Nice butte

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Sunday night was a nice opportunity for me to dash out for a last minute photo fix, so I grabbed a friend and headed west. The sunset was approaching quickly, but I already had a foreground object in mind: Crown Butte. I know a spot which, if you have four wheel drive and aren’t afraid to get muddy, provides some fantastic sunset opportunities. I had a clean truck before this event, but now am still caked in mud. Fun on multiple levels!

The colors displayed by a North Dakota sunset are striking. They turn gold and/or red as the sun breaches the horizon, turning to wonderful pinks and purples as it wanes. The gold this evening was incredible. It also highlighted some very interesting features:

Note the corkscrew-shaped clouds traversing just above the horizon. These were quite noteworthy and a good reason to make a wide panoramic shot from multiple exposures. I set up my tripod and panned across the display, assembling several of the shots together in order to show you this wild looking formation. I’ll leave the “secret military test plane” theories to the tin foil hat crowd.

As soon as it came, the sunset departed. The golden and reddish hues had made their transition to purples and back to blue. This wide shot of the sky shows the evening sky encroaching on the bold display as night was just around the corner. Since the terrain required that I be able to see the best way to navigate through the mud, it was time for us to load up the cameras and head back in, satisfied that we’d had a successful photography outing on short notice.

You spell it Hogue, I spell it Hoge…let’s call the whole thing off

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So I’ve been politely poking fun at KFYR-TV and others like my friend Mark who keep referring to “Hogue Island” online. I’ve always known the Hoge Island Boat Landing, the Hoge Field model aircraft club, and the like…so where did the U come from?

Bringing this up to Mark, he told me to “read the signs!” Always willing to double check myself, I decided to take the long way home after work and investigate. Guess what: Hoge. Look above and see for yourself. Case closed, right? Nope.

It looks like these signs have been corrected to indicate “Hoge Island” but did originally say “Hogue”. You can see from this photo where the “ue” has been covered and replaced with an “e” to alter the spelling. Did the makers of the original sign make the same “error” that Mark and others have made? Not quite…it appears there may be some actual contention on the spelling.

I was hoping that it might be as simple as looking for a Hoge Township on the Burleigh County map (PDF), but sadly that did not yield the intended result. Burleigh County itself refers to the area as Hoge Island. So how do I try to get an authoritative, definitive answer?

Well, while I’ve actually been wondering about this since late May or early June, it turns out that the Bismarck Tribune has been on top of it. They did this story on the matter back in June and discovered that two branches of the family which once owned the land in the area spelled their last name in two different ways. So we’re BOTH right. Thanks to Chris Bjorke for the legwork on this one.

I knew a guy in college whose last name is Hoag. I wonder if he’d want to chime in on the matter

The most expensive way to NOT make a difference

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The wind farms popping up around North Dakota are the bane of the photographer. They spoil fantastic views of pristine landscapes, often sitting idle while they do so. I agree with much of Dennis Stillings says in one of articles about these “Prairie Pinwheels”. Many of his works published in the Dakota Beacon Magazine.

The machine pictured above, visible on the west side of Highway 83 as you approach Minot, has sat broken for many weeks. I think it’s a pretty good picture of the dependability of wind power. When there’s not enough wind, they don’t function. When there’s too much wind, they don’t function. When they do, they put the hippies in a quandary when they start killing birds in the name of being “Green™.” Oh yeah…and they’re LOUD.

I “re-appropriated” the title of this post from the folks at Envirogy, a website which has collected a number of studies dispelling the myth of wind power as a panacea. In fact, the opposite could be demonstrated to be true. Compiling studies from places such as windaction.org, they are able to point out the flaws in the utopian view of impact-free windmills churning peacefully across the fruited plane, freeing us from the shackles of evil corporations. Take a look at this article and the studies linked therein.

When life gives you lemons, you of course make lemonade…but don’t dare let your little kids sell it, or the government will shut them down for not having a pile of required licenses and permits. In the case of the wind towers, however, there are occasionally some photographic opportunities. This is one of them. I spotted it several evenings ago when I happened to be in the right place at the right time, which for me is a large chunk of photography’s appeal. I had to maneuver a little bit to get to the right position, but things aligned themselves almost automatically.

There you have it, the musings of someone who doesn’t drink the “renewable energy” Kool-Aid, some web links to provide a little weekend reading, and of course another windmill photo of sorts. Have a great weekend!

I’m not sure what it is, but it’s in season

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My guess it’s a combine, but it might as well be a white whale. This piece of equipment sits just east of north 26th Street at the intersection where the road transitions from pavement to gravel. It’s on private property that’s posted, so any photography has to be done from the fence line. To complicate matters, it sits at such an angle that its side is obscured by its shadow for most of the year.

That’s where the calendar comes into play. In mid-June when the days are longest, the sun sets farther north than during most of the year. At that point it’s just far enough to illuminate part of this machine, as you can see here. It still has a shadow cast along part of the side, but at least the main workings are seeing direct light.

One of the things that has intrigued me the most about photography, at least the type of photography which I pursue, is that timing is everything. I’ve taken photos of this machine during the summer, winter, and all points in between. It wasn’t until I made a point of remembering to visit in late June that I was finally able to get a shot like this one. Maybe next June I’ll try it at sunrise!

Under the Milky Way tonight

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I thought I’d borrow an 80’s song title from The Church for this post. I spent last night with one of my best friends (of which I am blessed to have three) out at Sweet Briar to catch the Delta Aquarids meteor shower. We were not disappointed.

While I did not catch any of the faint meteors on camera, we did see some spectacular ones and plenty of satellites. Of course, when the really amazing ones with glittery trails came by, I wasn’t in the process of taking a photo…so I came back empty-handed in that regard.

Taking photos of the starry sky requires a lot of things to go right. We need a clear sky, no wind, and decent temperatures for the long exposures. One other thing we need is for the camera to NOT fog up. Sadly, it did just that as a wave of fog rolled in just before we decided to call an end to the evening.

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. -Psalm 19:1

Cutting to the corps of the issue… with lots of web links, as usual

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The Army Corps of Engineers has some tough questions to answer. I don’t envy them. A recent investigation is turning up some very interesting emails regarding the Missouri River flood situation.

The most notable passage I’ve read so far is where Todd Lindquist writes, “I’m headed home. I no longer look people in the eye and tell them the forecast is 85,000 cfs from Garrison.” As it turns out, releases would eventually exceed that number by another 70,000 cfs… a fact North Dakota would be told only gradually.

There have been plenty of people making the case that the river was horribly mismanaged prior to the flood event. I wouldn’t argue with that. Now it’s time to figure out where everything went sideways and to prevent it from happening again.

In a way, I have a lot of sympathy for the Corps of Engineers; after all, they have strict guidelines to which they must adhere, guidelines which result in quite a juggling act as they struggle to make many competing interests happy. That’s quite an unenviable position.

Any investigation and resulting action that is taken in the aftermath of the Missouri River flood needs to be more than a simple headhunt. It also needs to take a long, hard look at the way the Missouri river system master management manual is written. Perhaps the dams should be returned to their original intended purpose: flood control. That way when barge traffic, recreation, and an endangered bird begin to cause mismanagement of the system, people’s lives and property don’t become casualties of the resulting mess.

Cloud Chasing

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A few Fridays ago I spotted some pretty wild clouds overhead and had some time to pursue them. As it turns out, the sky provided a pretty good variety for me…it just took a little legwork.

Although the previous photo was taken from the parking lot of Bismarck High School, I knew I needed a better vantage point in order to capture some of the more spectacular sights. I headed for Promontory Point to catch the tail end of this weather system. It had some pretty astonishing lift, making for some really visually appealing artifacts in the clouds.

Here’s the trailing edge of this weather cell. While it looks pretty cool on its own, it’s what was taking place within the clouds that was most exciting.

As you can see, the lines forming within this group of clouds are pretty neat all on their own, illustrating some very unique dynamics within the system. I decided I needed a better look, so I decided to head to Fort Lincoln.

Sadly, I was told at the gate that the blockhouse hill had been closed because of these very clouds. I was extremely ticked; I mean, why do I pay for a state parks pass if they close whenever it’s most useful? The blockhouse hill is closed until the sun has risen, it closes at sunset, it closes for weather… it’s ridiculous. I retreated to the Veteran’s Memorial Cemetery for a hasty shot before the sunlight went away for the evening.

Out by Huff I noticed that I once again had feathery company in my observation of local weather patterns. On the way back I saw several more of his counterparts perched atop power line poles along the highway.

As always, I maintain that North Dakota has some of the most dramatic skies. Keep looking up, or you just might miss ’em!

Nominate Sgt Steve Kenner as a Service Hero on the National 911 Flag website

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Update:  You can read Sgt. Kenner’s nomination by clicking here.

The New York Says Thank You Foundation is sending a National 9/11 Flag around the country to have it stitched back to its original format after being damaged during the terrorist attacks ten years ago. Commemorative patches are sewn on in each state. This flag will be in Bismarck on August 12th and they are looking for nominations of local service heroes to help stitch the flag.

Click here to visit the Nominate a Service Hero page on the national 911flag.org website, and you can do what I did: nominate the Bismarck Police Department on behalf of Sergeant Kenner.

Fill out the form with your information and a description of what Sergeant Kenner’s service and the Bismarck Police Department mean to you. Tell them that you wish to ask the Bismarck Police Department choose a representative to participate on Sergeant Kenner’s behalf and in his memory.

For “Their email” you can enter “bismarckpd@nd.gov” and for “Their phone number” enter “701-223-1212”. That will ensure that inquiries from the organization reach the Bismarck Police Department.

Here’s a link to the poster for the event (PDF): Click Here

Here’s a link to the press release for the National 9/11 Flag (PDF): Click Here

Spread the word, let our local law enforcement know that we stand with them, and help honor a local hero!

Bismarck bids another sad and unexpected farewell

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The city of Bismarck has lost another member, one who served not only in the Public Works department but also as a state senator and leader. Services are being held today for Senator Bob Stenehjem, the senator from my district. If you live in south Bismarck, chances are he was your senator too.

Condolences to the Stenehjem family and the many others…family, friends, coworkers, and fellow legislators who will feel his loss.

Watermark

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No, I’m not talking about the Enya album. I’m actually talking about indications of how high the river level has been. One of the best ways for someone who doesn’t live in a flood-affected area to get a handle on the water level is to find a familiar place which can give you a good point of reference. For many, including myself, Pioneer Park is one of those places. If you look at the photo above, you can tell that the water level has dropped significantly.

Picnic tables that were bobbing in the water before are protruding from the water quite nicely now.

The only thing monumental about these things is the the waste of tax money to produce them. In any case, there’s a good reference point here as well. A clear high water mark can be seen and the water was up to the signage at one point as well.

That’s not all: the pilings for the NP railroad bridge have a tale to tell as well. Note the turbulence along the side of the pillar. I’ve got some amazing photos and videos of that from earlier in the flood event, I just haven’t had time to share them…yet.

Even at good ol’ Fort Lincoln, there are signs of receding water. In addition to the birds-eye view of the flood from the top of the northeast blockhouse, there’s also this little slice of backwater.

Once again, the structure gives a good indication of water finally receding. There’s a beaver that hangs out in this little inlet who I think has been enjoying the high water levels and is in for some disappointment! A couple of weeks ago I watched him slap his tail as he swam back and forth.

With releases from the Garrison Dam continuing to diminish, I’m sure we’ll begin to see a major difference. I notice that the river gauge in Bismarck indicated 23.67 feet earlier today, but that’s obviously a glitch. Hopefully we’ll start a steady decline toward normal river levels soon!