Don’t blink! Hensler

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Some say it’s north of Mandan. Others say it’s west of Washburn. Yet others don’t know what in the world I’m talking about. The little community of Hensler isn’t offended; rather, they have quite a sense of humor about it. This sign sits along highway 200 between Washburn and Center.

I like when small towns show a sense of humor. I’ve never been interested in “the world’s largest fiberglass wombat” or other such gimmicks. That’s why you’ll never see a photo of Salem Sue or *shudder* the Enchanted Highway here. Some small towns like Hensler have a different way of grabbing attention, and it’s that ingenuity that I salute this morning.

By the way…I’ve been posting a lot of photos from towns other than Bismarck or Mandan lately. Why do you suppose that is? Well, as summer winds down once again, it’s important to get out and look around our fair state before the winter causes us to settle in for a while. You can get up on a Saturday morning and venture out, see lots of neat sites and have a decent meal, and yet be home by early evening. That’s important to do; anyone who doesn’t appreciate North Dakota has never tried it. You’d be surprised how much there is to enjoy even within just an hour or two of our beloved cities.

CUTE ALERT: baby squirrel on campus

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I was walking alongside one of the labs at NDSU where I studied as a chemistry major in college, when this baby squirrel dashed across the lawn in front of me. In a deft reflexive move, I swung the backpack containing my camera to the grass and extracted the Canon. My newfound subject had darted up a nearby tree and was waiting to see what I was up to. That’s when I was able to get this last-second shot before he scurried up to a high branch and hide.

For sale: one low-mileage cow, rear wheel drive, $500

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“Interesting trades considered?” No, I didn’t see that on the sign…it’s just that I’m a Seinfeld fan, and have to put that in there. This interesting item was parked along the highway and merited a second look. I’m not sure if it’s a two-seater or what kind of mileage it gets. If you have any questions, contact me and I’ll give you the phone number.

Those aren’t Crunchberries™

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I caught this bird hanging out atop a bush full of food along the river north of Bismarck. There are a lot of places to pick juneberries, chokecherries, and other natural treats. Of course, for a bird it’s much easier to get to those places and eat freely. That’s what this bird was up to. Such leisure for a bird is fleeting, however; the cold winter is just around the corner. Better get ready to stock up those feeders!

Prairie Pothole sunset

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One thing the recent rains have been good for is the Prairie Pothole region in central and east-central North Dakota. The little lakes looked somewhat replenished after the recent series of rains that have swept through the area. That’ll be a relief as migratory bird season approaches!

One such lake was a perfect reflector for a particularly nice sunset last night. I believe this lake was in Stutsman County, but might have actually been in Kidder County. I was pretty tired after a long day by the time we saw this photo op.

Due to the fact that we took this photo from I-94, there were some power lines that had to be removed. Just thought I’d be up front about that. I didn’t have any waders to get on the other side of them!

Labor Day Lights – the Northern kind

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This weekend was a working weekend, but it was one I’d been anticipating for a while. Friday and Saturday were spent working as a graphics, animation, and CG guy for a college football game on NBC in Fargo. What made it special was that my wife came with. She got to spend time with the crew and/or their wives while we worked, and then we got to have a mini-vacation afterwards. The most important part was the scenic route we took back from Fargo, dipping into the southeastern part of the state and working our way back.

We were in the vicinity of Crystal Springs, having just visited the oasis in the dark, when we spotted some white spikes on the northern horizon. Naturally we pulled to the side of the gravel road for a few quick snapshots. Above is what we saw!

Part of the challenge in photographing auroras is playing around with settings. I typically don’t mess with any aperture settings, but might toy with the ISO and shutter speed a bit. Something like this typically takes 20-30 seconds of open shutter at 100 ISO.

These faint flickers didn’t last long. After only a few minutes of dancing around, the aurora borealis settled into a hazy ring around the north. At that point we hopped back into the truck and took off for home. Once settled in, I did hop in the truck and zoom out to my favorite vantage point, but there were still no flare ups, only that glow.

So much for the dam tour

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Chalk it up to Homeland Security, I suppose. If you go up to the Garrison Dam and try to get the dam tour (isn’t that ALWAYS funny?) you’ll see these gates staring you in the face. Accessibility is no longer a key feature in the dam.

As you can see from the sign above, you must buzz in between certain hours only. Then someone will come out to meet you and give you the “lobby tour.” That means you can look through a pane of glass at the big GE turbines in the generating station, and the old control room that isn’t used any more…just in case you have never seen obsolete power plant technology. There’s a video and other stuff illustrating the history of the dam project, and that’s about it. Thank you for stopping by.

In days when we didn’t worry about terrorists wanting to blow up items of interest such as giant hydroelectric dams, one could actually walk on the floor of the turbine room. There would also be tours of the intake station. Heck, I even finished up my SCUBA diving certification on the rocks just southeast of the intake tower. Not close enough to be sucked in, obviously. But now these are all off-limits areas, as you can see by the menacing chain link fence.

By the way…does anyone think a chain link fence is going to deter Habib in his van full of explosives? No…these are “feel good” moves. Very little has been done in the way of real security since September 2001. The reason for that is our free society. Freedom always means vulnerability. That’s why it’s up to us to remain vigilant and proactive. How would you like to live in Israel, where bus or cafe bombings are frequent? It’s up to us whether we want to accept that kind of thing, because there are plenty of people who would like to make it happen over here. And perhaps that’s another reason for those chain link fences and restricted areas: to tell people like that “we’re on the lookout for you.”

Rode the Suzuki to the bay, but the bay was dry.

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I no longer fish and I don’t own a boat, but even I know of a nice little place south of Bismarck that used to be really good for both: Beaver Bay, where Beaver Creek meets the once-mighty Missouri. A few days ago I had an opportunity to blast down there on the motorcycle, so I paid the place a visit to see if things are still as bad as I feared. They are. That grassy area across the road from the sign? That should be water.

This used to be shore line, as you can see. It is reinforced with rocks, but now all those rocks do is bake in the sun. I had no problem finding a camping spot in which to stop and drink the water I’d brought. This is a great campground and recreation area…it’s too bad there’s no water to draw people here. I did see a couple of campers, but for the most part this place was a ghost town.

You can’t even SEE any real water from the boat dock; just a little flow of creek that’s cut its way through to the river along a winding path. I can’t imagine when the last time a boat was even loaded or unloaded on this dock; the Army Corps of Engineers has mismanaged the upper Missouri system for so long, it would be hard to guess.

Being a man of appetite, I was especially distraught that Bosch’s Bayside had closed. This was my favorite place to stop in for a bacon double cheeseburger…and it’s closed. I believe it closed around this time last year, but I can’t be sure. Who knows what could happen if the lake ever comes back…but for now, there’s just no way a place like this can survive. It’s sad. Maybe if they were pushing barges across the river, the Corps would listen to them…but I doubt it.

The natural way to follow up all this investigatin’ was to jet over to Linton and grab a pizza at the Hot Spot pizza place. This is a typical small-town restaurant: video games unplugged, Bismarck radio playing, locals hanging out or passing through for ice cream. I talked to one older fella briefly about how warm it is in a full leather suit on a sunny day, then had a little homemade pizza and cranked up the iPod.

This drive is one of my all time favorites…I just wish there was a happier story to tell at the end of the road. Lake Oahe and the are to the north of it are hurting badly…so badly, in fact, that the Corps is actually responding in trying to bring the water levels up. That means, of course, that they’re letting water out of Lake Sakakawea. While we may see that as a bad sign, maybe it’s a sign that they’re finally taking notice of the dire situation in the lakes of the upper Missouri system. Can we be a little optimistic about that?

What would you do for a quarter?

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Would you pack the Bismarck Civic Center? These people did, and many of them received free North Dakota Quarters! Today was the big official sendoff including all the state muckety-mucks, the acting director of the National Mint, and lots and lots of enthusiastic North Dakotans.

I was there as a tech for the US Mint today so I got to watch the festivities. They included the Medora singers with “Teddy Roosevelt” and the Cannonball drummers. There were a LOT of school kids in attendance, and everyone under 18 was given a free state quarter at the end of the event!

It was interesting seeing all the security behind the scenes; an armored car from the mint was parked in the back garage with a LOT of North Dakota quarters in it. They’re transported in heavy-duty cases by armed guards, and there were plenty of local and state law enforcement personnel on hand as well.

On a side note, I also saw “Gentleman Wade” Westin and his little girl today. He’s not the host of the Medora Musical this year, but he is a dad for the second time as of last week – it’s a boy! Congratulations to the Westins.

If you want state quarters, they’re available now. For $5 you can get a little commemorative case with two quarters in it: one showing the front, one showing the back. First Lady Mikey Hoeven showed me hers, and I’m probably going to spring for a couple. What the heck, I love North Dakota!

Last night of live music at Starbuck’s…for now

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This was the last in a series of live music Tuesdays at the south Starbuck’s on 3rd. I don’t know when they’ll be back…spring, maybe? I forgot to ask.

Tonight featured Luke Graner and Neal Peterson, both formerly of Curious Yello. I arrived a little late (of course) and couldn’t find a place to sit for a while. The music was great, the evening was nice and cool, and yes…I *did* have one of those sissy strawberry cream fraps. I’m confident enough in my manhood to sit outside and enjoy a pink drink!

One thing that’s noteworthy about these Tuesday night shows is that people stopped at the red light on 3rd are such gapers! Many people seem so surprised that someone would be performing live music on a patio somewhere. It’s bizarre…and maybe a sign that we need more culture around here. It’s also interesting to see people in the drive through line…both their response to the live music, and the number of them that hit the curb or building. Most come pretty darn close. Maybe they’re paying too much attention to the music!

Keep an eye on cozymusic.net to find out when these are going to resume. There may also be another venue in the works, if things work out. You never know. In any case, it was good while it lasted. Thanks to Starbuck’s for hosting! I can’t wait till things start up again.