Escapees March-April 2023

skp stops

Seasons displays three circle gardens: Woodlands Circle, Wheel of Color and Tapestry of Green. The effect is gorgeous. Other features include a playground, pond, fi shing pier, dog park, walking trails and biking trails. Back across the bridge, I continue to explore the sculpture gardens with its new art pieces. If you want to see some of the former artworks, they are now on display at Gold Medal Park. Minnehaha Park As a child, my favorite park was Minnehaha. I remember arriving and running to the overlook to watch the rushing waters tumble 53-feet and continue on to the Mississippi River. Minnehaha Creek extends from Lake Minnetonka and fl ows east for 22 miles through several suburbs and continuing through South Minneapolis. The falls are less than a mile from the river. I used to walk the trail with my father to get to a close-up view. The word Minnehaha comes from the Dakota language and means waterfall. It was established as a state park, in 1889, having more than 160 acres. Although he never visited the park, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow helped spread the waterfall’s fame when he

After wandering through part of the sculpture garden, I walk across the Irene Hixon Whitney Bridge, named for a lifelong arts patron. It spans 17 lanes of a busy street and interstate highway to connect the sculpture garden with Loring Park. The bridge, designed by Minneapolis-based artist, Siah Armajani, is artwork along with a functional bridge. Lorring Park, named to honor Charles Loring, known since the 1880s as the “Father of Minneapolis Parks,” has many features. For example, the Garden of the

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March/April 2023 ESCAPEES Magazine