Category Archives: Around Bismarck-Mandan

Capitol observation floor closed UFN

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If you’re one of those who, like me, enjoy the 18th floor of the North Dakota State Capitol, you’re going to have to find something to replace it for a while. The observation floor is closed until further notice, likely for a year.

I was surprised to see these signs a few weeks ago, so what do ya do in such a situation? You ask someone “in the know.” I’m not talking about someone at the info desk or any other Capitol employee. No, I’m referring to someone who’s actually doing the job. So, I poked around upstairs where all the carpet, electrical, and cubicle work was going on. I ran into a nice guy who explained that, once they got the sprinkler system going, the 18th floor is going to be used for intermediate offices while the floors below it are being remodeled.

While the 17th floor is undergoing its updates, the employees from there will be on the 18th. Then they’ll move back down a floor and the people from the 16th will move up two floors for a while. And, as far as this guy was aware, that was going to be the case for floors 15-17 only. I just hope that they get done soon so we can go up to the observation floor again as soon as possible.

The floors below are stacked with construction materials already, at least they were when I took these pictures. I’m going to miss the ol’ 18th floor for a while. It’s fun to get good cloud pictures from there, look at the historic photos they have posted up there, or even just count the sunroofs in the parking lots below. It’s also good exercise, as I take the stairs instead of the elevator.

If you were planning a trip to the top of the Capitol any time soon, don’t bother! Go to the Heritage Center or the State Library instead. When it opens again, you’ll see more pictures here.

I miss Perman’s

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This former Sinclair station fades into obscurity along east Main Avenue in Bismarck. While it’s not really in prime real estate now, this station had a long history. And, after paying six bucks a gallon for race fuel the other day, I miss it more than ever.

I bet that local motorheads all miss Perman’s for a variety of reasons, the most recent of which is the fact that they sold VP race fuel right at the pump. A guy could whip into the station with a trailer of bikes and gas ’em up right there, fill the spare cans, and put normal gas into the truck as well. And it was at a very nice price…of course, even regular street gas was priced pretty low the last time I was able to fill up at Perman’s.

Nowadays the options for race fuel are more expensive, and a guy can’t do it himself. I don’t know of many other store operators that would be willing to allocate one of their tanks to VP, Power 110, or the Turbo Blue that I use. The next nearest that comes to mind is in Brainerd, right outside the track.

I have a friend / former coworker who’s an old motorhead from way back… I suppose I can say the 1960’s if I don’t mention his name. He remembers the station from a long time back as well. While I don’t have the long chain of memories of the place, I share his sentiment in missing an establishment that provided a service for us performance-minded types that few would.

Say…if there are any Wannenbergs reading this post… does it give you any ideas? Please?

Digging at the OWLS

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I was surprised to find some major excavation going on at the OWLS site east of Bismarck today. To say “OWLS site” is like saying “PIN number” because OWLS stands for Outdoor Wildlife Learning Site. So if that’s one of your pet peeves, too bad. There are other OWLS in the area, by the way. One of them is on west Century Avenue.

They’re obviously trying to make the channel of the manmade lake deeper. Now is probably the best time to do it, but I sure hope it’s able to fill up before the fall migration season. Lakes like this are a waypoint for migrating bird species as well as photographers. Right now the OWLS lake, which is fed by a natural stream running along the east edge of Bismarck, is in dire need of more water.

The floating bridge I was standing on for these photos is drooping badly, and areas I never thought would be exposed to the air are poking well above the watermark. I don’t know what that does to the wildlife, but it can’t be fun. Hopefully we’ll get enough rain to stock it up again soon!

It’s a BUOY!

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Now that construction of the new Liberty Memorial Bridge has begun, these buoys line the area north of the existing bridge and south of the construction zone. Boaters and PWC riders are asked to slow down through these areas.

It’s good to see construction of the new bridge underway; when they first tried to get this project off the ground, nobody answered the bidding process. I’m told it was a combination of volatile steel prices, concrete availability, and crew availability. Not only were raw materials in high demand with prices changing rapidly; all the crews were busy in the gulf coast region, repairing hurricane damage. Finally a builder came through, and we’re proceeding.

Landmark protected, not hacked down

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With the addition of an large new neighborhood south of Burleigh Avenue, many were up in arms regarding the fate of this tree, perhaps Bismarck’s most popular (Too bad I can’t say “poplar!”). For decades, people have passed the the right of this tree, and perhaps some daredevils to the left, while driving along Burleigh Avenue. After all this time, many don’t want to see the tree disturbed.

Growth means change, and change means…well, CHANGE. What do many die-hard Nodaks fear the most? You guessed it. Well, in this case, there’s nothing to fear for the immediate future. When the Bismarck City Commission voted to accept the annexation of a couple of plats of land to be used in this neighborhood, the question of the tree came up. As it turns out, the tree will be more protected than ever: it will be surrounded by curb and gutter. Change doesn’t have to mean you destroy the old to bring in the new…and it seems great care will be taken to avoid causing damage the the ol’ tree.

Did I hear someone at the City Commission meeting mumble “good hangin’ tree” or was that my imagination?

The path I’ve chosen

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Well, at least the one I chose Sunday night…it’s the bike path above Pioneer Park, which had its heyday in the mid 1990s. That’s when it was developed and expanded to serve as the course for the Prairie Rose State Games mountain bike race. It’s one of three really nice mountain bike trails in Bismarck-Mandan, and I’ll highlight the other two down the road. This is where I tend to join the trail, just off the paved path above River Road. You can see this big pointed hill if you look down from the lookout point accessed from Burnt Boat Road.

This trail isn’t all grassland; it dips down into the trees numerous times. There are some nice drops and climbs in there, some old car bodies, and some welcome shade on a hundred degree day. There are a number of different possibilities on this path, winding all over the place.

Once you pop back up out of the trees there are a couple of loops along the hill, over by the Interstate, and then even back up the BSC side and around that area. I didn’t choose to do that part Sunday night due to time constraints. This trail overlooks some of Bismarck’s best river scenery. On much of the trail I was able to hear the live music from Merriwether’s.

There are some fun parts like this…don’t end up falling on your head and tumbling down to River Road! You have to look out in some places, because the city has closed certain parts of the trail to protect against erosion. Points like this can clearly be seen from River Road, although they don’t look nearly as serious from the bottom.

If you’re looking for a workout and have moderate mountain biking skills, hop on the trail above River Road…it’s a challenge! If you think it isn’t, do three laps sometime. That will change your mind.

Tower City

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No, not the town west of Fargo…the cluster of broadcast towers south of Mandan, just north of Huff Hills. Chasing the meteor shower and a few deer took me out there last night.

These towers include the local Cumulus FMs, KNDX (Fox), KBMY (ABC), KBME (PBS), KXMB (CBS), KFYR (NBC), and KYYY (Y-93). Most of them are on Tokach land, except for the KBMY tower. They can be clearly seen from Bismarck and much of Mandan, unless you live below some sort of hill.

Local viewers who don’t have cable are actually quite fortunate to have the tower situation set up in such a way. Guys like me who have satellite TV and use an off-air antenna to pick up the local stations can aim that antenna once and forget about it. You see, TV antennas are quite directional in nature…and if the towers for different stations were located all over the place, you’d have to rotate your antenna to optimize your signal from one station to the next. As it stands, I just bought a rooftop antenna for $20 at Menards and mounted it inside the attic of my house, facing towards “tower city,” and forgot about it.

Those flashing lights that cast such a nice glow up the tower sections are very specifically regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration. There are obstruction lights in groups of three and flashing beacons in regular intervals. In addition to transmitter operation telemetry and other things such as building security alarms, the tower lights are monitored remotely from the control point. Should the beacons of a tower go out, the FAA must be notified; flying into a tower without lights on it would really ruin someone’s day. But if you fly into a tower or guy-wire out here, you’re asking to; they’re all grouped together.

While out here, I saw something I don’t recall ever seeing before: a meteor streaking down out of the sky so slowly, so close to the ground, that I could actually see the wisps of flame coming off it before it disintegrated in a flash. It was amazing! There were lots of shooting stars last night, so I’ll probably be out chasing more tonight.

Oops, someone rolled the thresher!

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Yeah…ya wanna just go get that and put it back? Looks like the wind took this old threshing machine and toppled it from its perch high atop the bluff above.

This site will greet you just as you start the voyage “Around the World,” where my friend Barry and I took our motorcycles on Memorial Day. In a previous post I took the route that goes past the Sweet Briar school, but you can also end up taking a slightly more scenic route by turning left on Lyons Drive, just west of Mandan.

This is a particularly scenic drive these days now that the fields have greened up. Rolling plains, sharp valleys and a winding road make for an enjoyable drive.

Remember to look left…twice

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This is the intersection of Broadway Avenue and Washington Street, by the downtown Dairy Queen and Feist TV & Electronics. It’s also the home of a new waterpark built to replace the ailing Elks Pool. By day this intersection looks perfectly normal. But, like the rest of us, it hides a quirk.

The quirk has to do with the sign on the lower right of this photo. NO TURN ON RED. That’s a really good idea because the underpass to the left makes it very difficult to see oncoming traffic. Using this logic one could make a very strong case for a NO TURN ON RED on North 7th Street where it crosses Main Avenue. Can you see past the Bank of North Dakota? I can’t…not without poking out into the intersection and blocking the crosswalk. Anyway…

Late at night, when those of us who are getting old are tucked safely into our beds, the downtown stoplights change. They don’t grow hair and bark at the moon, but they do start flashing yellow and red. This particular intersection does the same thing, turning into a STOP sign for Broadway Avenue. But if it’s unsafe to stop and go during the day, why would it be safer at night?

One could make the argument that it’s easier to see headlights coming at night than a car without headlights during the day. I say that it’s dangerous no matter what, for the same reason that 7th and Main is dangerous.

So the next time you’re out after midnight and come to the flashing red at Washington and Broadway, be extra careful! This can be a dangerous intersection, no matter what time of day or night.

New feature at Sertoma Riverside Park

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If you enter Sertoma park by the amusement park entrance, then take the one-way portion of the park road past the Dakota Zoo, you’ll see this new display near the park exit. It’s a medicine wheel with the traditional Native American colors of red, white, yellow and black. Different tribes ascribe different meaning to the four colors. Some nations use them to denote the four directions, other four elements, and others the four facets of health (spiritual, emotional, physical and intellectual).

There are four eagle sculptures positioned radially outside the medicine wheel. They’re pretty neat sculptures, not monstrosities like the big whatchamacallit up near the riverboat dock. The center of the circle has a tile mosaic on it. There are benches in the area for recreation and the whole display adds to the flavor of the riverside experience.

For those of you who have left Bismarck-Mandan and check this blog to see what’s going on in your old home town, the riverside areas have been transformed, mostly in anticipation of tourism due to the Lewis and Clark bicentennial. The walking paths have been expanded and repaved, there are cultural displays such as this one, a lot of signage has been added, and there are other little attractions too. In the future I plan to write some posts highlighting the changes around here…there have been many in just the past year or two.