Re: Luggers from Minnesota

["Glen M. Robinson"<gmrobinson@imation.com>]

     You asked about Minnesota.  I live in a rural area near Saint Paul,
Minnesota.  We are currently in the midst of a snowstorm that is predicted
to last into Friday night. Snowstorms during November are often heavy.  We
will likely have many inches of snow before this storm ends.  We have
likely seen the last of Mother Earth until spring.  The temperature is 28
degrees F now.

     The Twin Cities is a middle-class and prosperous area.  There is very
little crime, except in a few inner city areas.  Traffic levels are
moderate.  Freeways are convenient.  The two center cities, Minneapolis and
Saint Paul, are surrounded by rings of suburbs.  The two cities have
approximately 300,000 each, but the Twin Cities metropolitan area has about
2,000,000 residents.  The Twin Cities prides themselves on numerous
cultural activities, Minnesota Orchestra, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the
Guthrie Theater, many art galleries, etc.  The Minnesota Twins, Timber
Wolves, and Vikings are here along with many local college and university
sports teams.  My younger son plays on the defensive line on the University
of Minnesota ? Morris football team; I am their photographer.  Ice hockey
is the leading winter sport.

     There are many scenic regions in the Twin cities.  One of my favorite
spots is Mounds Park in Saint Paul that overlooks downtown and the
Mississippi River and the railroad tracks.  You will enjoy browsing in
Stillwater and walking by the lovely Saint Croix River.  Many beautiful
lakes are scattered through the cities.  Sailing is very popular.  I dearly
love bicycling around the lakes during the summer.  White Bear Lake, near
my house, has a resident pair of bald eagles.  They are also often seen
along the Mississippi River.  Canada geese are so numerous that they are
pests.  Deer are so common we see them almost daily.

     The rest of Minnesota, with the exception of some smaller urban areas
such as Duluth and Rochester, is rural.  Farming is the largest industry
here.  The northeast corner of Minnesota along Lake Superior is the
recreation Mecca for us canoeists and hikers.  This area rivals the Rockies
in beauty.  The world famous Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is
located there.  Minnesota has well over 10,000 natural lakes and most
provide excellent fishing.

     Minnesota winters are very cold!  Subzero temperatures are common.
Two years ago I measured ?42 degrees F at my house, but that is very
unusual.  I understand that temperatures below ?20 F occur about every two
years and below ?30F every five years and subzero temperatures are reached
about 25 days each year.  The old timers say it is not cold until it
reaches ?10F; after 28 years here I agree with their assessment.  Winter
bottoms out on the average on January 24 and then rapidly recovers.  The
Saint Paul Winter Carnival occurs during that time to celebrate the return
of summer!  During the carnival we neighbors have an annual cross-country
ski trip from our neighborhood in Grant to Marine-on-Saint Croix, nineteen
miles.   We keep active year round.

     You asked about how cold temperatures affect cameras.  I often take my
Leica M3 while cross-country skiing and have never had any problems with
it. I usually keep it in a backpack until I use it.  Skiing is best when
the temperature is around zero or colder.  Above that it is easy to
overheat from the strenuous physical activity. I used my Leica last winter
to photograph Comet Hale-Bopp on some bitterly cold nights and it worked
well.  However, I have frozen other cameras, i.e. my Retina IIc and Yashica
twin lens reflex.  I never take my battery operated Canon EOS IIe out in
the cold since it obvious that it will fail.  It dies after a few rolls
when photographing football games around the freezing point.  At that
point, it is back to ole reliable ? Leica M3.

     When photographing football games and other lengthy activities such as
ski races, on cold days, I commonly wear long underwear, wool pants, a
sweat shirt over my shirt, a light jacket, a heavy coat, and a large trench
coat to break the wind and a Russian fur hat that covers my head, ears, and
neck and insulated gloves.  I have learned the hard way not to go inside to
warm up until the event is over.  This makes the cold very hard to face
afterwards. I hope you have a good visit here.  My name is in the Saint
Paul telephone book; call me when you are here.

Glen M. Robinson