I was trucking down South Washington Street with my little boys tonight when I spotted this sign. In the past when I’ve driven past Cornerstone I’ve noticed other humorous witticisms, but this one I found particularly funny.
I couldn’t resist. I felt like the last time I was here, the time was too short. I’d visited once with my cameras and once with my boys, but I never really felt like I got to bond with the spinning ice disc on the Heart River. So, after work on Monday I decided to bolt over and grab some stills and video of it at dusk.
I got the perfect match of dusk and cloud cover, bathing everything in very nice, flat, even light. The absence of hard shadows allowed me to capture detail that would otherwise be lost in glare or contrast.
I decided to put together a brief video of the evening:
I have to admit that my curiosity will take me back there again a time or two. I can’t help but wonder how long that rotating disc will survive the ups and downs of this unusual North Dakota winter. Whatever I find, rest assured I’ll share my finds here.
Over a month ago I was poking around with my camera at Double Ditch and forgot to mention that there’s a car at the bottom of the hill. You don’t see that everyday.
Chevy Cavaliers normally don’t sit like this. Looks pretty serene, covered in newly fallen snow, doesn’t it?
What do you do if you’re an idiot and you find something on the sandbar by the river? Well, you light it on fire, of course…which is apparently what happened to this vehicle either when it met its untimely demise or when someone with a lighter found it.
Naturally there’s nothing left of the interior. What wasn’t stolen before the fire is gone now.
Naturally I called to report this as soon as I found it. I’m sure someone had already done so, but I wanted to make sure. As if a flaming Cavalier (well, more flaming than usual) wouldn’t have attracted attention long, long ago…
I’m accustomed to finding decades-old cars, or remnants thereof, at the bottom of these cliffs, but I never expected to find a modern day econobox car. I haven’t been back since that November day, so I don’t know if anything’s been done about it. I just wish people would treat the area with more respect.
I’ve loved this wooden post marking the northwest corner of the Double Ditch Indian Village site north of Bismarck. I’ve taken many of a photo of it, whether with the International Space Station flying overhead at sunrise or with my little boys and I in the foreground for a self-portrait. One used to be able to walk around the post on the left side, but attempting to do so today would land you on your head far, far below.
It’s pretty clear that the post is hanging only by virtue of the barbed wire looped around it. I’ve been curious about what the other side of the post looks like, but unfortunately the high levels of the Missouri River made a hike along the bottom of the cliffs impossible. Now the water is hard enough to walk on without divinity, so I made my way along the edge to take a peek. I found some surprises along the way that I may divulge later, but let’s get to the post.
Sadly, my suspicions were true. There is no more earth holding the post at all. If the barbed wire ever lets go, this post will join the other unusual items lying along the bank at the bottom of these cliffs.
I wouldn’t even advise getting anywhere near the post at this point. The cliff is seriously eroded. I wonder how long it will be before this whole area drops into the Big Muddy?
Along my drive into town yesterday I noticed some of my other favorite photo objects that have fallen over the past ten years since I decided I wanted to get into photography. Good thing I’m eager to find some new ones!
If I tell you that these are full sized pumpkins, would that help you understand how large this trike is? It’s north of Bismarck, and there’s no way you’re pedaling anything from that seat way there. The long poles coming from the “pedals” on the front wheel look intriguing, though…
I have a couple of stragglers from the photo walk, such as this photo of the crown of the federal building on 3rd and Broadway. I hope by now you’ve made a selection, but I’ dbe interested in how you like these.
These trees are on the east end of the parking lot at the Peacock Alley. It’s a parking lot now, but is apparently going to be an ice skating rink next year – because downtown Bismarck has way too much parking space right now.
That’s it! I was happy with the shots I brought back. I could have roamed more, but I had a nice morning walk and maximized the amount of time I had available. My new lens performed admirably, and I had good company.
Thanks for looking through my photos!
Here’s another set of photos from our local group’s participation in the Worldwide Photo Walk. I’m trying to decide which photo to submit.
This is the counterweight for a fire escape in downtown Bismarck. I love the sky in the background combined with my vignette.
Remember Gary Miller? If I remember the walk correctly, and I don’t know why I shouldn’t, this is one of the chains holding up the overhang at the entrance of Gary’s Gallery. I believe this gallery will be closing in the near future, as his wife had announced something about it a while back.
I love this sign. It’s attached to the freight elevator in the Anderson Building, which I hope to own some day. This elevator is no longer available to the public. I remember hearing a news report in the late 80s or early 90s about a young girl getting her arm pinned and amputated by this elevator. That’d do it.
I’ll shoot myself in the foot by saying that these three are my favorite of the bunch. I do have a couple more, but they don’t mean as much to me as these. I’ll post the other ones soon and hopefully receive your feedback in time to upload my selection to the Photowalk website.
Our photo club took part in the Worldwide Photo Walk this past weekend, and it was a blast. I didn’t stay for the entire window of time because of other errands, but I did walk around downtown Bismarck for two hours with a couple of photo pals. Each member of each local photo walk submits one photo to the group. The group them forwards one photo on to the worldwide walk, and so on. I got a few shots that I like with my brand new lens, and I need some feedback as to which I should submit before the deadline.
This was right at our starting point in front of the historic Belle Mehus Civic Auditorium. I tried to go for sort of an optical illusion effect.
On the other end of downtown, I found this little nook in the back of the Anderson Building…a building I one day hope to own. The frame gave it a nice splash of color.
Made in North Dakota. These are the bricks which sealed shut the window in the last photo. Good ol’ bricks and mortar, compliments of Hebron.
I did take photos of more than bricks, but I thought I’d share these first three together due to the similar subject matter. The ones I really like will be posted next. Shoot me an email or post a comment when you find your favorite!
I got this shot while being swarmed and attacked by squadrons of aggressive mosquitoes, the likes of which I’d never seen. My family and I decided to take a celebratory walk on the Lewis and Clark path, and man did we find skeeters!
The path was nice, although we were a few days too late to find the leaves in the photogenic state we’d prefer. The aforementioned mosquitoes cancelled our plans to find all the geocaches along our route. I was extremely glad that we didn’t bring bikes, as much of the western part of the path is overrun with tons of river sand washed up from the 2011 Missouri River flood.
As to the title of this post, I’m pleased to report that my recent “do over” surgery at Mayo Clinic was a success. So too was my wife’s surgery a week later. After giving up our house in March after receiving the bad news of my condition, we’re now in the process of building a brand new one. Even my kids’ health has markedly improved. I have a brand new camera lens on the way, one which I’ve wanted for a year or more. The path ahead looks sunny indeed.
One consequence of the capitol grounds construction is that the lights illuminating the north face of the tower are no longer in place. I’m sure there will be new ones once the construction is completed, but for now it’s just dirt where the parking lot used to be.
I took this photo a while back (click for larger size) and it shows how things are starting to take shape. The north side of the capitol will have more pedestrian area, much like the south side.
Don’t take my word for it – this information is posted and updated on the capitol’s Facility Management website. You can get a PDF copy of the plan by clicking here.
By the way, there were other notable song title candidates for the title of this blog post, such as “On the Dark Side” by Eddie and the Cruisers, “Moonshadow” by Cat Stevens, “Standing in the Shadows” by Dokken, “Ribbon of Darkness” by Marty Robbins…need I go on?
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