Twin Cities Collection

The Twin Cities of Minnesota bear significantly upon the past and present of the Upper Midwest and, most certainly, of America more broadly. Minneapolis is the larger and better known of the two; it's a very progressive city with outstanding arts, music, natural beauty, health care, and academics, along with a Fortune 500 presence that rivals cities twice its size (for real, though). St. Paul, the capital city, is remarkable in its own right; and it, along with the part of the region known as the "East Metro," was the one I gravitated toward.

By far the hardest part of living in the Twin Cities was the bone-chilling winter. First snow usually came in mid-to-late October; by December, the snow would stick, with constant accumulations that just turned into mounds of the stuff that would scarcely melt until the following April. Anything that did melt usually froze again overnight. It was just a different way of living from what I'd grown up with. But, aesthetically, it was really a beautiful area. These albums are meant to sample some of that beauty and the overall intrigue of Minneapolis-St. Paul.