Stanton Airfield

Last week, during a motorcycle ride near Stockholm Wisconsin,  I met Jim, a fellow motorcycling gentleman, at one of the waysides along the shores of Lake Pepin.  During our pleasant 30 minute chat, he told me about the Stanton Airfield in Goodhue County where he had volunteered and taught flying lessons for many years.  It sounded like a very interesting place, so I made a note to visit during a future ride. Saturday, I made the visit, meeting several very friendly and informative people who made the visit to this historic airfield well worth the ride.

Stanton Airfield is located on 158 acres near the intersection of MN highways 56 and 19 just west of Cannon Falls.  It has two runways made entirely of turf and has been in operation since 1942 when it was used to train pilots for WWII.  Since then, it has served many roles, including flight instruction, skydiving, crop dusting, and even a golf driving range along the taxiway.  Nowadays, it is used as a base for a few Civil Air Patrol planes as well as home for the Minnesota Soaring Club, a group of people who fly gliders.  You can find small aircraft flight instruction here, and take glider rides.

Inside the main building, there is a small museum which shows a neat collection of memorabilia and information about the airfield and it's history.

Old flight log books

Here is a 1977 Piper PA-18-150 (AKA "Super Cub") owned by the Minnesota Soaring Club.  Today it was piloted by Nick, who towed several gliders into the sky.  Nick is also a motorcycle enthusiast who owns (and rides) quite a large collection of old British motorcycles.  I envy Nick for his being able to experience the thrill and freedom one must get from flying! (And his collection of bikes too!)

The cockpit of the Super Cub.  There really isn't much room in these things, and really no creature comforts. 

My tour guide for the afternoon, Ron, and the primary owner of the air field, Marilyn, who enlisted me to help them push a single-seat "Junior" glider off of the field and into a hangar due to there being so much wind today. These things are very light, around 500 pounds, so they're very easy to push around, by both people and the wind.

After I helped Ron and Marilyn push this Junior glider into the hangar, my reward was to be able to sit inside of the cramped cockpit.  I could only imagine the feeling one must get from soaring through the sky, almost silently, with a spectacular view through the canopy of the ground below and sky above.  There's a lot more to flying a glider than I would have guessed.  One must really know and understand things like how to read "thermals" (rising warm air that provides lift) and "sinks" (cooler air moving downward that causes the opposite of lift).  Without that knowledge, you could be in for a very short ride, or worse.

I found my visit to Stanton Airfield to be fascinating!  To Ron, Marilyn, and Nick, thank you so much for being so friendly to this unscheduled, drop-in visitor, and for providing such a great tour and information about your hobby! 

Thanks for viewing my photo blog!  

Spring Ride In Wisconsin

On April 23, 2019, I rode my motorcycle into western Wisconsin.  Wisconsin is close to where I live and, honestly, I ride there a lot.  There is a seemingly endless supply of great motorcycle roads to explore and, because they are close, I am able to ride them and still be home at a decent hour.  I ride solo fairly often, a lot actually.  It's not that I don't like to ride with others, because I do.  I enjoy the camaraderie when I travel with another person, but I'm also comfortable riding alone.  Riding solo, I don't have to worry that I'm exploring a road that might end up being a waste of my companion's time.  I am limited only by my own time constraints. "In solitude, I find my answers" Kristen Butler.

The photos in this photo blog include places I've seen or ridden by many times over the last 39 years or so.

Thanks for visiting my photo blog.  I hope you enjoy the photos.  Click on each photo separately to see a larger version of the photo on a separate page.

"Bob" poses quietly just south of Maiden Rock.

Located south of Maiden Rock, I'm not sure what this used to be.  It is very old, for sure.  

One of the supports for what used to be a soffit.  

I love old doorways because they humanize even a simple, small building like this one.  Doorways were made by us and for us to walk through.  Countless people walked through this old doorway way back when.  

An old refrigerator, long abandoned, lies on it's back alongside the structure.

This tiny building, whatever it was, had a cellar, once accessed from the back of the building.

The arched brick over the doorway marks it as such, a doorway.

Behind the building, a view into the "yard".

An old steel can from way back when.

Cows on the ridge, somewhere north of Pepin

A road less traveled

Small town cemetery

The sign, hidden behind the lone building in the cemetery, lists all the cemetery rules.  It apparently doesn't mention anything about dumping ceiling fans.

An old door, with old reinforcements, and an old lock (oddly on the outside of the door).

One of many examples of family gravesites showing very young deaths.  Even in this small cemetery, there were numerous examples of people dying in their 40's, 50's, and 60's, along with several in their early teens and earlier.

An artist, Matt, whom I met as he was painting this area of Pine Creek.  Matt is a plein air painter, meaning he takes his easel outdoors to paint his subjects and objects, using the lighting that's available to him.  As you can see, he is very good.  Matt has a small gallery of his art in Stockholm Wisconsin.  You (and I) should check it out!

Winter 2018

The first five photos were taken while on walks near where I live.  The remaining photos were taken near the Vermillion River in Hastings.

Graffiti under a bridge that spans the Vermillion River.

Numerous locks attached to the walking path bridge over the Vermillion River.

Having lost more than a few friends and loved ones to suicide, I couldn't help but wonder if this lock had been left here by someone who lost a loved one who jumped from this bridge.

Thanks for visiting my photo blog!