Category Archives: Around Bismarck-Mandan

Hold onto your tummy: Thrill Hill

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If you grew up in Mandan, you’re likely no stranger to what the kids have affectionately termed “Thrill Hill.” I have no idea how long it’s been named such, but it already sported that moniker over twenty years ago when I first got my license. Whoa. I just realized I’ve been driving for over two decades! That must mean I’m…………….old.

Okay, I’m back. This innocent looking street holds a real “whee” at the end, so it’s no surprise that people discovered it and treat it like an amusement ride. It’ll put your heart in your throat right quick! This street is a long upward slope, but it drops off pretty good on the other side.

Photographs simply cannot do the backside of this hill justice. Believe me, I tried several angles. The crest of the hill is really nothing remarkable…if you’re not sure you’re on the real Thrill Hill, you’ll think you missed it! Just as that thought crosses your mind, the road drops out from under you. Whee.

The bottom of this photo has snow on the roadway, otherwise you’d see hundreds of scrapes as cars hit the dip at the end of the block. Whether it’s for drainage or speed control I don’t know; but apparently people are still hitting it with some gusto. Just as the road falling away will bring your heart into your stomach, piling into this dip will drop it back into place!

This post is kinda for the “insiders” who know where Thrill Hill is. You see, I’m not going to tell you…that would be encouraging you to try it, and quite frankly it’s dangerous. While it’s fun even at legal speeds, for some reason no mere mortal can resist going much faster. I like my readers, I’m certainly not going to send them to their doom! I need you folks.

Before I got my license, I was a passenger in a car that flew (quite literally) over this hill at speeds that would probably have cost the driver his license. Later on in life, my friend Tony and I explored it on our motorcycles and scared ourselves silly – there’s not much keeping motorcycles from going airborne, we discovered – and I haven’t done anything reckless on it in many, many years. I guess now I think like an adult, a dad, and a homeowner.

So if you want to find it, you’re on your own. If you’ve got your own Thrill Hill stories, I’d love to hear about them.

Unexpected landscape

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Do you ever try to picture our city through the eyes of a first time visitor? I do, because it really helps pick out features that we see every day but somehow fail to notice.

It should be obvious from the nature of my photography that I’m big on landscapes and other such features. That’s why I was actually startled at the view from State Street and Divide Avenue yesterday. While sitting at a stoplight wondering why the punk in the Civic next to me thought I was interested in a race, I glanced out over the south horizon. We’ve got hills dotted with snow, the sky was red with the waning sunset…it almost had a southwestern feel to it! Yet there I was, right in the middle of my home town, facing a view of it that I’d never given much consideration.

This area of North Dakota is hardly the smooth expanse of endless prairie that it’s thought to be; we have hills, rocks, valleys, and other features that somehow seem to escape mention. I’ve found a few such places recently and have had a ton of fun poking around therein. It just goes to show that there’s plenty about our home that we don’t know, it’s only a matter of changing your perspective.

Identify That Statue #5

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Sorry about the goofy angle, but this one is just too easy. So easy, in fact, that I Photoshopped out a few edges of buildings from this picture to avoid giving it away entirely.

This statue is in an area of very heavy traffic, yet I had forgotten about it entirely. I stumbled upon it by accident while running errands Saturday. Can you identify it?

They’ll need a crane

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Another music reference for ya there. A friend called to tell that some eagles were roosting in her tree along the river. After work I poked around along the river, but the eagles were long gone. I did, however, spot this picturesque angle of Old Glory flying high above the Memorial Bridge project.

That big coccoon under the Memorial Bridge

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If you’ve passed the Memorial Bridge construction site on the Bismarck side lately, you’ve likely noticed this big improvised tent along the hillside. I found out the story on this eye-catching structure today in a brief little tour. Here’s what it looks like inside:

This tent acts as a shelter for some very important work taking place inside. This is where the ground has been stabilized in preparation for the new bridge work…in fact, the ground beneath the loader contains around two hundred steel pilings, joined by welded steel plates! These guys are serious.

This area is where a large retaining wall will be constructed, and the pilings running down the length of this tent will be underground by the time things are finished. The sidewalk will eventually be poured on the left side of that concrete line. There’s a lot more steel work yet to be done, too!

The bed of this area is some of the nicest sandy soil I’ve seen since I did the concrete work around my house and garage (yeah, I’m a do-it-yourself type of guy). They’re busy getting ready for a big cement retaining wall to make sure that the land adjacent to the new bridge will be stable. This isn’t just a bunch of guys with loaders moving dirt; this is a careful and intricate process.

I’ve only mentioned a few of the really cool details about the work these guys are doing. I really appreciate the tour and answers to all my geeky questions. I sure can’t wait to see how the bridge work progresses over the next couple of months! Once this part is done, they’ll be off to the Mandan side to get that going. Hmmm…I wonder if they’re going to reuse that plastic?

No parking – unless there’s a bag over the sign

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Every two years the parking situation at the Capitol changes dramatically. With all the increased traffic due to the legislative session, some allowances must be made. That’s why you’ll find certain No Parking signs covered for the duration of the session.

I had an interesting incident involving this parking situation a few years back. I parked behind the state library, ran around to the front entrance to return some books, and came back to find that someone had backed into my vehicle. I have to commend the Highway Patrol on their fast response time, because an officer was already there to write a report.

I looked like the bad guy initially because I was parked in a “No Parking” zone. But once I reminded the officer that the legislature was in session, he agreed: the person who didn’t look where they were backing up was at fault. I believe this is actually part of state law, but don’t know the exact citation.

Despite the fact that more areas have been opened to parking, it’s still going to be tough to park near the capitol for a little while. It’s nice to see, however, that the folks in charge of the grounds are trying to make more parking area available.

Snow Day!

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It was long overdue, but I’m not complaining. This weekend we finally got enough snow to frolic in, and that’s exactly what the truck, the camera, and I did yesterday. A few guys from church meet the last Saturday morning of each month for breakfast, so I met them at 6:45, and after that came several hours of driving and hiking in the white stuff! My first stop was the cross country ski trail on the northeast corner of Mandan. My footsteps there were not the first.

Next I decided to poke around along the Missouri River. The geese apparently had the same idea, because an enormous flock of them was tucked into the rocks along the shore. They didn’t care for a guy with a big backpack and monopod poking around (or was it the NDSU Bison hat?) so they swam outward and upstream. Thankfully I managed to avoid falling in.


There are a lot of wild turkeys in the Bismarck-Mandan area, and this is a portion of one of them. They were hanging out in a residential neighborhood in north Mandan, and even came toward me as I crouched to take their photo! The snow was coming down fast enough to accumulate on their backs, and they fluffed up to stay warm and shake the snow off every now and then.

With a fresh tank of gas, it was time to drive Around the World and see what kind of nice rural snow scenes awaited. It actually began to snow so heavily that the view was obscured. That didn’t stop me from taking a picture of this friendly scarecrow before moving on.

While out south of Fort Lincoln, I paused to capture this bridge and the high waters of the Missouri River on the other side. When I started to leave, the window on my truck wouldn’t roll up! The passenger side window worked, so I knew the fuse was good. I pounded on the door a bit, tugged on the window…nothing worked. I resigned myself to a cold, damp drive into town, but when I got back on the highway…it worked! The trip wasn’t over yet.

This bridge was sold to the Fort Lincoln Trolley folks many years ago, so it doesn’t see any traffic during the winter. It ought to. This was a very picturesque scene, although they’d have to bring hot chocolate along for the ride.

I took lots more photos, but it’s been such a busy weekend that I’m just posting the highlights. It’s time to wax the sleds for more frolicking!

Buckstop sunset

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Buckstop Junction is pretty much the only part of the Missouri Valley Fairgrounds that enjoyed any measure of success. Since more and more of our historic buildings in this area are being demolished, it’s nice to see them preserved and even seeing some use in a nostalgic fashion.

The Glen Schmidt Family played here last year, and I went out to see what the whole Buckstop Junction experience is all about. It was a blast. I got some great pictures and just generally enjoyed poking around the old buildings. What can I say, I’m a sucker for history!

The buildings are outfitted with “props” from the past, and it was fun to try to simulate an old photo look on some of them. The grocery store was particularly cool, although it was too crowded for a picture. This is from the bank building.

I doubt there’s anything going on out at the Junction over winter, but it’s something to consider next summer. It’s an especially nice place for a music festival, so I’ll let you know when the next one approaches. I’ll probably have to title it “Function at the Junction” or something else appropriately punny.

Inspiration for the rock

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Earlier this month I stumbled upon this painted rock northeast of Bismarck with a patriotic message on it. Thanks to Mike G. for emailing me to let me know that this was likely inspired by another well-known painted rock near Greenfield, Iowa.

This rock is painted annually with a different patriotic theme by a young man named Ray “Bubba” Sorenson. More pictures of the rock and a brief description are given here.

In my opinion, both rocks are inspiring. It doesn’t matter if one resembles another, and I doubt Bubba would be offended. The bigger picture is that people are taking the time to put their patriotism out there for all to see and remind the rest of us as well.

“Bubba” has a website promoting his artwork at www.bubbazartwork.com if you’re interested. It doesn’t feature the rock as prominently as the other site, but it does showcase other work he does.

If anyone’s interested, I can post directions to the rock I found here in Bismarck. That is, if I can find it again. I don’t remember which road it’s on exactly, but its GPS coordinates are 46 degrees, 52.023 minutes north by 100 degrees, 42.242 minutes west.

Sure wish I knew what this thing is

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If you ever find yourself coming home from Fort Lincoln at night, you may have looked up at the hill behind Beck’s Museum and seen this thing lit up at the top of the hill. It appears to be on private property, and I have no idea as to its significance. If you have any information on this particular monument, please post a comment. For once I’m stumped.

UPDATE: This is a memorial to a young man who died unexpectedly. ’nuff said.