It's a Fiery and Fierce Friday!

          Today has been very eventful, and it is only 10 'o Clock! I didn't get much sleep last night due to a pretty gnarly thunder and lightning storm. Then, woke up to the town siren going off. Usually it only goes off at the hours of noon and 6pm. When the siren alarms at any other time, there has been an accident, the fire department is being deployed, or there is a tornado coming. I am happy to say there were NO tornadoes! Regretfully, there was a large semi truck carrying diesel fuel that caught on fire at the Cenex gas station. As if the fact that the truck was on fire wasn't bad enough, we had to add a HIGHLY combustible compound to the mix. Oh boy. Luckily the truck driver got out okay. As for the semi, it was burnt to pieces. The firemen did a great job at containing the fire and putting a stop to it. The only way I assume this is because the town hasn't blown up!

          After the exciting almost near destruction of Stanley, I get a text from Mel reading, "Be careful outside today, pack of wild dogs or wolves roaming around town not sure which one." I then asked him where, and he replied with Main Street. Well shit. Main Street is just a 3 minute human walk from our house. So after a near miss with being blown to smithereens, now I have to potentially face a pack of lost and hungry wolves while walking my Dog. I decided today wasn't a good day for a stroll in our secluded back yard with the Dog. Instead, I took him in the front yard, where everyone could find me if somehow I were to come face to face with these animals. I guess the days of a happy, fat, old black bear, or your average thieving raccoon going through your garbage is a day of the past for me. The picture quality isn't very good, but here is a picture I received from Mel of the curious beastly's.

          I wonder what I will see next? Purple Aliens in a spacecraft landing in my back yard would not surprise me at this point. Bring it on!



Happy Trails!

Discover the Spirit

          Its been a while since I have written an entry. Today is Thursday, June 18th. I am currently typing from the comfort of our home. Since we have arrived on May 2nd, Mel and I have survived without cable TV or Internet until today. It seems it takes folks a lot longer to follow through with simple duties. For example, coming to your house to install cable and internet. At first, it was hard getting used to, not having the convenience of modern technologies. However, after some time went by I found myself not missing it much at all. People out in these parts of the country don't watch much TV or surf much of the internet. In fact, out of the grand total of 3 bars in the lovely town of Stanley, only one of them has only one small television. I found myself doing more activities outside, conversing with people more, and taking appreciation for some of the natural things in life. With that being said, I am sure I will go back to the zombie wasteland of what is called the world wide web, and cable television. I won't even fool myself. . . I have been desperately wanting to catch up on some of my favorite television shows. I.e. Sleepy Hollow, Gotham, House of Cards. Maybe a little television is exactly what I need for a healthy dose to make me feel less backwoods and a little more hometown. :)

          Another exciting tidbit of news, Mel and I received our refund check from our previous apartment in Leesburg, VA. A whopping total of 3,225 dollars. Normally, my first instinct would be to go to dinner, or to go shopping. However, this time around being so far from friends and family, all I thought about was taking a trip to go see my Mother in Missouri, Father in Virginia, and Grandparents in North Carolina. Unfortunately, time cannot allow for all of that right now nor can money. It is about 450 dollars round trip per person to fly out of Minot, and that is on a "hot deal" day. I am assuming prices of airfare is particularly high going in and out of North Dakota because of the demand in people for jobs in the Oil industry. However, I believe that field has been declining. Either way, they can jack the prices sky high when there is a demand for people knowing that they will pay the price, and on the other hand, they know they can jack the prices sky high when there isn't a need. Because who wants to come visit North Dakota, right? I know if you would have asked me before I moved here, "Paige, if you were to visit anywhere in the United States, where would it be?" I can tell you right now, my very LAST answer would have probably been North Dakota. However, I believe North Dakota has grown on me. The license plate in North Dakota is beautiful. It is a picture of a great blue sky over a prairie with a Bison on the bottom left and what I believe to be wheat on the bottom right. On the top of your plate is a slogan, "Discover the Spirit." I thought that was beautiful when i first read it. In fact, it is actually quite true. Most people like me would have thought of North Dakota as there last traveling place, but if you gave it a try to "Discover the Spirit" you find that you wont be completely disappointed.

          With all that being said, I will leave you with a quote I found by Sam Abell on Montana that fits perfectly with my perception of North Dakota.

"There are grander and more sublime landscapes-to me. There are more compelling cultures. But what appeals to me about central Montana is that the combination of landscape and lifestyle is the most compelling I've seen on this earth. Small mountain ranges and open prairie, and different weather different light, all within a 360-degree view."

Happy Trails.

       

Weather. Work. Wellness.

               Today is Tuesday which means it is Deadline day at the paper. It is a solid 70 degrees outside with clear skies and hardly any wind which seems to be a rarity it North Dakota. Being from Virginia smacked dab in the valley of Leesburg surrounded by trees and the Blue Ridge and Shenandoah mountains, I never really appreciated the purpose of those land markings. I never did take into account that flat land with nothing to block the wind equals TONS of wind. Talking to the locals, they all say, "A day without wind in North Dakota, is a day to be thankful for." While I may be enjoying the breeze on a hot day now, I feel I may understand that saying a lot more come the colder winter months. I still can't fathom that I live in a state where, in the winter, you absolutely have to hook your vehicle up to something called a "block heater" to keep your car nursed from freezing over to death! Anyhow, I like to keep those nasty thoughts in the back of my mind until the time arises. 

               Mel started his new job at Case IH yesterday. Case IH is an agricultural equipment company that deals with everything from seeders, and sprayers to combines. What is a combine you ask? Well, being from a suburban area, I had to do a little research myself. To touch briefly, the combine harvester, or simply combine, is a machine that harvests grain crops. The name derives from its combining three separate operations comprising harvesting, reaping, threshing, and winnowing into a single process. Among the crops harvested with a combine are wheat, oats, rye, barley, corn (maize), sorghum, soybeans, flax (linseed), sunflowers, and canola. The waste straw left behind on the field is the remaining dried stems and leaves of the crop with limited nutrients which is either chopped and spread on the field or baled for feed and bedding for livestock. These combines used to be manually operated by people. Nowadays, they are all connected via satellite and GPS and ran automatically without the assistance of people. What Mel does is installing, fixing and updating these GPS systems to make sure the seeders, sprayers, and combines are running efficiently. Taking him back to his agricultural roots, I believe he is enjoying this work quite a bit. I am very happy for him.



               It is now ten till 11 and I will be leaving work for the day very soon. With talk about good weather and agriculture, I will leave you with a quote by Andrew Jackson who described perfectly what the backbone of our great country really is . . .

"The planter, the farmer, the mechanic, and the laborer form the great body of the people of the United States. They are the bone and sinew of the countrymen who love liberty and desire nothing but equal rights and equal laws."

Happy Trails. 

Destination. Arrival. Exploration.

         Today is Monday, which means I am typing this blog from my desk at work. All the while, trying to be as productive as I can in my proof reading. I never thought I would find myself working for a newspaper. One thing is for sure, deadline day here would make my Mother's deadline days look like a cake-walk. My mother, whom raised me in Virginia, worked at the local newspaper in my hometown for about 14 years. I always remember that Tuesday's were her deadline days. When my little brother and I were young she would bring us with her to work sometimes. I can distinctively remember myself badgering her with nonsensical questions as phones were ringing, feet were shuffling, and Mom typing and talking away to eager clients, "Mom?" . . . "Mommy?" . . . "MOM!?" I shouted. She mumbles something of an "excuse me" into the phone, and kindly (but somehow always stern.) tells me, "Paigey, It's Tuesday, which means it's deadline day, I have a lot of work to do, can we do this later?" I never did that term, "later." My ludicrous notion of always being bored. My poor Mother. 


          I now have ventured off into the world to go live in my significant others hometown of Stanley, North Dakota. We got here May 2nd, 2015 at around 5pm. Our dog Diesel, he and I arrived safely and surprisingly full of energy after our 3 day trip. We live in a very old, tiny, two bedroom house with an unfinished basement, back patio, front and back yard, and gravel driveway. It really is something to look at a house online 1,650 miles away and finally arriving to move in. We miraculously beat the timing for all our endeavors that we set goals for.  It took us a whole weekend just he and I to move all of our belongings in the house and arrange them accordingly. Coming from Leesburg, Virginia (Population 47,673 according to the 2013 US Census.) to Stanley, North Dakota (Population 2,060 according to the 2013 US Census.) was quite an experience. The interesting fact is both those numbers have doubled since the year 2000, making Stanley and Leesburg not too different in the sense of demand for people to fill a fast growing economy of jobs. The difference between the two? Oil. 
          
           I live in an area called, "The Bakken." For many Oil connoisseur's, they will know exactly what this terminology means. However, since my stay in the Bakken, I never knew there was a reasoning behind the name. I also did not know how much I would love researching Oil formations. The Bakken formation, is a rock unit from the Late Devonian to Early Mississippian age occupying about 200,000 square miles of the subsurface of the Williston Basin, underlying parts of Montana, North Dakota, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The formation is entirely in the subsurface, and has no surface outcrop. It is named after Henry Bakken, a farmer in Tioga, (Small town about 25 miles west of Stanley)  North Dakota who owned the land where the formation was initially discovered, during drilling for oil. I have learned a lot in the month I have been here so far. Not only about myself, but about other people, and surrounding landmarks and their history. 

Tonight is the night that they hold Yoga classes at the Elementary School. Since the first class is free of charge, I might consider giving it a go. It feels very uplifting to be far away from a fast-paced, hurried lifestyle and to be able to focus on my own physical, and mental well-being. What a great opportunity this has been for me. What an extraordinary life experience. I couldn't be more grateful. 

I do miss friends and family greatly, but I am so excited to keep expanding my horizons. 
With all that being said, I will leave you with one of my favorite quotes by T.S. Eliot. . .

"We shall not cease from exploring, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time."

Happy Trails.