North to Canada and a special trip into the past

The little Commander is stoked up about going to the Winnipeg Folk Festival. The wagon will head out on Sunday. There may be a Friday sail, before the big trip. I can think of no other place where you can be transported back to the 60's like the Folk Festival. People dress like the good old days, the air is filled with buzzweed odors, and the Canadians know how to relax and have a good time. Ethnic foods are part of the spirit. It is a chance for a fat guy to see what the cafeteria in Heaven will be like. The music cannot be beat. There are five stages running live music at the same time. If you don't like what you hear, you move to the next stage. The big problem is that most of the time you like what you hear on every stage. On the way up we are going to stop at a wonderful Canadian park. In so many respects the Canadians know how to do it right. The parks in Canada are all much better done than the ones in our country. We will camp for three days, and then go on to Winnipeg. The Canadian people are much more relaxed because of their health care system. They are not caught up worrying about how an illness will bankrupt them. Lord Kadizzle will be in Canada for about ten days. I hope you let me back in our country.

Baseball Wars

The Commander is caught up in a great baseball war with the parents in Hazen. The Commander is on the park board, so she has to deal with it. Parents are fighting over how the baseball program will be run. Now, I feel like an old man, because I am going to launch into "When I was a kid". So, when I was a kid parents had nothing to do with baseball. Kids organized themselves. In doing so they learned a lot. They learned how to socialize, and they learned how to organize. Now all the kids learn is how to fight by watching their parents. I was outside most of the day yesterday. It was a wonderful day, but none of the neighbor kids were outside. They were all cooped up in their house watching video games or television. I could not imagine living like that when I was young.

Barely Missed by Meteor Shower

After Lord Kadizzle discovered the new planet in the story listed below, he went for a walk on the beach with Her Lordship. While taking a brief rest his Lordship was caught in a meteor shower, luckily none hit him.

Lord Kadizzle discovers new planet

The Commander and his Lordship sailed the royal yacht west over the weekend. In Whitmeyer Bay we joined Pat and Nancy. Pat sailed up from Pick City by himself, and had dinner with us, then he left to pick up Nancy at Hazen Bay. The Commander, and Lord Kadizzle were asleep when Pat and Nancy quietly returned. In the middle of the night Lord Kadizzle got up to answer a call from nature. It was a clear night, but there was a little fog by the water. However, you could see the stars clearly. Being confused his Lordship thought he was looking East, but was actually looking West. In the sky appeared the brightest planet I have ever seen. Calling out to the Commander I said, " Come see this, it is the brightest planet I have ever seen." When the Commander got up later she checked out the new planet. Upon examination by a better astronomer, it turned out the new planet was called "Pat's Anchor Light". From the commanders remarks it appeared in the galaxy "You Idiot". With the little bit of fog on the lake Pats boat was not easy to see, but his anchor light was above the fog.

Made $20,000 before noon yesterday

As we were working in the driveway our friends Ken and Terry Peterson pulled into the driveway. After a short conversation Ken asked Lord Kadizzle if he would like to make some easy money. Lord Kadizzle is a skeptic, but Ken unfolded the system. Ken was watching Fox news and saw an article about presidential dollar coins that had been made wrong at the mint. Ken examined one he had purchased from the bank in town. It turned out he had three rolls of the misprinted coins. Each dollar coin was worth two hundred dollars. Ken suggested Lord Kadizzle buy some coins at the same bank. Off to the bank I went and bought one hundred dollars worth of coins, that is all they would let me have. Once home I opened them, and sure enough they were all misprints. The coins were printed without the words "In God We Trust". This seemed an extreme stroke of luck, so I decided to do some research and see exactly what they were worth. In the mean time The Commander was sent back to the Bank to get more coins.

It wasn't long before I found out the words were not printed on either face of the coin, but were printed on the edge. Re-examining the coins I realized there was nothing wrong with them. Our net worth instantly went back to normal and now I have $100 dollars worth exactly $100. It is worth a little more, because it taught me money rarely falls out of the sky.

Pedaling Toward Nirvana

North Dakota has been having one of the wettest springs I can remember. It is great, because we have been in a drought for years. For the last tow days I have managed to get up and ride my bike up to the lake. The first day I did thirty miles, and yesterday about twenty five. I put my new Ipod in my pocket and headed to the lake. Everything is so green, and the temperature was perfect. North Dakota has the best bike path system in the world. North Dakota gets way more highway funds than the population could ever justify, so the state paves every cow path it has. The net result is a nice system of roads with no one to use them. They end up being giant bike paths. If taxpayers in other states saw this they would kill us. In fact I know one taxpayer that did. My brother-in-law from Pittsburgh came to Erin's wedding. He had some time so he took a ride. He came back furious when he saw all our brand new empty roads. With all the moisture and greenery the air is good enough to drink. After I got to the lake yesterday The Commander came up in the car and we loaded the boat with dinner. With some friends we sailed out to a bay and cooked some nice steaks. Life is good in Dakota, keep sending us your tax dollars. We love farm subsidies, and your highway help is also welcome. If you get the chance come out and enjoy the stuff you sent us.

Lord Kadizzle falls prey to strange store in Hazen

Hazen has an unusual business. I am not sure what they are doing, and I am not sure if they know either. They seem to buy whatever they can and resell it anyway they can. You know all the stuff that gets returned to Target, or Wal Mart, or whoever, it has to go somewhere. These people bid on a truckload of returns from Target. The stuff shows up and they resell it on Ebay, or at their store. A lot of the stuff is new, or the package has just been opened and closed.

As I drove by the other day, I noticed the yard of the business had magically filled up with all kinds of lawnmowers, and every conceivable motorized piece of equipment. My curiousity got the best of me and I stopped. I have been contemplating buying an Ipod for my music, so I inquired. It wasn't long before I walked out with a new used Ipod. Of course in my mind I got a bargain. After some detective work I found out what they pay for this stuff, see that they also got a bargain. Commerce in this country is a strange mix of people moving goods. Now, I find out these people are going to trade their excess inventory of new clothing, for someone else's excess inventory of new cars. I feel like we live in Tim Buck To where camel caravans stop and strange trades take place.

Lord Kadizzle Goes Fishing

Poor old Daryl needed someone to fish with him, so Lord Kadizzle bought a fishing license and we were off. Daryl has a brand new fishing boat with the best of everything. We put in at Beulah Bay, and headed west to Beaver Bay. Immediately the motor started giving a beeping alarm. We did the appropriate thing and just tried to ignore it. Next, we did what any good pilot would do, and tried to disconnect the annoying alarm, no luck. When we arrived at the fishing ground we bobbed in the sun and roasted. I had a nice Walleye on, but lost it before we could get it in the boat. Daryl got a small one. After nothing but frustration we headed back at full speed with the alarm beeping. In the midst of a highspeed burst the engine just quit. Fortunately a boat was right beside us and towed us back to the ramp. I looked in the owners mannaul to see what you were supposed to do when that alarm went off. The instructions said "Stay near other boats". We did the right thing after all.

Lake still rising

All the rain is having an effect on Lake Sakakawea. The water is up to 1816, so I may have to help Jim Sickler move the dock one more time. Checking all the incoming streams it looks like they are slowly going down. However, if Montana get one more good shot of rain I could see the Lake hit close to 1820. A higher lake means the good ship can get back into more areas. One of my favorite areas is down the Little Missouri. In the spring it is hard to find a prettier place. If the Little Missus wants to sail this weekend we may head that direction. It is a long haul. It will take two days to get there.

PALE BLUE DOT

Todays Video, give it a try

Bike Ride This Morning

Today was a perfect day to hop on the bike and head north of town. The air was crystal clean the wind was calm, and with headphones on it was a nice ride of about twenty miles. We both got some good exercise.

Down the Little Missouri

The Commander, Lord Kadizzle, Pat, and Lauren headed down the Little Missouri from Medora yesterday. Twenty one miles of horizontal smiles. The Little Mo was up high and roaring, and with the green Badlands our spirits were soaring. I highly recommend a float trip on the Little Missouri for anyone that wants to try something new and enjoyable. Put a cooler in the middle of a canoe and head on out. The scenery is unbeatable. We saw some golden eagles and more prairie dogs than you could shake a stick at. It was about a five hour float. The river is running at four miles per hour, but with a few strokes of the paddle you can make it six.

The Ravens fire out a CD

Hardly a day goes by that I don't stop in a City Hall and talk to our Economic development manager for Hazen. Duke has been doing this for quite a few years. It looks like it has been a good week for Duke. In addition to the announcement that we will have a nice new retail store in town, Duke's group has put their new CD out for sale.

I took my copy home and put on the headphones. Instantly I was transported back to the time when there was real music. I was back at College singing Red Red Wine, then I was at my cousin's listening to It Ain't Me Babe. Those were all good times and there are thirteen other songs that can take you there. The Ravens put their own spin on each of the songs, and I like it. It is hard to believe that old Duke has such a good singing voice and these old farts can crank out the tunes they do, but if you want to find out for yourself, let me know and I can tell you how to get a copy of the CD.

The Ravens started out years ago like so many young guys traveling around the bars and venues of North Dakota doing their stuff. It is great that the got back together and let everyone reminisce. The last time they played at Jimmy's in Hazen it was to a packed house.

Commander Contemplates Little Missouri

With the large amount of rain falling in North Dakota The Commander has been talking a lot about making an assault on the Little Missouri. From the Logging Camp Ranch we would head north on the water to Medora. In order to make the trip, the Little Missouri has to be running pretty good.

Never Trust a Pirate

The fleet left Captain Kit's Marina Saturday and headed West. Avalon manned and womanned by Pat and Nancy, Rovin Tarr with the crew of Dina and Bill, and Sovereign with The Commander and Lord Kadizzle set sail for Shark's Tooth. Twas a fair breeze and we made it up to the anchorage quickly. The ships were tied together in about fifteen feet of water and the dinner procedures commenced. The crews ate in the cockpits. After a tasty meal some reminiscing and then we settled in for the night. Under a full moon the water was as calm and reflective as glass.

In the morning a warm sun greeted us in the back of the bay. Around ten Utopia sailed in and joined us for a round of morning medication. Lord Kadizzle was presented with his Never Trust a Pirate tee shirt by the Utopia crew. When the fleet broke up The Commander gave the order to Lord Kadizzle to set sail for Berthold Bay. The rest of the boats went East to home base. Although it rained before sunset, the next day provided good winds to take the Sovereign back to the dock.