Boys’ night out

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We three dudes decided to head across the river for a sunset bike ride by the blockhouses at Fort Abraham Lincoln. My 2 and 3 year old boys had an absolute blast, and Daddy got to play with the camera a little bit. We couldn’t have asked for e better evening; great weather, no bugs, and the place to ourselves! They pedaled and pedaled, Daddy pointed out various local landmarks out across the way, and it kept us all out of trouble until dark.

Badlands traffic jam

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These wild horses are not averse to pavement; in fact, they’re quite fine with it, if it takes them where they need to go. Over time they’ve even become remarkably tolerant of people with cameras standing in the road as they saunter past.

There’s one trademark Badlands shot I wanted to get on this trip, a line of horses at full gallop with a glorious fall Badlansd background. It was not to be. They did plenty of other things for my camera, including hugging the center line for a stretch, however.

Earl Pomeroy casts deciding vote to adjourn the House instead of passing a budget, extending tax cuts

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“I’m Earl Pomeroy, and I serve the Democrat Party – NOT North Dakota!”

Despite his recent ads where he tries to seek credit for voting with President Bush on the unfunded Medicare Prescription Drug entitlement, Earl Pomeroy is no friend of George W. Bush (and, as it turns out, hard-working North Dakotans).

Here’s the roll call of the votes to adjourn the session instead of passing such things as a budget, any of the 20 or so appropriations bills floating around Congress, or extending the Bush tax cuts (which are so popular that they were trying to call them the Obama tax cuts when there was a possibility of them passing).

Notice that if Earl Pomeroy had voted in a way corresponding to his latest ad campaign, this would not have passed. At the end of the day, you can always count on Earl to be a good Democrat lap dog and vote the Pelosi way.

By the way, despite the credit that Earl seeks for supporting President Bush, you may want to listen to this audio of Earl I grabbed from 2008 at the Dem-NPL convention in Grand Forks:

Let’s not forget that time a few years back when Earl Pomeroy called President Bush a clown, when he didn’t realize he was on camera:

So…I guess we can discern the following about Earl Pomeroy:

– when he thinks nobody is watching, President Bush is a clown;

– when he has an arena full of Democrat cheerleaders, President Bush perpetuated a “man-made, self-inflicted disaster” upon our nation;

– when his political career is on the line, Earl Pomeroy feigns support for President Bush hoping we’ll be fooled by his lies.

Sorry, Earl…we’re not buying it. Your days of acting one way in Washington and portraying yourself another way back here in North Dakota are OVER. Get used to civilian life, sir…it’s only weeks away.

It’ll always be the tallest manmade object in my heart

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While on the notorious Cold War Mancation™ we made a brief stop at one of North Dakota’s largest landmarks: the KVLY TV tower near Blanchard. If you know what you are looking for, you can actually see this tower from Interstate 94. You can also see its counterpart, the KXJB TV tower, which is relatively nearby and only three feet shorter.

I am no longer employed by the company that owns and/or operates these towers, but I do get to work with them from time to time. It’s been years since I’ve been inside the big reinforced building that houses the transmitter for this beast. In fact, I had to find a new way to get here since the old gravel road is currently flooded. The last time I was here, there was a crew working hard to make some adjustments or repairs to the main transmitter and get it back online. At least they didn’t have to climb the tower!

This beast stands 2,063 feet tall. It has been the tallest manmade object in the world for years. At one time I believe a tower in Europe took the title, but sadly it was unable to bear the load and collapsed. The title then reverted to KVLY’s tower until the recent construction of the “Burj Khalifa” in Dubai. One could be nitpicky and point out that it’s the tallest manmade object in North America, or even in the free world.

By the way, there’s a tiny elevator about the size of a phone booth that goes up the center of this tower’s triangular structure…but not all the way. At some point, you’ve got to get out and climb. No thanks, I’ll just enjoy the view from below!

I could give you all kinds of amazing stats about the miles of supporting guy wires or million pounds of steel, but I think KVLY’s own website does a great job of that. While this tower gets all the glory, it is noteworthy to point out that the second tower, built by former rival and current sister station in the Valley News Live family, is merely three feet shorter. Not only does North Dakota hve the tallest manmade object outside of the oppressive Middle East, it’s got two of ’em.

It’ll always be the tallest manmade object in my heart

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I had the luxury of a photo walk with my beloved wife this Saturday, and of course our choice was the Lewis & Clark walking trail on the Mandan side of the river. There is a trailhead at either end, and we chose to begin from the one in the Captain Leach area.

This end of the trail goes under the historic Northern Pacific and Grant Marsh bridges as it dips toward the bank of the river. There’s a good variety of foliage to be found along each of the trail’s two forks.

Of course, there are plenty of routes along the river that will provide scenic vistas. One can head north or south on 1804 or 1806, for instance. A nice drive up River Road and back around by Papa’s Pumpkin Patch could provide some breathtaking scenery and colors. Whatever your route, you’d better take it soon! It’ll be over before you anticipate.

Oh yeah…watch out for wildlife. This little guy was really mad at me. Some creatures just really don’t want to have their photo taken, I guess! He struck at me a couple of times, but thanks to the wonder of telephoto lenses I wasn’t close enough to hurt him. Nevertheless he felt cornered, and nobody likes that.

Cold War Mancation, Part Five: Minot

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No, I didn’t find myself on the tarmac looking at the flight line on our Cold War Mancation™…this photo is from another time. We did, however, wrap up the Mancation with a stop in Minot. I wanted to make it to the vicinity of MAFB and gaze over/through the fence, but it was getting late. There is, however, one place along the highway en route to the Air Force base that was worth visiting.

This is a view from inside the Dakota Territory Air Museum just north of Minot, appropriately adjacent to the airport. On our trip we ended up arriving a little too late to get in, so I brought my toddlers up later. What you’re looking at is one of the few flying Japanese “Zero” aircraft, named “The Last Samurai.” Read more about it by clicking here. This thing is an amazing work of art and detail. It’s a carrier model, with wing tips that fold up to allow greater aircraft capacity on the carrier.

Facing off against the Zero is this brilliant restoration, a P-51 Mustang. On the day when we arrived, the engine and other tasty bits were exposed for all to see. It’s interesting how a tool of warfare can be so striking and beautiful. I’m not the kind of guy who gets all wound up about old cars and stuff, but this machine is just downright breathtaking.

Also breathtaking are the dual .50 caliber Browning wing guns! We were lucky in that the panels covering the aircraft’s armament were open as well. I’m pretty sure there are plenty of problems whose best solution is a belt-fed .50 cal!

This is where we wrapped up the Cold War Mancation™. We put our noses to the glass a little bit and pointed the truck back toward Bismarck-Mandan. These pics aren’t from that exact visit, but hopefully you get the idea. There are plenty of other really cool photos from this road trip, including some other striking landmarks, that I’ll be trickling out as time allows.

By the way, you really need to visit the Dakota Territory Air Museum. It’s not just a hangar full of planes; it’s three buildings of history and more! I’ve got lots of pics that I took with my toddlers that I’ll post down the road as well.

One other thing: I believe the Minot Air Force Base is hosting their biennial Northern Neighbors Day air show & more this summer! Stay tuned for more…

Fall colors begin to appear in the Badlands

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If you’re looking for leaves in an array of colors from summer green to autumn gold, now’s the time. I was roamin’ with the cameras this weekend and got a very brief window of sunlight in which to nab some photos of those fall colors which have started to highlight areas of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park!

The window of opportunity for North Dakotans to enjoy fall colors can be very narrow. Last year the leaves fell pretty much without changing color at all! It looks like we’re going to be more fortunate this year, but don’t let it pass you by. Sadly those leaves are going to be on the ground sooner than we think.

TGIF

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Several hundred miles, at least one seventeen hour work day, and not a whole lot of rest this week. Thank God it’s Friday. Actually it’s going to be a very busy but rewarding weekend around here. Aren’t they all?

Have a great weekend!

Makin’ fine feathered friends at the rest area

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On my way to Fargo for a couple of days working at Microsoft’s beautiful high-tech headquarters, I made a quick stop at one of our state’s handy rest areas. On my way back out to the truck I noticed this little Yellow Warbler fluttering by the window next to the door. He quickly dropped down to and perched on the sill.

He looked a little scared and disoriented so I, as a bird whisperer, decided to befriend him. I grabbed a little stick and put it by his feet so he had a better place to perch. After all, a little bird’s feet are not meant to sit on a flat metal surface; they need something around which to curl. He seemed pretty content with that, although a little out of sorts.

I talked to him a little bit and showed him to the other guys on the crew. He hung out with us for a minute or so, even hopping on a friend’s shoulder for a second, before regaining his composure and flying away. I figure he must have bonked into the window and rung his bell a little bit. In any case, it was nice to hang out with him briefly until he was ready to get back to being a bird.

You’ve got about as much chance of winning this as the Powerball!

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I love the way Adam Jones and the gang at the North Dakota Republican Party have been injecting humor into this year’s political races. Here’s a real gem, from today’s press release:

HAVE YOU SEEN REP. EARL POMEROY? Neither have we.

After voting with Nancy Pelosi 97 percent of the time and serving as the decisive vote for Obamacare, Earl thinks he can hide his record-by not showing up to talk to voters. The North Dakota Republican Party is therefore today announcing a contest to find him.

Participants who can tape a video clip of Pomeroy at a public forum or town hall will win an exclusive “Where’s Earl?” T-shirt. Eligible entries must show Pomeroy at a town hall event or public forum answering questions about healthcare or the stimulus. The video must be of an event occurring between today, September 13, 2010 and Election Day. Contestants can submit their video to contest@ndgop.org.

Pomeroy has held zero town halls over the Congressional recess for the second year in a row, and his campaign website has shown no upcoming events for over a month. Needless to say, this makes his false accusation that Rick Berg is ducking debates and hiding from voters especially rich in irony.

Pomeroy may think he can hide from voters. We’re betting he’s wrong. Help us prove it, and submit your video today!

Of course, this all stems from the fact that you haven’t been able to attend a town hall meeting or other public gathering where Earl Pomeroy is available to constituents since early in the debate over the government’s illegal takeover of the health care system. Here’s another example of the hypocrisy:

Visit Earl Pomeroy’s campaign website and you’ll see this:

There is nothing I enjoy more about campaigning than getting around North Dakota to meet with the folks that I represent.

But the fact remains that he is NOT getting around North Dakota and NOT meeting with the “folks” that he represents! I called his office asking if there would be anything coming up where a citizen could address his Congressman. The answer: Nope.

So, if you’re looking to win a free t-shirt, maybe you’d have better luck with the Powerball (not that I condone gambling). Chances of Earl Pomeroy appearing in public AND taking questions about federal spending and Obamacare are probably less than getting struck by lightning while cashing your Publisher’s Clearing House check!