This section of the Mississippi River along downtown Minneapolis is full of detail and history.  But what I see when I look at this view are the lock and dam…. and the memory of the time I kayaked through them.  We paddled up to the lock where a thick white rope hangs near a sign that says “pull cord”.  You literally just pull the cord, which signals the lock master, and they guide you through the locks on your kayak.  There’s basically one key rule – don’t tie the rope to your kayak – because you don’t want to be hanging from the wall after millions of gallons of water go missing underneath you!