Happy Moondays

Posted on March 14, 2006 by Clint

While up at Double-Ditch last night I was able to nab this moon photo. It wasn’t actually dark, but the moon is so bright a guy has to clamp the aperture down to get a decent picture. It was actually taken within a minute or so of the picture below!

We still have a few nice “secret spots” around the Bis-Man area that are perfect for astronomy, astrophotography, or just plain hangin’ out under the sky. This happens to be one of them, and on Monday it didn’t disappoint.

Double Ditch ice shelf

Posted on March 13, 2006 by Clint

Help! Save the receding Double Ditch Glacier from the ravages of Global Warming!

That kind of nonsense could get me a membership in the Sierra Club. Spring is here and the ice is gone from the main river channel; along the cliffs below the Double Ditch Indian Village, however, the ice is clinging to the banks pretty stubbornly.

Personally I’d like to have a year-round ice shelf here. I could chip off pieces to keep my Red Bull cold!

That sandbar to the right knows a lot of late summer tales. It used to be a tradition in the 80’s to have one great big blowout before college started. We’d drag a generator and PA system out there for music, set up volleyball nets and get some bonfires going. It was the last time many of us would get together before we all left town to get back to school. There would be a couple of people shuttling people back and forth from the shore on pontoon boats.

Double Ditch has changed a lot since then. The road used to be a loop; now it only comes in a short way from the north. After that you have to hoof it to get to the actual historic site. It’s one of the best places around to watch the stars, but it’s supposedly closed at night. Visitors used to be able to park along the cliffs and hang out; now that area is fenced off. But it’s still one of my favorite places to go.

Fallen Farm #2

Posted on March 13, 2006 by Clint

Here’s another “fallen farm foto” from the area. This forlorn building sits along Interstate 94 west of town. I actually had to get the truck pretty darn muddy to even get close to this building (I have a habit of NOT approaching them too closely, as they’re still on private property) because the gravel road was poorly maintained. But you can actually see it from the Interstate as you travel towards Glen Ullin.

These buildings add a certain unique charm to the ND landscape and are in danger because of the methamphetamine epidemic. It seems that meth addicts like to use buildings like this for temporary labs, and I’ve heard of a couple of farmers being assaulted or shot at while checking out old buildings on their own property. Many farmers choose to just knock them down and avoid the danger. It’s another sad casualty of the plague of meth use that’s running rampant in our area.

For Superbike fans, 2006 starts today

Posted on March 9, 2006 by Clint

That’s right, the AMA Superbike series starts today with the Daytona Bike Week. Obviously the week started a few days ago, but today is the first day of actual races.

Naturally those of us with motorcycle roadracing disorder took off work today to watch the action. Today’s racing coverage included qualifying for the 600cc Formula Xtreme series and races in the 600cc Supersport and 1000cc Superstock classes.

Fallen farm #1

Posted on March 9, 2006 by Clint

I don’t know what it is about the dilapidated, abandoned old farmsteads that dot the North Dakota landscape, but I find them charming in a wistful sort of way. If I see one I’ve got to get a picture of it.

This house is actually “in” Bismarck, as it’s south of Hawktree. You can see it from Highway 1804. That’s where I took this picture…it’s nice to have some long lenses!

SOLD! Probably because of the video

Posted on March 8, 2006 by Clint

If you watch Speed Channel and happened to catch the Barrett-Jackson Auto Auction (they covered it for three days), you may have seen one of our local boys selling a car there. Dave Ressler, of Ressler Chevrolet, has bought and sold a number of cars at this show. This year his pride ‘n’ joy is this 1954 Corvette. It sold for $99,000!

The announcers had a good time with this deal because Dave always brings a sportcoat matching the paint color of the car and includes it in the deal. The high bidder gets the coat draped over his shoulders until he’s outbid. In this case the coat only changed hands (shoulders) a couple of times before the auction was completed. But the bidding went higher and higher for three or four minutes!

I was especially interested in this sale, which I caught on TV by accident, because I edited a promotional video for this car late last year. The video was produced to run on a flat panel display next to the car while potential bidders inspected the cars prior to auction. It detailed Dave’s history, his passion for Corvettes, hiscollection, and the work put into this particular car. I don’t know if it had any impact on the auction, but it sure helped show that Dave’s not just some schmuck with a car to sell…he’s a true Corvette enthusiast.

Another amazing hybrid vehicle

Posted on March 7, 2006 by Clint

I saw this guy driving his big honkin’ Mercedes SL this morning on my way to work. Amazing. I don’t know if this is the same guy who has the 4×4 Pontiac Firebird, but he’s definitely cut from the same cloth.

Now if I can just get a pic of that mid-80s Cadillac Fleetwood with the 4×4 conversion performed, I’ll have the trifecta!

(I wonder how many hits I’ll get on this Mercedes Hybrid?)

One of many reasons why they’re angry

Posted on March 6, 2006 by Clint

Remember the lawsuit between Capital Electric and MDU over who gets that juicy new neighborhood going up on 43rd Avenue? There are a lot of reasons why this area is so hotly contested…and they’re dollars.

This isn’t exactly a new battle. When businesses such as Space Aliens were first built north of Century Avenue, this fight was already started. As I recall, MDU won. After all, they claim, they are supposed to be the ones serving the city. As the city grows, well, that’s where the problems start. Capital Electric doesn’t want to retreat as the city limits advance and claims it should serve this area. Judging by the news reports, they’re ready to fight for it.

This substation north of 1804 might have something to do with it. These things don’t go up cheaply, and it would be nice if Capital Electric could recoup some of those costs by serving a lot of homes in the immediate area.

They already had a substation in this area, but I guess the old one would be too small if it were asked to handle such a load. But we’ll never know, will we? So far MDU has come up the winner when contesting service areas in North Bismarck.

There’s more than one former Bismarck resident at the Iditarod in Anchorage

Posted on March 4, 2006 by Clint

The 2007 Iditarod kicked off this weekend with a ceremonial start in Anchorage, Alaska…and a former Bismarck resident is competing. Heather Siirtola is number 59 this year and local media are following the story. My friends Tony and Kris, whose blog is linked on the right panel of your screen (if you’re not reading the syndicated version) moved from Bismarck to Anchorage a while back and are no strangers to the race. Tony told me that local reporting is misleading in that the start from Anchorage is more of a ceremonial one; they restart at Wasilla later on for the full-bore race. But you can’t trust local media to be thorough, can you?

I’m guessing this is pretty darn big news up there in Anchorage. It sure would be a blast to be able to jet up there and follow along, but I’ll leave it to Tony and Kristie to do that for me. You can view their website by clicking on this link or the blog link under “North Dakota Blogs” on the right panel of my blog. By the way…if you’re reading this on a syndicated site, you’re missing out. The pictures are larger on my site, there are no ads, and the end of the text doesn’t get chopped off!

One more thing: Heather Siirtola has a website at Hardcore Huskies dot com, and you can view her Iditarod profile by clicking here.

At risk of seeming redundant…