Clearly this vehicle has sat in place for quite some time to get such a lovely arrangement of trees populating its engine compartment! I may have to look through my GPS and find its location next spring so I can see how it looks with some foliage.
We’ve all heard the horror stories about the Wild West: the crime, the traffic, the overcrowding. I don’t doubt that many of those growing pains, and many of the reports thereof, had basis in fact. Oil production in Bakken country has slowed somewhat recently for a number of reasons, and perhaps that’s why my experiences there departed slightly from the tales.
My first impression of Williston was that sure, it was crowded with heavy traffic…but their equivalent of State Street, the divided Highway 85 that runs north out of town to Highway 2, was completely closed down on the southbound side for resurfacing. Of course it would be crowded with half the roadway available. In fact, I was able to get served faster at McDonald’s in Williston than I have been in Bismarck lately. While working with the security manager at the facility I was in, he gave the following advice: “Oh, sure…it’s not so bad here. But you should see Watford City!”
The very next day I found myself working in Watford City. I needed some accessories to build some 50 amp power cables, so I stopped in at the RV store located at the busiest intersection Watford City has. I noticed that I had no problem getting in/out of his parking lot onto Highway 85, despite a lot of traffic. It just wasn’t as bad as I’d been told. “Oh sure,” said the owner. “…it’s not so bad here. But you should see Williston!”
Now just a doggone minute here. The person I spoke to in each town thought the other one was the madhouse. In neither case did I see the kind of problems that I’ve heard so much about. Of course I’m sure traffic gets insane when there’s a blockage on the road…but I have spent dozens of hours on the road in northwestern North Dakota and never experienced any such issues. I’m not saying they don’t exist, I’m saying they’re not a 24/7 phenomenon.
I know that the medical system and first responders are overwhelmed in the area. I acknowledge that many aspects of life have seen great upheaval since the boom took hold. What I suspect happens, however, is what I call “REO Speedwagon Syndrome”: the tales grow taller on down the line.
By the way, if infrastructure is so far behind, and they can’t afford to catch up, then why in the world is Williston breaking ground on a $70 million recreation center? Is that the greatest need, or do they simply have a fetish akin to the Bismarck City Commission’s? I think it hurts their cause when they claim they can’t keep up with critical needs but they certainly have more money than you or I will ever see to start building indoor pools.
Of course my limited time up there didn’t give me the chance to see the whole picture. Again, I acknowledge the upheaval northwestern North Dakota has experienced. I also acknowledge that we can’t believe everything we hear about the Bakken boom without experiencing at least a little bit of it for ourselves.
The shot above is actually quite pleasing because it was unattainable by the general public all summer long; the scaffolding and surrounding safety fence were only removed from the capitol over the first weekend in October. This is my first close-up shot of the capitol with its newly scrubbed limestone exterior.
My friend Jo got a shot at the capitol that really baked my noodle, so i had to drive to the capitol today and poke around trying to figure out how she got it. I finally figured it out, but not until AFTER leaving the capitol grounds and the possibility of trying it to see if I was correct. I drove there over my lunch hour so perhaps I’ll have to take another crack at it before the weather goes completely medieval on us.
This was a weekend of worry, answered prayer, joy, and some much needed roaming. I had an extremely fruitful photo trip on Saturday, allowing me to clear my head and stuff some nice images into my camera. I’ll be posting them here over the next few days. Here’s to a glorious week!
Oh, and belated Happy Birthdays to Sammy Hagar and former KFYR-TV meteorologist Mike McVay!
y gracious wife didn’t mind if I took “the scenic route” home from work last night, which was a real blessing. It’s been a LONG time since I’ve been able to do my trademark “just drive around and find stuff to photograph” thing that I love so much, and every little bit helps. I took a couple of interesting shots for the subject “close up” as part of a “Photo a Day” activity that I’m doing, then found myself at Fox Island.
I started out with my favorite shot being the vertical because I was able to fit in everything I wanted, especially the reflection. Arranging them for this post, however, I actually began liking the second one the best. Again, it comes down to an interesting foreground object. The dock just isn’t prominent enough in the vertical shot since I couldn’t get closer to it. Maybe if I cropped it differently to retain more of the reflections instead of the clouds:
Oh yes…today’s Sunset Song of the Day is “The Reflection of You” by Bear in Heaven (iTunes link).
So is the United States government providing inappropriate campaign support to Democrat candidates? I’m pretty sure there’s a law somewhere that indicates that federal government property can NOT be used to campaign purposes. In the photos above, it’s obvious that the property is being simultaneously declared US Government property and hosting campaign banners for the state’s three most prominent Democrat candidates. The whole thing looks a little questionable, and I think we North Dakotans could all use some answers.
