2024-11-20 43 -92

When does nature become unnatural?

Wed 20 Nov 2024 in Austin: 43.8422263, -92.8694804 geohashing.info google osm bing/os kml crox

Location

Near the "Capitol Highway" north of Waltham, MN.

Participants

Kyrkazakh (talk)

Plans

Kyrkazakh (talk): Grab on my way back to the Cities today.

Expedition

On the traditional land of the Wahpeton band of the Dakota people (Očhéthi Šakówiŋ). A typical ditch hash expedition, made more distinct by the relatively sudden onset of winter weather today in Minnesota. We had some light snow on Halloween but since then it's been nothing 'til today. Big wet flakes coming down, and as you get out to the ex-prairies and farmlands the wind whips the snow across the roads, the fields, and (if you're outside) your face. I approached from the north via MN56, which I believe was actually the first highway in Minnesota to have an official honorary name: the "Capitol Highway", so called because its route runs from St. Paul to Minnesota's border with Iowa. These days that highway has been rendered almost entirely obsolete by I-35, and so the Capitol Highway today is almost entirely unmarked, both on-site and online.

Anyways, today I saw (in my opinion) a pretty representative sample of the changing economies of rural Minnesota. Wind and solar energy are becoming big business here, and turbines loom within eyesight of almost any field in the region, including from the hash site. Google Maps routed me on a 'road' that proved to be 'basically the two-way driveway of someone's house' but fortunately no one emerged from the home. I pulled the car over nearby (once again on a public road, I should clarify), hopped out, snapped photos and obtained proof, and dipped right back inside my car. With wind chill it was 17 degrees F, roughly -8 C. My journey continued west and then north as I returned to the Cities. Not bad for a below-freezing expedition that was the first successful one this graticule has seen in over a decade.

As a parting word, here's "Driving to Town Late to Mail a Letter" by Minnesotan poet Robert Bly:

It is a cold and snowy night. The main street is deserted.

The only things moving are swirls of snow.

As I lift the mailbox door, I feel its cold iron.

There is a privacy I love in this snowy night.

Driving around, I will waste more time.

Photos

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  I love this photo. Such a specific vibe.

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  It was snowing / And it was going to snow.

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  Roadkill seen during the approach.

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  Proof of location...

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  ...and proof of weather.

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  Can you tell it was windy?

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  View to the north from site.

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  View to the west from site.

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  View to the southeast from site.

Achievements

Kyrkazakh earned the Frozen Geohash Achievement by reaching the (43, -92) geohash on 2024-11-20 while the temperature was -2°C.

Kyrkazakh earned the 2-in-a-row achievement by achieving a connection of 2 graticules in a row (44,-93 to 43,-92) after reaching the (43, -92) geohash on 2024-11-20.

Kyrkazakh achieved level 4 of the Minesweeper Geohash achievement by visiting coordinates in Minneapolis SW, Minnesota and 4 of the surrounding graticules.

Kyrkazakh achieved level 3 of the Minesweeper Geohash achievement by visiting coordinates in St. Paul SE, Minnesota and 3 of the surrounding graticules.

Kyrkazakh achieved level 2 of the Minesweeper Geohash achievement by visiting coordinates in Austin, Minnesota and 2 of the surrounding graticules.