Ribbon of pinkness

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Often I use some sort of lyrical or song title reference in my posts, but a quick album/title search of my music library only brought up “Ribbon of Darkness” by Marty Robbins. Great song, but not applicable to this “ribbon” of pink and white flags at the state capitol grounds.
October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, in case you’re wondering what it’s all about.

That reminded me of this pink tractor that made an appearance a while back as part of a promotion to raise awareness. It was parked near the Clear Channel offices for a while and showed up at a lot of different events. I don’t know if it was given away; can you imagine being the lucky guy to win a pink tractor? Driving around on it would be the kind of thing that could get you beat up, I imagine, unless you can blurt out the “how I got a pink tractor” story first.

If you drove past the capitol and were wondering what was with the little group of flags was all about, I hope this clears it up.

Cell phone photo stream part 3

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Waiting to fly home from either Albuquerque or Vegas, I can’t remember which. They were both grueling (but rewarding) video shoots.
 


Missouri River, anyone?
 


The view from atop the North Dakota State Capitol. This is from the 18th floor but I’ve shot from the roof a couple of times, too.
 


I had so much fun unloading these steel beams, but it was STRESSFUL! At times I had stacks of five or six beams on the forks. It was both fun and terrifying to lift those huge chunks of steel and try not to drop any. We unloaded SIX trucks full of steel without incident. Bobcat makes an amazing machine.
 


The missile control panel of a Minuteman I launch control facility.
 


I spotted this parked near north 9th Street. Pretty neat, huh? It’s made by a company called Aquajet.
 


My one year old, sportin’ a pair of Daddy’s sunglasses while out on an adventure with me in the truck.
 


The communications panel of a Minuteman III launch control facility.
 


Yep, I just reposted this picture earlier. It’s a “government fix” at the federal building on 3rd and Rosser.
 


The Bismarck-Mandan Symphony performed for the Independence Day celebration festivities at the ND State Capitol. One of my photos of this event with my “real” camera was a winner in the Governor’s Photo Contest this year.

I don’t consider myself an old person, but I remember rotary phones. I became a teenageer in the early 1980s, when technology really started to take off. In just the short time of my teens I saw the Walkman, the cordless phone, the CD player, the cellular phone, and many other inventions become reality. Now I’ve got a phone the size of a Snickers bar that can take amazing photos and send them to whomever I choose. Ain’t technology grand? Of course, I’m still waiting for my flying car.

“Stimulus” funds being put to work in Bismarck-Mandan

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I was walking down Avenue C this weekend and spotted this curious sight on the sidewalk. I don’t know what kind of point someone was making by putting band-aids on the crack in the sidewalk, but to me it screamed “government fix” immediately! It might also make a good metaphor for the results of a successful push toward socialized medicine.

What, you say? I’m too reflexively suspicious of government? Perhaps I’m a fear-mongering racist, which is the label hastily applied to anyone who disagrees with the leftist Democrats in power? Then check out this photo, also found while walking around Bismarck:

The metal plaque in the lobby of the federal building on 3rd Street and Rosser Avenue sports an actual, honest-to-goodness government repair job using shipping tape. Perhaps that was more readily available than duct tape, since the post office is contained therein. I think it has been this way for at least one full year, maybe two. The picture is six months old and I saw this a LONG time before taking the photo.

By the way, for those who thought the “stimulus” was going to be such a lifesaver (and that we need more), Google “stimulus funds haven’t been spent yet” (or click here) and see how much of that money has actually gone out. The answer: very little. What has gone out is not going to “shovel-ready” projects, but largely patronage funding that amounts to typical government pork.

Hope™! Change™!

Presumably they don’t teach punctuation

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I’m known as a neurotic proofreader, but it was actually my friend Luke Graner who pointed out this little gaffe along Washington Street. It could be a goof by whoever made the sign for the ECLC, I suppose; however, it seems to have escaped the notice of anyone in charge. If a sign with a blatant punctuation error shows up for your business or organization, it’s prudent to have the sign company rectify the problem… especially if your business is education!

That reminds me of some of the vehicles I’ve seen around town with Bismarck spelled wrong. Even when I was a kid, I noticed that some of the Cass Clay trucks in Mandan had that misspelling. Then there was the time the phone books had “Bismark” on the spine…that one made the news when I was working at KFYR TV.

One of my other favorite examples of a sign snafu was this truck, which sits along the nature trail on the Mandan side of the Missouri River:

Below is a photo of the truck as it sits…it probably went through most of its useful life of service with that mistake on the door! I didn’t look to see what the other side said, although I doubt it would have the same misspelling. I figure the artist got a phone call in the middle of painting “Bismarck” on the door or something. Don’t you hate getting interrupted? On a hand-painted door, it’s pretty hard to claim it was just a typo!

I’m not immune to making such mistakes, of course. I just think they’re interesting to point out. I’ve made plenty of oversights of my own. It’s embarrassing when it happens…especially to those of us who point out the occasional mistake of others!

Cell phone photo stream part 2

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Bold Witness. This driver has Bible verses all over the truck. I didn’t look, but I suspect even the top of the trailer declares the gospel!

Someone had the right idea, setting up this old chair beneath the lone tree up along Promontory Point in north Bismarck. It’s a perfect vantage point for sunset viewing. The chair has since been removed.

Classic sodas on sale at Mac’s Hardware on south 26th Street.

Norwegian Pride on display at the Kirkwood Mall. Ole Wan Kenobi?

Another fresh batch of magazines for the AR-15 arrived, ready to get stuffed full of ammunition. They’ve got plenty of company.

Slugbug. Slugbug. Slugbug. Slugbug. Slugbug. Slugbug. No slugbacks!

Waiting for the first (west) span of the old Liberty Memorial Bridge to go BOOM. Cappuccino from the B&J Tesoro on 6th Street helped keep things warm.

I didn’t know the First Lady was in town, but I recognized this plane from all the way over on University Drive.

Of all the times to be walking out on the sandbar. This was a very fast moving cell. My wife and I were able to walk back to the truck, however, before the rain came upon us because we were on the south edge of the storm.

This church is one of about three or four deserted buildings that make up the ghost town of Arena, North Dakota. It sits to the northeast of the Bismarck-Mandan area.

Cell phone photo stream part 1

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I back up the little card in my cell phone regularly, as with my wife’s phone (and my GPS, and everything else). I had a lot of neat photos in there, so I figured I’d share a bunch of them.

Spotted back behind St. Alexius Medical Center, near the Emergency Room entrance. I used to be a frequent flyer there back in my extreme sports days. I always had a regular bed, the one along the east wall by the phone. They spelled “toweth” wrong.

My camera all set up to take a time lapse of bugs climbing all over my polarizer filter (oh yeah, and a wind turbine being assembled).

I spotted this miniature dragster in Mandan.

I went out riding after church one evening and took a brief opportunity to look up something in my Bible. I have some friends who are going through quite a setback with their little baby and I needed to seek some answers as I watch them going through it.

One reason why I quit racing, although I’m not saying I won’t start up again someday. No, this isn’t my wheel. It was sent to me by a racing pal.

Ah, the river at sunset.

Finishing up with sunrise photos at the old Occident elevator at Almont. I left a tripod in the shot for my friend Watson (inside joke).

I spotted this mongrel on the Minot Air Force Base. Note the old front end on the truck with the newer model back end and tail gate.

This is the foot bridge across Hay Creek (I believe) at the Game & Fish OWLS site in east Bismarck, beside the NDG&F office.

Two key tools in getting neat photos of rural North Dakota: knobby tires and a good GPS loaded with trail maps and section line roads.

Lots more to come…

Forgotten stories lie south of Mandan

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It’s telling that this stone stands within sight of the capitol grounds. I’d bet only a handful of people know it’s here, or that it’s one of only a few remaining at the old Greenwood Cemetery.

I wrote before about this cemetery, located south of Mandan near my boyhood home. Now the city is expanding southward and encroaching upon it; in fact, the entry to it in my original post doesn’t even exist now. A new water tower is being constructed nearby, and it’s got a few back yards adjacent to it.

It’s pretty much abandoned, although Morton County takes care of it. A few stones from the 1800s remain, but there were some pretty big surprises outside of what would seem to be the cemetery grounds. Last year, crews working on the new water tower uncovered some unmarked graves. The news reports were written to give the impression that there were only a couple, but that’s not the case. There were over FORTY. Law enforcement personnel worked extra shifts to protect the site from grave robbers until the situation could be handled. This article gives a little bit of detail on that process.

This hill could tell a lot of stories if it could talk, to be sure. At this point there probably aren’t any more unexpected graves, at least not any more groups of forty-two. There are, however, a few remaining stones like the one pictured above. I’d like to let the markings on it tell that story for you:


JOHN S. MANN
NOV 30, 1815 TO SEPT 22, 1891

ELIZABETH D
MAR 6, 1811 TO NOV 12, 1874

ELLA
SEPT 28, 1882 TO OCT 8, 1891

OUR DARLING
DIED SEPT 14, 1883

You can find out more about the history of this cemetery in this book at the state archives at the Heritage Center.

Neat things attached to Bismarck-Mandan vehicles

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I’ve seen a few things lately that caught my eye, and a few of them have one thing in common: they’re attached to vehicles. Let’s start with this bumper sticker, which made me smile.

Amen to this one. As you know, I’m a cheerleader for our men and women in military and law enforcement service. I have the opportunity to run around with my camera and post drivel on the Internet because there are people stateside and abroad willing to put their lives on the line for my safety.

As far as humor goes, I probably saved the best for last. This inventive chap found one way to haul his extension ladder on the ol’ Merc: roll the windows down and strap it to the side!

I have quite the collection of oddities and cool stuff bouncing around in my cell phone, maybe I’ll throw a few more up here from time to time. Even though I have my big camera with me most of the time, the cell phone cam turns out to be pretty handy when time is short.

One more time, without the bugs

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Bummer that I have to resize these photos and videos to 500 pixels wide, because they’re really cool full size! For instance, yes, there IS a guy standing next to the hook on that crane. Someone has to guide things into place. Naturally the crew takes lots and lots and LOTS of safety precautions for their workers and innocent bystanders like me. Which reminds me, I’ve got a new hero: the guy running that big white crane. The precision of this crew was amazing, and when time is compressed their work on these wind turbines becomes apparent as clockwork that it is. I took some HD equipment with me from work so I could grab a time lapse video Too bad I don’t have room here to show it at 1080p!

Again, that crew was amazing to watch. I wanted to applaud after they got that second unit assembled; it was in such a cramped position that the crane operator actually had to roll the crane back a little bit on its tracks! I bet that made him nervous. In any case, both of the assemblies that I watched appeared to go without a hitch, and I’m sure it’s due to good planning and a talented crew. It was a real joy to be along for the ride, even at a safe distance. I stayed along the main road and chatted with the landowners whose land I was parked on. A representative from the company doing this work told me that these sites and the access roads leading to them are off limits to the public. Take note of that if you decide you want to see any of this action for yourself.

I hope to see one of these on each side of the bridge soon

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I remember hearing a long time ago that the memorial area on each end of the new Liberty Memorial Bridge will contain a chunk of the original historic bridge in addition to the other interpretive features. This may be one of those pieces.

Each memorial area (the Bismarck one is nearing completion now) has an area that would be perfect for a piece like this, which leads me to believe that the placement of the pieces will be the “cherry on top” once the rest of the memorials are finished.

Work continues under the Bismarck side of the bridge, presumably on the park that I heard would be placed there. Just because we drive over the new bridge every day doesn’t mean that it’s finished. I can’t wait to see what the area looks like once all the features of the bridge and its ancillary features are complete!