Category Archives: Around Bismarck-Mandan

I hate to say “I told you so”, but…

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frontier_logo

Two years ago I posted an April Fool’s post in which I claimed that United Airlines would be discontinuing service to Bismarck-Mandan because a new competitor, Frontier Airlines, was going to be receiving subsidies to come and compete with them.  Apparently it was an entirely plausible idea, because a lot of people bought it.  Gotcha.  Well, it turns out that my satirical post was prescient in at least one way.

In the last paragraph of the post, I pointed out that the same thing happened in Fargo, where Frontier operated for the same two years, then left despite the incentives that city had provided:

Ironically, Frontier Airlines pulled out of Fargo in 2010 after only two years of being “touted as a low-cost carrier that would bring down fares at Fargo’s Hector International Airport” (Associated Press, 2/5/10). Flaweigh surmised, “Once that happens in Bismarck, maybe the City of Bismarck will consider offering United a ‘break-even guarantee’ and some other concessions as they are currently offering our competitors.

Here we are, two years later, and Frontier is doing the two-year two-step. I guess any consternation at throwing $250,000 and other incentives at them doesn’t seem so unreasonable after all. But if a simple photo blogger like me could have seen this coming, why couldn’t any of the local geniuses have done the same?

Geometry at the best presentation I didn’t see

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geometry_ip_4107I spotted this cool geometry the other night…any guesses what it is before I give the answer below?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

geometry_ip_4106Yep, it was this stack of chairs at the library Wednesday night, where Marilyn Snyder presented the results of an incredible study into the history of the Bismarck Police Department.  More on that another time, because I haven’t actually seen all of it.  I had a church function at 7, and the presentation started at 6:30, so I had to peel myself away shortly after things really got going.  I returned later to find the chairs stacked, cookies gone, and presentation completed.

Don’t worry – Dakota Media Access recorded the presentation and will have it available sometime in the future.  Keep an eye on www.freetv.org to catch it!

Around town…can you identify these?

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where_ip_4055I spotted this door tonight while waiting for a friend.  I’d seen it before but never grabbed a photo of it.  I don’t suppose anyone can correctly guess where it’s located?  It’s actually in a place that sees plenty of traffic.

 

where_ip_3706Since I’m on a roll, I grabbed a shot of this unique curtain rod a week or two ago with the intention of soliciting guesses as well.  If you’ve seen this in person, you’re probably a very happy individual.

Any takers?  Comment below or on Facebook.

Harbinger of autumn comes early? Well, not exactly

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dq_ip_3663Few things can strike fear in the hearts of summer-loving Bismarck residents than the closure of the DQ on Broadway and Washington.  We can kid ourselves endlessly until the CLOSED sign shows up in the window, meaning that cold temps and seemingly endless winters and school years are right around the corner.  So you can understand why the sight of this sign can make hearts jump when passers-by spot it!  In this case, however, a little context is needed.

 

dq_ip_3661The job market is an interesting one in North Dakota, and has been for some time.  I remember even several years ago, before the oil boom, hearing from a friend how he’d receive such poor service when traveling to the northwestern part of the state.  It was explained to him that “people who can pass a drug test are working in the oil industry…what’s left is who’s taking your order, preparing your meal, or providing your customer service.”  Again, that was before the big “oil boom”.

Now there’s simply a shortage of employees, period.  HELP WANTED signs adorn shop windows all over the state.  We’re blessed in that regard.  With the onset of school as well, labor in certain types of positions will probably be even harder to obtain.  For example, I recently heard of Arby’s paying $20/hr for certain positions in Williston.  Well, how many $5 roast beef sandwiches do they have to sell to pay for that labor?  It gets to be quite a pickle, I’m sure.

Thankfully we still have other DQ options in Bismarck-Mandan.  Now, when the store on Highway 83 closes for the season, then it’ll be time to panic.

Challenge accepted

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windmill_29450This goes out to my online pal Jason, who challenged me a while back to deliver a) a windmill photo, and b) a broken-down farm building photo.  What I haven’t posted, due to things being a little busy around here, are my responses – acquired on May 26th, 2014.

First, I’d like to present the windmill above.  This is one of my favorite windmills, but I didn’t just dart out to it in order to satisfy a request.  This was actually on the return leg of the previously posted trip with my little boys, when I had my youngest out southwest of Mandan.  In fact, I have already posted an additional windmill photo from that trip, the one with the damaged fins…but I’ve been meaning to share this one just because the colors were so dynamic.

 

fallen_farm_29299Next is this old house and the remains of its garage, which sit along the road to Fish Creek Dam.  That’s where I took my little guy to show him the bench out on the lookout point – if you don’t know about it, I’ll have to post a little explanation later.  I’ve wanted to approach this house for a while, and the land isn’t posted, but there are currently cattle on the land.  I guess I’ll have to wait, and let this shot from the road suffice for a while.

I’m on the mend now, and while I act as a recliner pilot and nurse the wounds from my most recent DaVinci robot attack, I’m going to try to dig back through the hard drive for shots like these.  I have dozens of photos I’ve taken with every intention of sharing here, but have somehow neglected or forgotten over time.  I think I’ll find some gems in there, and for the next few weeks I’ll have plenty of time on my hands to work with ’em.

Stay tuned!

Farewell post

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double_ditch_post_29563Sadly, this is pretty much the last hurrah of one of my favorite sunset photo subjects: the post at the northwest corner of the Double Ditch site.  I visited the site last night for a long overdue sunset photo, and found that it’s barely hanging on.

 

double_ditch_post_21108I posted last year about how this post was endangered by the erosion which was causing the cliffs of Double Ditch to collapse.  At that time, it still had a little bit of dirt holding it somewhat in place.

 

double_ditch_post_29505I hadn’t actually done anything really stupid lately, so I thought I’d hold my camera out over the top of the post.  As you can see, there’s nothing holding it from tumbling into the Big Muddy except the strands of rusty barbed wire which tether it to the metal posts further from the abyss.

 

Here are some of my favorite sunset photos taken from this location, for comparison:

double_ditch_sunset_2735 double_ditch_sunset_19917 double_ditch_sunset_12332As you can see, this has been a photogenic and dependable subject for me over many sunsets over the past nine years.

 

double_ditch_post_29563Again, you can see that the only thing holding it up this far is the tenacious grip of that rusty barned wire.  Well, you had a good run, faithful post.  It’s sad to see you go.  I’m glad I could get one last sunset photo in before the inevitable happens.

Yes, I know that title should probably contain a comma. 🙂

 

Somebody else wants in on the action

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pj_29213On Memorial Day I was able to take not one photo trip, but two.  Each time I took a different boy with me, and I was able to see their photography talents emerging.  They did great, and we had some fun “two dudes” time as father and son.  Well, my young gentlemen now understand what a Website is, and at their behest I’ve agreed to post some of their work for the world to see.  Here are a few shots from my oldest boy:

 

pjs_57809This was one turtle who didn’t dart into the water right away as we approached.  He was patient enough to let us put a 300mm lens on my boy’s camera and snap away for a while.

 

pjs_57793These geese didn’t like us much.  They swam over to the far shore and got out to walk away.  The funny thing is, they came to the end of the land and had to plop back into the water anyway.

 

pjs_57779Then there’s this guy.  He posed for us briefly before taking off.  He had a pretty nice perch until we came along and made him uncomfortable with all the cameras pointed his way.

 

jon_29276Then I took another boy for a trip in the opposite direction!   We didn’t approach any water at all, but we did find plenty of scenery.

 

jons_57827He didn’t have a wide enough lens to get the whole church in Almont into the frame, but he did frame a nice level shot.  I didn’t have to crop it or anything!  There are plenty of grown-up would-be photographers who can’t frame a level shot.

 

jons_57864One of his favorite subjects:  Daddy.  This is that old piece of farm equipment I posted recently.  This one was taken from the truck, as it was getting late and we were running out of snacks.

 

jons_57832We ventured out to Fish Creek Dam, where we were a trio of kayaks and this fishing boat.  You can see from the background how the clouds were pretty spotty.  There were long periods of shade as enormous clouds passed over.

I was so happy to get out with my camera not once, but twice.  I was even more happy to do it as a father-son trip, also twice.  I haven’t been able to use my cameras for a while, so to get back into the swing of things for now has been very therapeutic.

 

Some days, I know how he feels

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windmill_29451This Morton County windmill has seen better days.  I spotted it in this condition while driving by with my littlest boy.  He wanted to go home after a good afternoon of photo hunting, so I didn’t take the time to get any closer for a shot.  I switched to a 300mm lens and snapped this from the road, then took off for home (and dinner).

I’ve actually got this particular item marked in my GPS from before, and it seems to be deteriorating more rapidly than I remember.  I’ll have to make it back sometime soon, perhaps for a nice sunrise shot!  That is, after I get some of my things resolved…

Successful trip

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old_equipment_29309I’ve tried not to lament too loudly that recent circumstances had prevented me from doing much, if any, photography.  Believe me, it has been very frustrating.  Well, I got the chance to take my littlest boy, stuff him in the pickup with my cameras, and roam some back roads for a while over Memorial Day.  This is my favorite result so far.

I have a saying that if I bring back just one good photo from any excursion, it’s been a successful trip.  Most have been successful, some have been bonanzas, but all have been necessary therapy.  I enjoy exploring North Dakota and capturing it in digital images.  In the case of Monday’s trip, I had some blessed time with my little guy, I got a bunch of photos I think I’ll like once I process them, and I brought home this one that was truly exciting.

I’m thankful for a successful trip.  I needed this.