Return of the Flies

OK, Morocco made me appreciate cleanliness and lack of flies. There were so many flies in Ras L’ma it was scary – I remember a big piece of concrete literally covered in flies. I remember flies at the souk, flies in the eyes of little kids and donkeys.

And I swore I’d never complain about the occasional U.S. fly again. After all, it’ll be dead in a few days anyway, right?

Well, I am reneging on that oath and whining about them.

This week, Hope Village had the opportunity to receive a portion of the gate proceeds of the Bakken Oil conference. Half of the $5 admission fee is being split between us, the Dakota Boys’ and Girls’ Ranch and the Williston Salvation Army. This is a good thing, of course, and I am appreciative. Thank you, oil people.

In return, we were given the opportunity to have a booth at the conference. This seemed easy enough, although the email directions started getting very, very confusing and detailed about two weeks ago.

Got all that settled and finally, the three-day conference has begun. I’m sitting, “Breakfast Club”-style, in one room for eight hours a day for three days as I type this. Exciting it’s not.

The first morning went by fast enough as I was off discovering what funky booths they have at oil conferences. Would you believe AP is here as a sponsor? I had a nice chat with Michelle Morgante, who is either the bureau chief or the news editor of the Dakotas, but she’s based in Minneapolis or something like that.

Of course, she had been through Detroit, though it was in 1991. She knew a couple of people I worked with, like Jim Irwin and Paula Froke. She was kind of astounded that I knew where some were and what they were up to these days. (Hi Bree!)

I also got an AP bag, which was kind of cool since most of my AP going away package got lost on the shipment back from Morocco. I need another bag like Rally needs more fleas, but I like it.

So the morning was pleasant enough, but the afternoons were just brutal. The nice little spot they gave the three charities is smack in the sun on a sunny, 94-degree day. Possibly Tuesday was the hottest we had all year, and man, it was just like roasting in an oven.

But what was worse was the flies. They just swarmed. I’ve no idea why, but they were everywhere. Just five and six on my feet at any one time.

And even though every single booth but Hope Village’s was giving away some little trinket, there was not a fly swatter to be found. I brought my reporter’s notebook and looked like a crazy woman, just whacking away at the air. I think in all the spasms, I maybe got one. Maybe.

The second day, someone found a giveaway fly swatter.

At these exhibitions, everyone gives away something. There’s a lot of candy and a lot of pens, neither of which I need. There are some funky stuff out there, let me tell you. Toothpick dispensers, fidgets shaped like chickens and oil rigs, golf tees and more.

We three charity booths apprehended one fly swatter among us and on the third day I figured what the heck, I’d go get a fly swatter of my own. I’d gotten the name off the first one and looked up where it was so that I didn’t have to wander.

Well, I got there, and no fly swatter, save the one the absent booth-minder had left behind hit computer monitor, clearly intended for him. I couldn’t bear to steal it. No more fly swatters. Apparently that was a hot item at this show, where the flies were just insane.

But the guy did have another freebie. I thought it was a moist towelette and thought, wow, what a weird, weird freebie. And I picked it up to look at it.

And it wasn’t a moist towelette. It was a condom. Grape.

Given the choice between a condom and a fly swatter, in Minot at this conference, it’s just no contest. Fly swatter. Hands down. I don't even like grape.

I saw some lady wandering by, the kind of white trash people you see in Walmart at 3 a.m. She three bags she’d picked up as freebies, and each one was completely laden with freebies. I guess she got her money’s worth in coming here.

When she passed me by, I hid the one remaining T-shirt I had left. It was a medium, and she was NOT a medium, and I figured I’m not going to help her out in her pilfering. Heck, she reminded me of Frick and Frack from the Red Wings games, stealing media guides and everything else that wasn’t nailed down.

So she didn’t get a T-shirt and since she came on the third day, she didn’t get a fly swatter.

I wonder how many grape condoms she took.

Center of it all

There’s a lot going on this week, but I’m keeping the focus here on last weekend. It was probably my last motorcycle ride through North Dakota.

Despite what Wendy and Leanne think, I enjoy riding. There were a couple of moments I wasn’t entirely comfortable, like going over gravel, when we forgot to put the kickstand down and the whole 750-pound machine kind of sunk and when the sun goes down and it gets pretty cold. But other than that, I’ve felt pretty safe.

I broke the visor thing so I do get wind in my eyes, but my sunglasses help that somewhat. The regular glasses are a little less so, but the weather’s been beautiful and therefore sunglasses-worthy so that point is essentially moot.

And honestly, if the wind ever gets too bad, I can just dunk behind my driver’s helmet and not look to the right or left. I miss some good views of sunflower fields that way, though.

I drove the Red Cross truck on Saturday and couldn’t get away for a longer ride then, but we opted to do a quickie trip to Rugby instead. It’s only an hour away and is the “geographical center of North America.”

So that’s a cool thing, right? Only somehow, we missed the big marker. I’m not sure what happened – this was one of those times I was staring at the red helmet – but we veered off to see the Pioneer Museum, which was closed. We walked around it, which necessitated creating a trail up and down a hill. That got a little confusing, but after that, somehow, we just went the wrong way and tooled through the town.

The little museum did have one of those little marker things and I thought it was the center point, but then in our walk, we also ran across a bigger one that was made of some kind of cheaper material. I thought maybe it was a stand-in like the fake Stanley Cup, but I really never figured it out.

However, on the way out, I saw the real marker across the street. It was a big thing on a platform shaped like a heart. It’s not much, but it was kind of neat to see. Hey, neither is the Four Corners place.

 

Yesterday, we headed out to New Town, which has a casino. I lost .70. My driver lost $8.50. I had to laugh. It didn’t take five minutes to go through it.

We went to that building – on one of several reservations in North Dakota – to avoid a rainstorm, but I’m really unclear on if it ever did rain. It was kind of neat to see, really. They’ve had concerts there before and I wondered what the venue was like. (Answer: sort of a gym.)

On the way out, we went to a hilltop that overlooked Lake Sakakawea, which, you might remember, was made when the Garrison Dam was built. When the dam was put in, it was going to flood a town in the valley, so the town relocated and Sanish became New Town.

Apparently when the water is low (which it hasn’t been since I’ve been here), you can see the spots where certain buildings used to be. As it was, the little sign said the rodeo grounds had been located under where the gigantic bridge was now.

It’s also a Lewis and Clark site, and there were little markers showing where they’d camped. On the way back from their trip, it was the spot where Sakakawea left the Corps of Discovery for home.

We got home fairly early yesterday, all things considered, and then grilled. It was a nice afternoon.

But probably my last ride. My diver heads back to Minnesota this week and is gone until after Labor Day, so I won’t see him anymore. I am a little bummed about that, but I knew it was coming so it’s not like I can complain.

There is lots to keep me busy at work this week, and then everything changes. But right now, the focus is on trying to put together a policy manual and a how-to book. As if that weren’t enough for the week, I also have to sit at a booth at the fairgrounds for three days for some oil expo.

I’m not really sure what it’s all about, but they wanted to donate a portion of the proceeds to Hope Village, and this is the hoop I have to go through to get it. At the time, I didn’t realize it was going to be THIS week, but I’m dealing with it.

What’s kind of amusing to me is that I have all these tickets and things and I really can’t say I know anyone who really wants to go. (Seriously, who do I know to ask?) I’ve even got three tickets to some reception on Wednesday night. If they have good food, I might ask my driver to go, but I don’t think it’s more than appetizers. It’s some kind of Bakken Oil event.

Sunflowers on Sunday

My countdown clock is really winding down now, and it worries me some. I’ve got at least one large project due before around the middle of November and so far it’s kind of stalled. After doing a lot of work on one phase of it last week, there’s little I can do on it until I enter my supervisor’s brain.

At the moment, that brain is suffering from a severe migraine, so it ain’t going to be today.

Today’s been a little of a letdown overall, in part because Saturday is over. This is a good thing. I had a really big community event on Saturday and I have been ready for 2:30 p.m. on August 10 since about April 3. Now that it’s over, I am kind of at a loss as to in which direction to move.

Yesterday, though, that direction was south. I hopped on the back of the bike again and got chauffeured around a big square in North Dakota encompassing the Garrison Dam, some cool national park with a lot of flowers, Hazen and Stanton, the home of Sakakawea (more commonly known as Sacajawea).

So it was nice and somewhat relaxing, even if I did forget to put sunscreen on my nose. Today I look like Rudolph. 

 

The dam is an earthen one, one of the biggest in the U.S. I’m fascinated by these things because I just don’t understand science at all. Somehow water turns into electricity. I just don’t grasp these things. A misused “it’s” jumps out at me, but my brain cannot grasp this kind of stuff.

There were lots of people fishing, be it in boats or along the sand. Saw some beaver-chewed trees but no evidence of the beavers or any dam made by critters.

Went by a fish hatchery, which wasn’t open despite being between the posted hours. You could walk in and see some tanks, but not the big long ones or anything. But it was cool to see what a walleye looks like because people talk about catching those all the time.

 

The sunflowers are massively cool. North Dakota produces more sunflower oil and seeds than any other US state, and there are fields upon fields of them.

Last week’s ride north didn’t yield too many that had gotten to the big blooming phase just yet, but on this trip there were plenty. They’re just so gorgeous.

The little Sakakawea city had a museum there, but we only had about 10 minutes before closing. Fortunately, you could wander outside in the mud igloo earth home thing. It was actually a nice-sized area with things like bunk beds and I thought that wouldn’t be so bad until I read the description that said that families of 5-15 plus their dogs and horses lived in them. Then it was a bit too cozy for me.

Saw lots of little wildlife, including something small being run down quickly by something medium-sized. Couldn’t really tell what it was, though.

The frogs were out in force and one deer jumped in front of us. I couldn’t get the camera ready for that one. Also met two cool dogs, which made me miss Kocur all over again.

Oh, and another awesome thing I couldn’t capture on film: a bald eagle. Man, that was cool. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one in the wild. This one obviously had a nest nearby because he kept hanging out in the same area (this was when we were talking to a fisherman so we were there awhile). But my camera is crappy and I didn’t even try. I just watched it fly.

I’ve no idea how long the motorcycle rides are going to last, but I am enjoying them. It’s a little tough getting the view from the bike – I have this big head in front of me – but it’s much easier to just duck down a side street and see where it goes.

Peace Out

TWO weekends away in the span of a month! What has happened to me?

I darted out on Sunday (and am unbelievably exhausted today) to go up to the International Peace Gardens with another volunteer. On the back of a motorcycle, no less, but I think I did OK. I didn’t cause any crashes, but I do know to wear more clothes next time. It was very overcast and I was really chilled.

 

North Dakota is the Peace Garden State. If you didn’t know this, well, that’s OK because neither did I. But, for informational purposes, there is a fantastic garden that straddles the border between North Dakota and Manitoba.

We, being newbies to the site, erred on the side of caution at this left turn into the garden. It’s in the zone between the US customs and the Canadian customs, and, since I lived in Detroit, fear ticking off the border guys and suggested we go through Canadian customs instead of just turning straight in.

Well, as it turns out, you can just go straight in, so my trek into Manitoba by motorbike was only the new meters it took to make a U-turn and enter the grounds. The lady said it happens 40 times a day; you’d think they could put up some kind of sign that says, “Really, you can turn left here without standing in line.”

Just over half the park – something like 1,000 acres – is in Manitoba and the other 800 or so is in North Dakota. It’s ridiculously beautiful.

We putzed around a ride around a couple of lakes. Didn’t see any turtles sunning themselves because there was no sun, but we heard some loons and saw some cool trees before we hit the main flower part.

That is just incredible. I took 100 photos exactly. I couldn’t even guess on the number of petals in the photos. They had a couple of side things, like the cactus garden, and I just oohhed and ahhed.

Even though it was overcast and misty, it was really gorgeous.

We made a stop on the way up at some random thing that turned out to be a modern-day Stonehenge. Sitting smack in North Dakota. Who knew?

On the way back, we stopped at an old cemetery in a boarded-up Catholic church. It was on one of the Indian reservations in the area. I saw some headstones that I’d never seen before, like wooden or metal crosses.

My penance for taking a weekend off was that I didn’t get a story written that I should have done. I was supposed to get it to the board members by close of business today.

I wrote it at about 3 p.m., but sent it to two board members for an early look in hopes of getting feedback before sending it to the rest. It’s a story on the exit plan as the organization winds down.

October 31 is the hoped-for end date of the rebuild. There are a lot of things that have to fall into place, but the idea of the story is to stave off panic of flooded homeowners when they see Hope Village bedroom sleeping units being packed up for deployment to Moore, Okla.

It doesn’t appear I am going to get the draft back, though, so I’m just going to cut my losses and send that version to the board. I really need to give them time to get their input before I send it out.

So peace out.