Notes and photos from places around the world that have villages, ruins, and good food. And $35 hotels... Also, wilderness 4x4 camping and backpacking.

Thursday, August 2, 2007

Dr. Bob at the Minneapolis Bridge Disaster


Dr. Bob was in the middle of Summer Macro Camp at the University of Minnesota, which straddles the Mississippi in Minneapolis. I was in my room when the bridge collapsed. Despite being only a few hundred feet away, I was unaware of the disaster until I went downstairs to meet my ride to dinner. All was chaos. It reminded me a lot of 9/11 in Washington DC, which I also saw up close. Emergency vehicles all over the place. Roads closed off. Rescue workers rushing to the scene.






The view of the bridge out my hotel window. In the foreground is an intact part of the Interstate. You can't see a downward sloping section. In the middle is the next upward sloping section, with some cars and trucks trapped on it. Many others slid down and either landed in the water or crashed onto the section below, including a bus full of kids (none killed).








A veiw from a vantage point near the hotel

The state was prepared!
Video teams on the deck right below my room.