I wouldn’t advise stunts like this, because I’m sure there’s some sort of criminal mischief statue that would cover it! An impish night of fun might turn into more than you bargained for. Trust me, I played my share of pranks back in the day!
This also brings up an interesting question of mentioning the competition only when it suits them. While I don’t normally see shoplifting stories on KXNet, I did happen to catch this article in which Cliff Naylor Junior was accused of felony shoplifting charges. Perhaps that’s someone in the KX newsroom thumbing their nose at Cliff Naylor and Monica Hannan. I remember KFYR covering stories of Reiten goof-ups, so I suppose it’s all part of the back & forth of competing newsrooms.
Another interesting wrinkle is that KXJB, the Fargo CBS affiliate, is run by the same folks that run KVLY. It’s similar to an arrangement in Bismarck between the FOX and ABC stations. I suppose that limits cooperation between the Fargo CBS affiliate and the ones out west, which are owned by a competitor in this market.
I’m pretty much Switzerland in the whole station vs. station thing, even though I still freelance for the NBC guys sometimes. (I absolutely love the KVLY/KXJB gang, but don’t really know anyone at KXMB.) It might be interesting to watch, but I actually don’t watch much local TV. I’m sure KXMB will work hard to get another meteorologist up to speed to go head to head with Kevin Lawrence (or “K-Lo” as he’s affectionately nicknamed) in time for the winter storm season. Let the competition continue! Oh, and if the industry rumors are true, Hutch…have fun and best wishes in Fargo.
There were some redeeming moments to the trip, however, such as the few minutes I spent on north 26th Street where it turns to gravel. That’s where this windmill stood, with some darkish clouds rolling in from the west. That’s where I got tonight’s photo. I did a run-n-gun kind of thing where I didn’t even get out of the truck. I simply rolled down the window, shot away, and moved along. Sometimes I can take an amazingly crisp handheld photo, even with one of the cheaper lenses in my arsenal. This was one of thoes days, too.
I was going to do some sort of sunset thing, but that really didn’t pan out. It’s rare that one can actually plan a photography outing, so we take what we can get. I also found some other neat stuff to photograph. Some I’ll have to go back for, but that’s why I keep a GPS stuck to my camera bag or clipped into the dash of the truck. When the opportunity arises, I’ll be there!
If you haven’t tried 26th Street all the way north, I highly recommend it. Have fun…it goes a LONG ways!
There you have it…a great idea if you want a nice walk with fall colors all around you. There will be plenty of birds and deer and stuff, too! But don’t wait too long…it seems that the truly colorful part of autumn lasts about a week here in Bismarck-Mandan!
This is a different well from the one I spotted north of Bismarck early this summer. Both are logged in my GPS in case there are some dramatic skies that could benefit from being photographed with a well in the foreground!
This particular day I was capturing photos of a lot of Fallen Farm photos as well as old farm equipment and other North Dakota scenery, but I never thought I’d find an abandoned elevator. Using a circular polarizer filter on my lens, I was able to get a nice blue sky with clouds that really ‘pop’ out of the blue. As I do with a broken-down farm house or barn, I felt a touch of sadness that this big structure was no longer in use.
That’s when my attention was drawn to the silhouette of one of my favorite, most elusive subjects: the Great Blue Heron. This one was reasonably cooperative, although I never did get too close to him. It turned out that was just fine, as I wanted to include the railroad bridge and the river in the shot. I set up my tripod and was able to take this exposure. What’s cool about the herons is that if they perceive a possible threat, they stand still to assess the situation. I clapped my hands to make this bird freeze in his tracks, then took the shot. This bird sat still for the eight seconds needed to capture the moment! Even zoomed into the full size picture, the water is blurred but the bird is not. What a cooperative subject! In fact, if you look at the Grant Marsh bridge in the background, you’ll see streaks of lights made by cars driving over the bridge while the camera’s shutter sits open.
By the way, the piles of rocks are so they can make a platform out into the water for a track-driven crane to move. Apparently the ones on the barges just aren’t going to cut it. And the beam sticking out of the west end of the new bridge? It’s a beam. Not that it was a mystery to start with, but it’s hard to get a decent look at it while driving over the old bridge. Two questions answered, one awesome (and unexpected) photo to boot. Chalk up one more successful journey in the Bismarck-Mandan area!
I made good time but, since the rest of the crew was with me, I was unable to stop and take any pictures. We were all in a hurry to get home after a long week. I’ll have to make a special trip for that. It sure is good to be back in North Dakota though!
I really enjoyed Ms. Langemo’s book “Bismarck, North Dakota” and even found some photos in there of a personally relevant nature. For instance, a picture of our church building from circa 1912 is contained therein. It was quite a treat, since I was in the process of researching our church’s history for an anniversary celebration. I also spotted a somewhat modern shot of the Federal Building on 3rd & Broadway, adjacent to my old home at KFYR-TV. My friend Jamie Dunnigan’s car is parked in that shot. In addition, the book is filled with a lot of interesting facts and photos.
I haven’t yet had the time to give the Mandan book a thorough read. It’s a very busy week for me, and I don’t want to give it a superficial glance. I haven’t read past the Introduction, but that part alone is full of a lot of interesting local history. I highly recommend these books.
You can find these at your local B&N, but I’d rather suggest that you visit the Huntington store on east Main Street in Mandan instead. If there’s another book signing somewhere, of course I suggest attending. I sure will, and hopefully I’ll remember to bring my Bismarck book to have it autographed!