The Big Event

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Last weekend we took our little boys to The Big Event, which is a free event held annually by Child Evangelism Fellowship. They’ve done this for four or five years now, although this was only our second time attending. It was fantastic, just ask the boys!

This event is staffed and supported by many local churches and helps collect donations of food for charity from participants. It takes up the entire Convention Center portion of the Bismarck Civic Center with an enormous variety of activites and prizes for the children.

Naturally the kids love the inflatables the best! Mom and dad are pleased with the way the kids get tired out from all the running, bouncing, and climbing…making for some very peaceful naps afterward!

There’s nothing like a couple of hours of padded obstacle courses to harness a little boy’s energy. You can keep an eye out for next year’s event by visiting the website, bigeventbismarck.com.

Valentine’s Day Special: My “Romance Survival Kit”

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Any girl will tell you, it’s all about the little things. This is my contribution, a bit of friendly advice for all the fellas out there. One way I try to make my wife’s day a little brighter is with little surprises. Above is the “survival kit” I’ve assembled. Note the heart-shaped Post-It notes, guys. Those are usually found in stores right about now, in time for Valentine’s Day. Go get some!

I like to hide little heart-shaped “I Love You” notes all over the place: inside DVD cases, behind the visor in her truck, things like that. I put a date on each one because sometimes they go undiscovered for long periods of time. That makes the surprise even better!

Phase two was the purchase of little note cards with envelopes and colored stationery, complete with wedding ring postage stamps. From time to time I will write my wife a nice little love-note and mail it to our house. Then, when she gets the mail, she receives a special delivery! A little goes a long way toward making a girl feel special.

We don’t have big plans for Valentine’s Day, although we do have a date night scheduled later this week. My goal is to scatter little miniature Valentine’s days all throughout the year! Give it a try.

Winter blog post

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I hope you appreciate a good pun in regard to this “post.” At the time I took this shot a few evenings ago, I was standing up to my knees in snow, in a ditch north of Bismarck, doing some quick run & gun photography before my fingers froze. My time spent in the bitter cold bore fruit, however, as I came back with lots of nice photos.

Old and stranded

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I recently braved the harsh winter nastiness for some sunset photography and paid this old equipment a visit. I don’t know what it is, but it’s photogenic. I’m no stranger to this piece, but this is probably the best photo I have of it as it’s drifted in pretty well.

One way to protect your abandoned missile launch facility

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When the 321st Missile Wing was deactivated, its silos were imploded, communications lines cut, and underground launch control facilities filled. The above ground portion of its facilities were turned over to private landowners. I’ve visited many of these, and sadly many are in a state of decay. Then there’s this one.

I got quite a laugh after pulling up to the gate. You may remember that I have a strict NO TRESPASSING rule in my photography, so the gate is as far as we went. There was something odd about this building, and my eyes quickly honed in on a shape in one of the windows, behind the former security desk:

Thankfully one of the lenses I carry is a long telephoto, which allowed me to see what the spooky shape was: a manikin! Boo! The sight of that head just barely peeking over the counter is probably spooky enough to dissuade any potential trespassers…especially since it reminds me of that bald chick from the first Star Trek movie.

By the way, if you’re interested in more of the sights I saw on this trip, check out some older posts:

“Cold War Mancation”, Part One

“Cold War Mancation”, Part Two

“Cold War Mancation”, Part Three

“Cold War Mancation”, Part Four

“Cold War Mancation”, Part Five:

Sadly, this old postcard just got a lot more relevant

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This is one of the old Bismarck postcards in my collection, and it is particularly noteworthy because the hotel it features suffered a terrible fire in January. The postcard was issued by AAA a long time ago. It lists the hotel as “1 Mile East of Downtown Bismarck on Highway US 10 & 83”.

It’s sad to see parts of Bismarck-Mandan history pass, isn’t it?

A couple of cool postcard finds

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Poking around the other day I found a couple of new postcards. As you know, I’ve got a fondness for the old Liberty Memorial Bridge. This card features the bridge from way back…even before it connected to west Main Street! I’m too young to remember this, but I sure can appreciate it.

This incredibly blown-out and oversaturated post card is very important to me. Look at the top of the tower to see why: it’s got lights hanging from the top edge of the capitol tower! It actually wasn’t until I discovered an older postcard of the capitol that I discovered this interesting tidbit. I thought the tower had always been lit from below. I was wrong.

Here’s a postcard I bought last year, the one through which I made my illuminative discovery. I’m so glad they light the tower from below now; those lights on the top look really cluttered! I bet it was no picnic changing bulbs, too!

I’ve got a couple more interesting old Bismarck postcards to share soon. Stay tuned!

I can’t believe I took this long for legislature photos

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But here they are! I spent some time breaking in my press badge while perusing the legislature last week. This photo is from the House…

and this is the Senate. This was during a normal day’s business, but I’m hoping that the legislature decides to participate in an event I’ve enjoyed during the past two sessions: Citizens Night at the legislature.

Curious? Check this link and this link for more.

Watching the watchers

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While working in the Joint Operations Center a while back I couldn’t help but notice the large wooden Samurai standing in the far corner next to the monitors. Once we wrapped up I was given permission to take a couple of quick cell phone pics so I could do some background checking later. This particular statue is very important.

The Samurai portrayed here is Kusunoki Masashige, a warrior who was a legend and an inspiration to Kamikaze pilots during World War II. This particular statue originally stood in a Tokyo military school and was claimed by a North Dakota unit, the 164h Infantry Regiment, as a war souvenir. Given to the State Historical Society, it spent nearly forty years in their care and adorned the Liberty Memorial building on the capitol grounds. In 1986 it returned to the National Guard and now sits in a very high-tech setting at the JOC, one suitable for such a revered warrior.