Cellpic Sunday – 25 June 2017

Mandan, North Dakota.

Lately, I’ve been to the Mandan (ND) Airport several times for various reasons in connection with my volunteer service for Civil Air Patrol. Recently, after landing, we pulled up to Hangar 42 and parked. Unlike fueling your car, aircraft aren’t always ‘filled to full tanks’ for each flight. Fuel needs are determined by educated estimates of fuel flow for the aircraft in gallons or pounds of fuel per hour. Then enough fuel for at least an hour’s reserve is added. Carrying more fuel than necessary decreases performance and limits our passenger and equipment capacity. After we determined our fuel load for the next flight, the fuel truck operator from Clear Skies Aviation drove up and readied his gear to refuel our tanks.

Weekly Photo Challenge – Transient

This week, Andrea Badgley focuses on drifters, nomads, and even the state of impermanence. “Where did it come from? How far did it travel? What stories would it tell if it could talk, and how long before it will move on again?” You can read the entire challenge post here. 

America’s Scenic Byways – Sheyenne River Valley

Getchell Township, Barnes County, North Dakota.

Always ready for a road trip, a chance encounter with a Facebook post taught me about the America’s Byways program. North Dakota features one byway in its entirety and another it shares with South Dakota. These are two of around 150 specific roads designated by the U.S. Secretary of Transportation. The first of these byways is only about an hour from our house in Fargo and last week, my Travel Tuesday post featured several stops along the way, the bridges of Valley City. This summer, expect to see more of this 63-mile (101 km) trek through the beautiful Sheyenne River Valley.

Cellpic Sunday – 18 June 2017

 

Valley City, North Dakota.

This week, I happened to be on a Civil Air Patrol flight and our route of flight was over the city of Valley City. Coincidentally, this week’s Travel Tuesday here, features the many bridges of Valley City as they cross the Sheyenne River on its southward trek through town. The largest bridge in the city, High Line Bridge, is an obvious feature at the north end of the city. Being a passenger on this flight, I had plenty of time to grab my cellphone camera and take a few pictures as we flew by.

Weekly Photo Challenge – Focus

Kaua’i, Hawaii.

This week, David W. asks us to share our take on “focus”, in or out thereof. The obvious application of the challenge would be images that are either sharply in focus, or stylishly out of focus, both a factor of the combination of lens characteristics and camera settings. You can read the entire challenge post here.  

Valley City – North Dakota’s City of Bridges

Valley City, North Dakota.

Less than one hour’s drive westbound on I-94 from our home in Fargo, the City of Bridges beckons. Our reason to travel to Valley City on this occasion was to find the first National Scenic Highway in North Dakota. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be featuring images captured on that drive. The Sheyenne River Valley National Scenic Byway winds its way through the river valley that is its namesake. A couple of the 27 stops on the byway are found in the city of Valley City. But I digress… Let’s begin our trip through the City of Bridges.

Cellpic Sunday – 11 June 2017

Fargo, North Dakota.

Last evening, on a beautiful Saturday, Lynn and I went downtown to walk around the newly revitalized city center. Fargo has done a fabulous job in re-imagining our downtown and a walk down Broadway is all you need to see the results of their work. At one point, some years ago, much of downtown Broadway was an outdoor walking mall with only non-motorized traffic allowed. That’s all gone now, and the street is full to the brim pretty much every evening with diagonally parked cars.