Roadtrip to Bismarck

I really never thought I would see the state of North Dakota so early on in my life. I love to travel and want to see every state and every country that I possibly can but North Dakota was never at the top of my list to get to first, even when I moved to Montana it was still 7 hours away and what’s there? So I thought I still wouldn’t head out that way. But then my boyfriend moved there and North Dakota became number one on my list. I was able to leave work around 1 p.m. last Friday and started the over 9 hour drive to Bismarck, ND. Going through Eastern Montana and Western North Dakota there is not much to see. Lots of pretty scenery to look at sure but very few signs of civilization. There’s also not a gas station or rest stop every few miles so you really need to plan when you are going to stop in advance so you be sure you can make it there. Anyways, as I drove East I also left the mountains, which was good for my car. My poor, poor, 1998, 4 cylinder, Rav 4. It did such a good job on the drive and I’m very proud of it but trying to get through mountains that things sounds like it is very mad at you. So I was happy to be traveling to flatter lands that would make my car happy.

I took several pictures of the landscape as I drove on. I mean you have to entertain yourself somehow on that long of drive by yourself. And I also took pictures of things I found strange or interesting. One was a dinosaur head sticking out of a building but sadly since I was in a moving vehicle when I snapped the picture a tree happened to be covering up the dinosaur head. Other than that there was the sign for “Bad Route Road.” Seriously? Who named that? And do people actually travel on it because to me I think I would avoid anything called that. There was also a sign for “Home on the Range” and looking off to my left at that moment there were some hills that had “Home on the Range” written on them. The sign for the exit said “No Services” So I’m not sure what goes on at Home on the Range, you can’t even get gas or pee there so I’m thinking it’s just some hills for people to take pictures of. North Dakota, as I have learned also loves ridiculously large structures of animals. I saw a large metal structure called “Geese in Flight” and also Salem Sue. Sue is a giant cow statue in New Salem, North Dakota. There are several more of these things throughout the state, according to North Dakota tourism websites but sadly they were not all on the highway I was driving.

When I did make it to Bismark it was about 11 p.m. and I was very excited because I had to pee very badly from drinking a large Rockstar. (Sorry again to my bf for yelling at him when I first got in, I blame my bladder stress) But I saw Bismarck in the daylight the next day and it was so nice and green. Green grass, green trees, and a river! See in Butte, MT there’s no large river and there’s not much green either. The town doesn’t get enough precipitation to have green. Bismarck also has chain stores. A Kohl’s, Best Buy, and Coldstone should not excite me so but alas they do after 6 months in a town without. I also found a store called Scheels. I had never heard of this place but it was magnificent. It’s an athletic outdoorsy kind of store and I know that does not seem like my kind of place. But I so badly needed new running shoes so that day it was my place. (I have yet to find a place to buy running shoes in Butte) Scheels was very helpful. The girl told me what kind of brands are best for my flat feet and they even had socks for you to try on the shoes with! Silly me, I had just purchased some at Target for the sole purpose of trying on sneakers. Oh well. OH and that reminds me Bismarck has a Target! Again, Butte does not haha.

While in Bismark Joseph and I went to dinner at a local place called “The Walrus.” They have a ton of different beers so I tried one that comes from Wisconsin called Sunset Harvest. It was pretty tasty. The food is not bad as well. Later we went to Captain Jack’s Liquor Land. It’s pretty much a massive liquor store with a pirate theme. We picked up a small heinekin keg because it was a better deal than cans or bottles of beer. Next up was glow in the dark bowling with Joey’s co-workers. Oh man I have not been glow in the dark bowling in a long time. But when you add beer from the bowling alley, nostalgic 90’s music, and a group of fun, nice 20 year olds it’s not a bad time.

The next day I had to head home but not before some brunch at Kroll’s diner. A Bismarck place that serves up some very tasty skillets. The skillets are basically all your breakfast foods mixed together in…a skillet! So yep I had eggs, hash browns, cheese, and bacon all mixed together. Oh and this was all digested while sitting in some sweet 50’s style turquoise booths. But all in all it was a long drive but I did much better with it than I thought I would and it was nice to explore part of a state I had never experienced before.

I had cow poop on me

Exactly a week ago I was at a cattle branding. My very first one. I had an idea in my head of what it would be like but I definitely was not prepared at all for what it actually was. Now I wasn't super dressed up or anything just jeans and a t shirt but someone should have told me to wear an old old raggedy t shirt that I did not care if it got stained. I also wore my cowboy boots but that was appropriate. I was expecting to just watch, take some pictures, and have an interesting story. Nope, I was put to work. And I was very hesitant about that.
Basically there are a bunch of cattle in one area kept there by fences and some guys had the job of directing them in the direction of where they were to be branded. One at a time the force the cattle to walk into this big contraption then it is tipped over so the cow or bull (whatever it is based on its sex) is on its side. The contraption has bars on it that hold the cow in place but back legs were also held down with some rope or put in another part of the contraption that would close over it. Someone shaves the spot the brand is going to go on, someone tags the ear, someone gives the cows vaccines, someone brands, and someone holds the tail. I was put to work shaving. Not the most fun thing in the world because you are very close to the cow and the horrible burnt hair smell that occurs when they are branded. And you also get cow poop on you. But I think anyone working there got cow poop on them. Gross. You get cow poop on you because when the cows are branded they make a horrible noise because of course they are in pain but they also poop. No one told me this fact at all. I expected the expression of pain noises, i did not expect all the poop. And this is why someone has to hold their tail because when they poop they will also whip their tail around if you don't hold it and then the poop goes flying everywhere. This is how I got cow poop on me. I was standing there with my clippers to shave the cows and the tail holder had to leave and no one replaced him yet so the tail whipped around and the poop flew. It was on my shirt, my pants, even a little on my face that I wiped off in complete disgust and feeling the urge to cry. I got over it and luckily after maybe 60 cows the guy branding found someone to replace me. I think he could tell I needed a break and after he found out I was from Philadelphia he just laughed at me. Yes, this was not something I had ever experienced or ever thought I would. When I was done my job I had cow poop on me and A LOT of cow hair. I then was able to get a few pictures and watched a calf be bottle fed. Then we headed up to the house of one of the cattle owners for a huge feast. I didn't know this was part of cattle branding either but apparently it's a kind of celebration and there's always a lot of food afterwards. I was very happy to be able to wash my hands and the food was super tasty. The view from their home was also amazing. But you better believe the first thing I did when I got home was take a shower. Oh did I feel dirty. Then I took a nap. Who knew cattle branding could be so exhausting. I don't know if I'll ever go to another one but I do know I want to avoid when they inseminate the cows. I have heard the stories about that and no thanks. I think for my next Montana experience I'll try fishing. Hopefully that doesn't involve getting fish poop on me.

I Want a Pet Cow

This is Cletus. (And the Montana Livestock Auction) Sorry I don't have less blurry pictures but these were taken on my blackberry. Anyways, I met Cletus this past Tuesday when I was assigned to do a story on him for work. Cletus is unique because he is a 3,000 lb steer. This means he is a castrated bull. Normally, steers are sold when they are about 18 months. But Cletus here charmed his owners so much they let him live to be 10 years old and to become 3,000 lbs. He doesn't move very quickly. When I saw him he spent most of his time just standing in one place and moved his head back and forth a few times. He chewed a little bit too. But he is awesome. I would like him as a pet. Unfortunately, he was sold to some buyer in Minnesota who is going to turn Cletus into Hamburger. (I will not be eating any cow product for a while. It will just be too painful as I'm reminded of my new friend Cletus) But seriously cows are cute. They are large kinda furry animals that are so peaceful. They just stand there and chew and moo. How can you not love that? Especially, when his/her name is Cletus? What a sweet name. Anyways, I enjoyed my first trip to the Montana Livestock Auction to check out Cletus. Despite the fact that all the cows I saw are now going to be steak or hamburger it was a new and interesting experience to see all of them. It also made me laugh to see all the little dogs running around the auction. They belonged to people who were there to either buy or sell some livestock. This one dog was hilarious. It was prob about 10 pounds and it just kept barking at 3,000lb Cletus. Cletus just had to step on the dog to shut it up. Another dog strolled over to the front of the seating area in the auction, faced everyone sitting there watching the cows, sat down, and barked at all the people. Cracked me up. I also, want one of the dogs I saw as a pet. But Cletus sold for a little over $1670. So if you'd like to help in my pet cow quest please donate more than that amount and I'll try to get him back before he becomes ground beef. I'll also need some money for some land to keep him on because a 3,000lb steer in my one bedroom apartment would look funny and smell funny.

Journalism and Alcoholism go hand in hand

Sophomore year of College my History of Journalism professor told our class this one day, "Journalism and Alcoholism go hand in hand." I have definitely understood why he would make such a comment several times before. And from April 5th-16th I REALLY believed him. Those were the two weeks that I was producing and anchoring KXLF's 10 p.m. newscast while our regular anchor was out. I was also doing this with just one other reporter working who was brand new so the stress level was high. (Aslan this is not a diss to you, anyone who was brand new it would have been the same situation. You're cool you give me red starbursts) But there was lots of running around, lots of trying to figure out what content to use to fill the show, and lots of stressing to get everything done quicker while also trying to not scream at someone in the control room. So yes, there were several nights after work that I was just thinking I need a beer or some wine. I sadly rarely ever have such things in my apartment tho because I totally feel like an alcoholic buying that stuff just for myself at a store but oh well. I'm sure with more experience I would not feel so stressed and drawn to alcohol. Also, everyone in Butte thank you for your kind comments during those two weeks. It is so appreciated. Now I've had a whole week of back to regular reporting now and the stress level has dropped. Don't get me wrong I would love to be an anchor some day and get more experience with that but I do love reporting and just being able to go out and talk to people all day long for my job. That is the best part to me is just getting outside and getting to know people and what they have to say.

With that said I need to thank Montana weather for being much nicer lately. All this past week It was bright and sunny and warm. I was able to wear short sleeves with no jacket outside. My footwear changed from boots to flats and when not at work flip flops! Greatest thing ever. So thanks Montana Weather for listening and getting nicer. After all it is spring.

A letter to Montana Weather.

Dear Montana Weather,

We were doing so well. You were kind enough to not dump a lot of snow these past 4 months and you only got super super cold the first week I was here. That I'll forgive since we barely knew each other then. I understand some people thought you were being too dry and the snow pack was too low. But you knew that I didn't care about the snow pack. I'm not a champion skier and forest fires this summer gives me good material for my resume reel so you kindly kept most of the snow away this past winter. However, today you disappointed me. There was a forecast of 6-12 inches of snow Today and you did not disappoint on that. There's no way there's 12 inches out there now but there's a lot probably the 6 and I don't like it. It is April 13th. What are you thinking Montana?? Did you know that you were Headline News' pick this morning for worst weather today? C'mon now step up your game. That is not what I like to hear about the place I live. I also don't like a lot of what I heard today. That this is normal, this is when "we" get this weather, and that it snows in May. MAY?!!!!! I should be wearing sundresses and sweating while outside not wearing a parka and shivering. Montana Weather please please just be nice and have this be the last snow until at least November. That would be very much appreciated. Don't force me to leave you for Florida.

My mom was carded in Montana

My mom came out to Montana for her first time for about 6 days around Easter. We found out that she is better suited to live here than I am because she thought the weather was fine. Didn't even need a jacket and kept lowering my heat. I on the other hand was constantly freezing and learned to live in sweat pants and sweat shirts in my apartment for that week. Oh well. I didn't have any time off work except for my normal Saturday and Sunday weekend so my mom spend the weekdays cooking and baking. She made many friends at KXLF with the amount of baked goods that went into work with me that week. I also am now stocked in my freezer and in my pantry in case a nuclear war breaks out. This is not me complaining just giving you a visual. I'm actually pretty excited I'll be able to save some money this month since I won't have to go grocery shopping. Anyways I introduced her to the world of Moose Drool beer. Also had her try a sip of fat tire and she herself ordered a blacksmith blondie. There are such fun names here for beer. None of those times were either one of us carded. Now she tells me that when she bought some wine at Three Bears (a costco like grocery store here) the woman asked my mom what her birthday was and told her she couldn't get the wine without it. Haha. We both thought this was funny. I think it's even more humorous because I never get carded here. Drinking is big in the local culture and I'm not sure now if they just don't care of if I'm starting to look really old with these dark circles that are taking shape under my eyes due to lack of sleep.
Anyways......On the weekend we took a scenic drive up to Missoula, MT for some shopping. Easter Sunday was spent with family and watching little kids look for eggs. The picture is of Easter Brunch. It was also a day to tour Butte and get some pictures.

Monday was my mom's last day in Montana and good thing she was there. about 9:10 am I found out I'd be anchoring the 10 p.m. news that night and had no appropriate clothing with me. (Dress code is pretty lax in Mt. I can wear jeans if I want everyday) So had to call up Mommy and have her bring in a suit jacket and shirt. She was nice enough to also go shopping and pick up some a nice necklace and matching earrings to go with the outfit. That was pretty sweet. Except the rest of the week I also anchored the 10 and just had to bring my clothes and jewelry to work with me at 9 am every morning. Oh well I'm a big girl haha.

Tuesday my boyfriend drove the 10 hours from Bismark, North Dakota to hang out with me just for a couple hours after work before I had to go to sleep haha. He then went back to Bismark on Wednesday. It was nice that he was willing to do that since I hadn't seen him since Valentine's Day. But the rest of the week anchoring went pretty well. I think I'm getting more comfortable with it I just need to work on writing more creative transitions between stories. I'll do it all again this week. So I'll probably be exhausted again next Saturday. Oh well. It's worth it. However, if I don't blog all this week that is why.

A night at the Butte Bars

I've been out to the bars in Butte several times before however, this past Friday gave me a pretty interesting story to share. I went out with our old Butte sports reporter/current Bozeman sports reporter and his replacement who just got into town. We met up with some people at one bar and a few of the Montana Tech and University of Montana football coaches were also there. The old sports guy saw this as a perfect opportunity for them to get to know the new guy so we all migrated over to the coaches table. Well then the coaches decided to leave and go to a local Irish pub. The rest of us followed about 15 minutes behind them. Shortly after arriving at the Irish pub one of the coaches asked me to be his pool partner. I agreed and gave him fair warning that I REALLY REALLY suck at pool. I didn't let him down on this promise either I made one ball in a pocket in 2 games. However, we still won these games. He was pretty much an awesome pool player. Now during these pool games a super drunk middle aged man dressed in all black (including black beanie) kept coming up and talking to me and giving me tips on the pool game. Of course these tips were coming out in slurs. Well this was continuously happening. Whenever it wasn't my turn to try to hit a ball with a stick and make a fool of myself this guy came right over to me whispering drunk talk in my ears. Luckily one of the guys I was with saw this and recognized that I needed saving from the drunkard. He came over put his hand on my back and put his arms around me to try to ward off the guy. This worked and then we both forgot about it and I went back to playing pool and not standing with him anymore. So later the guy comes up slurring at me again so again my friend comes over and tells the drunk guy that he needs to borrow me and puts his arm around me turning me away from the guy. Well then the drunk guy calls my friend an asshole. That just started a huge fight between the two of them yelling at each other with me in the middle holding a pool stick unsure of what to do. I attempted to stop it but was unsuccessful and it was my turn to shoot so i just took my pool stick and left. They were still yelling at each other when the bar closed, which was only a few minutes later. The bartender told everyone it was time to go so we all gather our stuff. As I'm walking out with my guy friend right behind me the drunk guy is being held back by someone as he yells in my face "Don't go home with him! Don't go home with him!" We all walked out of the bar and I'm not sure what happened to this dude but I thought the whole debacle was pretty hilarious. I'm glad the fight was just verbal too and I do appreciate the attempt to keep the creepy drunk guy away from me.