;)
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I was afforded the opportunity to take my camera and hop in the truck for an outskirts adventure. I'm still leary about doing too much hiking with my camera due to deer season and recent mountain lion encounters in North Dakota, so I kept things on the road and next to the truck.
The river had a "tube" of fog hovering above it as I neared the river bottoms. While I found a lot of other fun roadside stuff to occupy my viewfinder, I did want to get a good view of this phenomenon from above. Sadly, access to all the high ground on the Bismarck side is hard to come by. I did find one "trail" that could be loosely construed as a section line road, from which I was able to nab a few shots. By that time much of the fog had receded or dissipated, as the sun was quickly burning it off. No matter...I still filled at least one camera card with fun stuff this morning, and put a pretty good dent in another one.
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( 3.1 / 55 )
The tigers are the new stars of the show at the Dakota Zoo, along with the snow leopards in the adjacent habitat. One big thrill for the kiddies is the tunnels leading to glass enclosures protruding into the big cat habitats, providing a unique view of the critters. Sometimes they get really, REALLY close.
I helped Stephanie balance along the edge of the window sill, on a tiny little strip of metal forming the window frame. That - and her bright red sweater I presume - proved irresistible to one of the cats, who looked otherwise bored. He had some fun for a few minutes, and my camera was there.
At first he just paced around and looked really interested, but after a trip around the glass pod he leaped at the glass and looked like he wanted to give her a big hug! A hug with claws and teeth, I presume.
He took a couple different opportunities to lunge at the glass. Each time the people who were in there with us gasped with excitement, and Stephanie was sure excited! I just kept snapping away with the widest lens in my backpack, trying to bounce the flash just right. Now we've got a few more memories to share. I think the tiger had a good time, too!
The Dakota Zoo is still open from 1pm to 5pm Friday through Sunday, weather permitting. More information at www.dakotazoo.org.
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( 3.1 / 128 )
Last night I got done working on the wife's truck and decided to pay a visit to the All Veterans Memorial on the grounds of the North Dakota state capitol. With today being Veterans' Day, there will be a lot of visitors here. This memorial does something special on this day, and I didn't feel like intruding on the day with my camera during a solemn occasion (although I may be visiting to pay my respects).
For anyone who doesn't know, the top of this memorial is only square on the outside; the inside is a spherical dome. That's important for many reasons, which are evident when you're there. At the center of the monument is a globe on a pedestal.
As the placard describes, something special happens here at 11 o'clock on the eleventh hour of the eleventh month every year, in commemoration of Veterans' Day.
At precisely that time, the rays of the sun travel down this hole in the dome of the monument, beaming their way directly toward the globe at its center. I was kinda hoping that someone would be able to clean that stain off the wall where water sometimes drips through the tunnel.
On the globe, North Dakota is raised and polished above the surrounding terrain. The light of the sun strikes it directly for a brief period of time every Veterans' Day at 11 am, lighting it up for those in attendance. Hopefully someone can tidy up this globe before it sees all the attention today; I tried to dab a couple of spots off with a clean handkerchief, but that didn't help like an actual cleaning would.
While this is a really neat phenomenon, it's really all about remembrance. Millions have served this great nation over the past couple hundred years and every one of them sacrificed a great deal, even if they didn't lose their life or suffer physical injury in battle. Today is only one of the 365 days each year that we should hold them in high regard and thank them for the freedoms we enjoy because of their commitment to duty. If you're there to see the light of the sun strike North Dakota on the globe, that'll be really neat. Then take some time to peruse the names on those metal placards and consider the men and women who protect this great nation.
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( 3.1 / 59 )
Late last week I posted about my appeal to Congressman Pomeroy to vote against the House health takeover bill, which will bring the national recession home to North Dakota. He caved to pressure from his national party and voted for it anyway, regardless of its effect on North Dakotans.
First, Earl decided he needed the accolades of Washington insiders, which he achieved by announcing support for this monstrosity of a bill.
Also, Earl appeared at a press conference to apologize to Nancy Pelosi, whom he really serves when the rubber meats the road. That will insure the backing of the national Democrat (not Democratic) party in his re-election bid. North Dakotans got sold down the river.
Saturday night, in clear violation of promises by President Obama and Speaker Pelosi that final legislation would be placed online for 72 hours for public review, Earl Pomeroy voted to cut Medicare by $400 billion and start taxing North Dakotans and North Dakota small businesses into compliance with socialized health care.
This is a pattern with Rep. Pomeroy, who represents the Democrat Party more than he represents North Dakota. Perhaps any ND suffix after his name should just be retasked to stand for National Democrats.
The first particular instance that really angered me was when I stood beside fellow Patriot Guard Riders at the funeral of a fallen soldier. On June 17th, 2009, Earl Pomeroy made sure to attend the funeral of a fallen North Dakota soldier and play the part of a supportive member of government. There's only one problem: less than 24 hours earlier he had voted with fellow Democrats against a resolution voicing support for the soldiers and pledging victory in the Global War on Terror! He couldn't split from national Democrats even to support the soldiers, but then the hypocrite comes back to North Dakota to act like it never happened.
While in North Dakota, he's one Earl Pomeroy...after the jet ride back to Washington, DC, he's an entirely different Earl Pomeroy altogether. Don't take my word for it; click on each of the links indicated in blue in what I just wrote above. Connect the dots for yourself; that's why I'm diligent in posting links supporting every point I make. The next time you have a chance to vote against this traitorous hypocrite on a ballot, please exercise your right to do so. Remember: a vote for Earl Pomeroy is a vote to rubber-stamp whatever the most extreme leftists in Congress want him to do.
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( 3.4 / 105 )
To paraphrase my friend Rob's caption for this photo, "How to spot a North Dakotan who's had a DUI."
I've been out with my camera during deer season before, although I've never been stupid enough to venture off the road. Even parked along an established road like 93rd Street southeast of town, the ringing of gunfire in all directions made me a little too nervous. I haven't taken my camera out of the bag much lately because of the cold/flu/sinus thing ravaging our house, but if I do I think it'll be well within city limits.
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( 3.1 / 92 )
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