lot of work into it," said Mike. "And it took a while. I probably had about a dozen hours in the wood-burning I did on this side."

Inside the house, there were drawings of fish and other things burned into the wood. All the work took three months.

Comment: Local news near my house

Skater goes through ice on Medicine Lake

Skater falls through ice of Medicine Lake

Excerpt:

A skater who fell through thin ice was pulled from Medicine Lake in Plymouth Sunday and rushed to North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale.

The man was found in the water about 3 p.m. after another skater spotted a hat floating in the water and called police at 1:50 p.m., the Hennepin County Sheriff's Water Patrol reported.

When pulled from the water, the man had no pulse and was not responsive to resuscitation attempts, but authorities offered no more information about his condition Sunday evening.

Water Patrol personnel found him about 600 yards from shore, said Sgt. Chris Mathisen of the Sheriff's Department.

The man was wearing ice skates and had a camera around his neck, Mathisen said.

The victim, who authorities believe was visiting from out of town, has not been identified pending notification of relatives.

The area where he was skating, near French Regional Park off Rockford Road, had been open water on Saturday and froze overnight, Mathisen said.

Comment: We saw the news trucks there this afternoon. This is the same area of the lake where 2 trucks went through in February 2007. Trucks through thin ice

More fun on the ice

Rachel and I drove out on Medicine Lake late this afternoon. Pics:

Maryanne, the artist

We had a great time out on the ice. We drove at about 35 mph straight N and exited at Clifford French park.

Ice Shanties slide show

Medicine Lake Ice Shanties: Community on ice


Comment: Audio slide show from the Star Tribune. Tomorrow will be a good day to check this out! See last week's posting.

Another slide show from the Minnesota Post

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Saturday plans:

1. Our garage opener finally died. We had hoped it would make it to Spring, but today it conked out. Tomorrow, very early (between 7 and 9 am - no sleeping in tomorrow!), Superior Garage Door will be here to replace it. (It's been acting up for a year (January 19th, 2007). I am having a half horsepower Liftmaster w. battery backup installed.
   
2. My nice recliner is going in to Yankee Furniture Restoration for repairs. Roger loaded it in the truck last night and we just need to drive it down to Plymouth (Hwy 55) and drop it off.
   
3. Blood donation at noon.
   
4. Study for the Singles Bible Study at the library (Ephesians 1:3-14).
   
5. I hope to see Rachel before dinner while it is still light. I want to drive her down to see the Ice Shanties.
   
6. Rachel is coming for dinner.
   

Medicine Lake Art Ice House Shanties

How thick is the ice?

I called Harties to check. He informed me that the ice is 16"-20" thick with no dangerous areas on the lake.

Comment: Dan S and I connected this morning to review the Metro Womens Center website. Then we took a drive down to Medicine Lake to check out the Art Shanty project. The temperature was -10!

The ones I liked:

1. The "office scene". We enlisted a bystander to sit in the office. He in turn took our picture.
   
2. The "refrigerator" house. The walls are festooned with refrigerator doors. It's like "the viewer is inside the refrigerator ... the inside of the house is the the outside of the refrigerator".
   
3. The yellow house is the "ice taxi stand". The artist is "Kate". The taxi stand has decorated ice taxis to take patrons on a tour of the lake.
   

I'm about ready to leave to take Kathee down to view. It's worth the trip! See yesterday's post for details!

Update: We just returned ... but I did not have my camera with me:

Kathee calls this one the "Party Shanty". It was off the trailer and in motion. It is powered by pedal-power.

The spaceship is still under construction but advanced beyond the time of this photo. The middle section swings (not sure why!) and the dome is now completed.

Art shanties back on Medicine Lake

Art shanties turn arctic temps into an art form

Excerpt:

Out on Medicine Lake in Plymouth, it doesn't matter if you're dancing, quivering or using your own exhalations to save your nose. Frozen tears and snot turn everyone out here into a cousin of Yukon Cornelius, that dude from "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" who carried his ax and a peppermint preoccupation all the way to Antarctica.

Comment: More: www.artshantyprojects.org. They say the ice is as thick as it has been in three years. Access at Harty Boat Ramp.


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Harty's Boats & Bait
(763) 546-6711
1920 Medicine Lake Blvd E Plymouth, MN 55441-4235

I hope to take some photos tomorrow