Touring Grand Forks

The Greenway Will NOT be Closed for a While

2009-04-24T20:05:00.003-05:00

Good news, it looks like Mayor Brown has rescinded his order to keep the Greenway closed.

“Although the Greenway is now open to the public, many trails remain under water and high water exists in many areas. Users are cautioned to use discretion when near the high water.” --Kim Greendahl, Greenway Specialist for the City of Grand Forks.

I'm not sure what caused the sudden change of heart, but I'm definitely not complaining. This is great news for all Grand Forks residents, it's just unfortunate that we won't be seeing many temps higher than 40s or 50s for the next week.

The Greenway Will be Closed for a While

2009-04-23T18:47:00.003-05:00

According to this Herald article at least. What I took from it is that we won't see the Greenway completely open until the second half of summer, which is unfortunate since the summer lasts about 2 months here. This really is sad news because the Greenway was definitely the staple of my trips, and I'm sure many other residents feel the same way.

Time to start looking for some alternatives. There's always the Grand Forks Fitness Trail, it's not quite as long or scenic as the Greenway, but it's still pretty nice. There's also a bike path that runs way south of town that I've been through many times. If there are other alternatives that I'm missing (and I'm sure there are), please feel free to post a comment.

Final Flood Update

2009-04-05T10:55:00.003-05:00

Unless there's a resurgence of biblical proportions, this will be my final post covering the flood of 2009, I would like to try to get back to riding next week when it warms up (crossing fingers).
I realize the flood fight isn't over by any means, but I will no longer be doing updates on it, unless there's important announcements or needs for volunteers. To all the people that came to my site during the flood from all over the country, I do hope you come back to see the regularly scheduled programming. I want to thank everyone that went sandbagging throughout our region, it's volunteers like you that really remind everyone why our state is considered one of the friendliest, and it helps restore my faith in humanity.

See you on the trails.

River Levels:

Fargo: 36.53 ft
Grand Forks: 46.88 ft

My New Bike

2009-04-01T13:23:00.002-05:00

I finally bought a new bike in preparation for the summer:

Some might say that it's not very practical, but I think I'll get used to it, and it seems like everyone has mountain bikes these days so I'm just trying to break away from the norm. So if you see me on my new bike whenever everything thaws out, feel free to say hi! I might even let you ride it.

Finally, Some Good News

2009-03-29T02:06:00.003-05:00

It appears the Red will be cresting at a slightly lower level than initially thought, which is good news for the entire region, but definitely does not mean that the fight is over. There is still plenty of snow to melt, and another storm system is projected to hit the area. Be cautiously optimistic.

Here are some amazing pictures from the past week, I encourage everyone to take a look:

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/03/red_river_flooding.html

Current River Levels:

Fargo: 40.82 feet
Grand Forks: 48.3 feet

"You cannot depend on a sandbag dike to save your life"

2009-03-27T13:14:00.004-05:00

I came across an article on CNN's website containing an interview with Lt. Gen. Russel Honore who led the military response to disasters such as Hurricane Katrina. I recommend you all read it, it's a good reminder that just because you have sandbags set up, it doesn't mean that you're fully protected. And some may forget just how cold that flood water actually is. Being waist-high in freezing-cold water is extremely dangerous.

By Wayne Drash
CNN

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/03/27/honore.dakota.floods/index.html

(CNN) -- Residents in the flood plains of North Dakota need to flee to high ground because "you cannot depend on a sandbag dike to save your life," said Lt. Gen. Russel Honore.

Lt. Gen. Russel Honore gained fame for the way he worked in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Honore, who led the military response to hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2007, said his biggest concern is the frigid temperatures of the water in North Dakota and the potential of people freezing to death.

"If you get caught in that floodwater, you will not be able to last very long," he said.

Honore is now retired from the military and speaks about emergency preparedness. He also is a CNN contributor. He spoke about the North Dakota floods earlier Friday.

CNN: How do you evacuate an entire town, especially when you're talking about tens of thousands of people?

Honore: The first thing you do is start with the most vulnerable population and get people to start moving now. The dilemma the local folks in Fargo and Bismarck have is that much of the population is involved with the sandbagging operation, which is good. But there comes a point in time where you need to start getting people to move, especially the most vulnerable people and animals that could get caught in the water. The problem in North Dakota is compounded by the temperature of the water.

If you recall last year, when we had the flooding in the Midwest, the water was warm. People could walk in there and they could walk out from small boats. But in this cold water, you can go into hypothermia quickly. If you get caught in that floodwater, you will not be able to last very long. If you're in there for a half hour, your body will start to deteriorate.

Early evacuations and getting people out and getting animals out is critical right now. And the long-term plan is how do we mitigate that and not have nursing homes inside a flood plain.

CNN: What are your biggest concerns at this point?

Honore: Getting people moving. You cannot depend on a sandbag dike to save your life. You put it up to try to save your property. Once you put it up, you need to leave, because that sandbag dike could break at any given time. The effectiveness of the sandbags deteriorates with the cold water because they don't hold the water in. They start leaking, and a leak turns into a flow, and a flow turns into a break.

So the effectiveness of the sandbag dikes is going to be questionable in that cold water.

CNN: How imperative is it for people to heed the warnings of local officials?

Honore: They need to move now if you're in the flood plains. If you have a break in the dike, it will start slow, but it will immediately burst through and you'll have a wall of water going down streets. And it'll be too late for people to get out.

And so anybody who is vulnerable at this point in time in low-lying areas ... needs to be evacuated. They need to start going door to door now and start seeking out the elderly and the disabled to make sure they have gotten all of them out of town. And then if there are any animals left behind they need to get those out, because if they get in that cold water they're going to have a tough time surviving.

CNN: Where do evacuations sometimes go wrong?

Honore: People get mixed messages. My thing on levees and dikes you put up is they're good to give you early warning and they're good to protect your property. But they're not good at saving your life, because they're too subject to break. The power of Mother Nature will break those levees and dikes, and it can break those sandbags.

It's a noble effort going on with the leadership and the volunteers to put up those sandbags. And you've got to praise the amount of time working people have put in. But that being said, you should not depend on that to save your life. Once you get those sandbags up, you need to move to high ground. And they need to get all of the evacuations done in the flood plains. The maps they have are very effective in showing where a flood plain is. Anybody sleeping overnight waiting for a horn to go off to tell them a levee has broken -- it's going to be too late to move.

People need to move now. Move their animals, move their property, any construction equipment, trucks, precious papers in their homes. All of that needs to be moved to high ground.

CNN: When you're dealing with the possibility of several different levee breaks, how does that affect evacuation plans?

Honore: It causes stress. Everybody who has a car is not an issue. The issue is with the elderly, the disabled and the poor who may not have vehicles. Get them all collected up now and move them to shelters. That's a very important thing to happen.

But people get mixed messages: 'We've got the dike up and we're confident it's going to hold.' Well, there's no confidence that a dike is going to hold. There's no confidence that a levee is going to hold. All of them over time we've seen can be overmatched by water.

So if you're behind there and you're depending on it to save your life, you should not. You should move now. They really need to start moving people now. It's mandatory evacuations, because sometimes you really gotta force people to leave. Now, they will tell you they have a constitutional right to stay in their home. But if you have a mobility issues with the elderly, I'm of the opinion you should have the authority to move them. If they stay in there and that levee breaks, again this will not be paddling around in waist deep 80 or 90 degree water; this water is 30 or 40 degrees. It will kill you.

This has the potential to be a lot worse than the last flooding they saw in the area.

CNN: Would that be your biggest concern that first responders and volunteers are doing all this hard work and they could rest on their laurels thinking they've made these areas safe?

Honore: That's right ...

There can be a sense of insurance that we've worked hard and we've put the dikes up. But I would not sleep behind those dikes. I would move people to high ground now, and that's what they need to be doing in North Dakota and Iowa.

I praise the first responders for the work they've done, but their priority now should be to get people out of the flood plains.

[Dikes and levees] are designed to save property, but they're not designed to save lives. People need to move.

CNN: What's your final message for residents in the region?

Honore: Get out of there. Leave some report folks to monitor what's going on. But get the people out of there. That should be the No. 1 priority. The Red Cross and FEMA have moved assets in there. Shelters are set up. The government has done a good job, from what I'm seeing, in giving early warning and being on top of the situation. But now is the time to get people evacuated.

And you know what? If they move and nothing happens, that's a good thing. If they stay and those bags break, it's going to be devastating on those people who get caught in that cold water.

-----

River Levels:

Fargo: 40.66 feet
Grand Forks: 47.76 feet

From Bad to Worse: Fargo Crest Up Two Feet

2009-03-26T23:20:00.004-05:00

The current record Fargo crest of 40.1 feet (1897) will be shattered this spring, and within the hour it will probably be broken with a good 2+ feet to go by the end of the weekend.

If you're in Grand Forks, there's still plenty that needs to be done around here. If you're a UND student, check with student government to see where you're needed and they will shuttle you to those locations. If you are not a student, then you should call this number: (701)787-8052 or report to the Alerus Center. I should point out that I showed up at the Alerus Center today and it was very disorganized and there wasn't even anyone there coordinating anything, it was basically a pick-up spot for buses to come every half hour. The buses were running pretty late and it was unfortunate that no one was there to give any guidance, so keep that in mind if you decide to go to the Alerus Center.

They still need our help in the Lake Drive area, that's where I was today and I'm happy to say the turnout was tremendous. There was a large amount of people helping out at homes up and down Lake Drive, but it appeared there's more work to be done.

I do have a few cell phone pictures I snapped over the past few days, I really wish I could get better pictures but it's becoming extremely difficult with the city in full flood-protection mode, and I do not want to get in the way of city employees.

The first picture is of a large red helicopter I saw in Fargo, I'm assuming this is some kind of rescue chopper but I could be mistaken.

These next two pictures were taken on the way to Fargo on Tuesday.

These next couple of pictures are views of the railroad bridge from the top of a parking ramp downtown.

These next two pictures are of us sandbagging in Grand Forks.

A few random flood notes:

Meritcare hosptial in Fargo has evacuated its patients to various hospitals in the region, a first for the hospital.

Mandatory evacuations are underway in Moorhead for areas south of I-94 and west of Eighth Street.

Travel is becoming extremely difficult with multiple roads closed/ closing. A list of road closures in Fargo can be found here.

The North Dakota Department of Emergency Services has a great website for flood preparedness set up here that I recommend you all check out.

There are a couple of webcams set up following the Red River at Fargo and Grand Forks.

I'm sure there are ton of other announcements I'm missing, so keep checking out the Herald and Forum websites for up-to-date typo-laden information. I realize they're working much faster over there, but seriously, one word: PROOFREAD.

Example from the Herald's website yesterday afternoon:

"The Louis Murray closes will the river level at at or near 48 feet, and as of 8:30 a.m., the Red River was at 45.6 feet. That's an increase of 2.8 feet from the Wednesday."

Baffling.

Current River Levels

Fargo: 39.92 feet
Grand Forks: 47.21 feet

UND Cancels Classes Through Monday

2009-03-26T11:04:00.005-05:00

From UND's Flood Blog:

Recognizing the needs of other communities, the University of North Dakota will cancel classes from noon today (Thursday, March 26), through Monday, March 30, to allow students to help with sandbagging and other flood protection needs. The University will remain open and will otherwise function normally.

“We are not closing out of fear for the University or the Cities of Grand Forks and East Grand Forks. But we understand that there are needs up and down the Red River Valley, and we recognize — and support — our students’ desire to continue to be involved in floodfighting activities,” said UND President Robert Kelley.

I'm very glad they decided to do this, now hopefully a large amount of students choose to volunteer and help sandbag up and down the region, now's the time to get out there more than ever before the crests come. It appears to be extremely difficult to get to Fargo now, and I wouldn't be surprised if they closed a section of I-29 this afternoon, so be extremely careful if you're traveling. If you're still in Grand Forks, your help is definitely needed.

Here's a couple of updates from the city:

Grand Forks, ND – This is a 2009 flood update from the Grand Forks County Emergency Operations Center.

There is an immediate need for up to 50 volunteers to assist with loading sandbags for County residents. Volunteers must call the Emergency Operations Center flood hotline number at (701) 787-8052 in order to volunteer.

This hotline is for people looking to volunteer, people looking for help from volunteers and people looking to receive sandbags.

This hotline has been established to aid County residents in their flood fight.

--------

Grand Forks, ND – This is a 2009 flood update from the Grand Forks County Emergency Operations Center.

The Emergency Operations Center has implemented the flood hotline at (701) 787-8052.
This hotline is for people looking to volunteer, people looking for help from volunteers, and people looking to receive sandbags.

Sandbag central will work 24 hours a day while the demand is still in need for county residents. County residents are able to ask for filled sandbags. Filled sandbags will ONLY be delivered to those residents with property in EMINENT danger. Those needing sandbags have to call the hotline number to order sandbags.

Residents who are looking to volunteer are asked to call the hotline as volunteers will be needed to help county residents once they receive sandbags.

The current river level is 45.57 feet at 6:30 am on Thursday, March 26, 2009.

-----

Again I will be sandbagging most of the day, and I really hope that you consider doing it as well, the help is definitely needed.

One more thing, check out this website for pictures of the flooding in the Mayville area: http://www.stevegunderson.org/

scroll to the bottom of the page to see the flood pictures.

Snowy Complications

2009-03-25T11:49:00.003-05:00

Unfortunately the winter storm (but I thought it was spring?) has caused all volunteer buses from Grand Forks to Fargo to be canceled. This includes UND's buses. I was thinking about braving it anyways this morning, but that would've been a very bad idea, and literally impossible. My car was buried by giant snowdrifts and our parking lot was also untouched by plows at the time. The no-travel advisory should also be taken very seriously, the water almost touches the interstate the closer you get to Fargo, and if you lose control and end up in the ditch it could very well be a fatal situation. So PLEASE exercise caution if you plan on braving it anyways, and if you do it, do it in a pickup or other capable vehicle. The Ford Taurus and Honda Civic drivers should probably reconsider.

There is good news for people who want to help out around Grand Forks, I received a mass e-mail from the UND Student Government Office this morning saying there are locations right here in Grand Forks that need our help with sandbagging. Here's the original e-mail:

Attention Students:

Thank you to everyone who signed up to volunteer down in Fargo. As of right now, all Wednesday shuttles going to Fargo have been canceled, but there are opportunities here in Grand Forks for those willing to give a helping hand.

For anyone interested in sandbagging here in Grand Forks, we have several addresses you can help at:

6801 Lake Drive, 6205 Lake Drive, 6721 Lake Drive, 6701 Lake drive, 6615 Lake Drive. ( get directions here: [link removed by me because the link in the email was a map of Tucson, AZ...which is pretty much the exact opposite of Grand Forks right now.)

There is also indoor sandbagging being conducted starting at 10:00 am at a farm shop right across the road from the beginning of Lake Drive. (Instead of turning onto Lake Drive turn in the opposite direction and the shop is straight ahead.)

Anyone interested should contact the Student Government Office to let us know which address you plan on going to. This will help us coordinate efforts to be most effective. People should try to carpool in four-wheel drive vehicles.

We encourage volunteers to help with these efforts, but we must remember to keep safety first. Due to poor road conditions students should exercise extreme caution when traveling around Grand Forks, and everyone should dress warmly. Due to high snowfall we also recommend gloves and boots when at all possible.

If anyone has any questions please contact the Student Government Office at (701) 777-4377.

Keep checking your e-mail for more updates.

Sincerely,

Tyrone & Mike

I made my own map of where the sandbagging is needed, as far as I can tell it's all along Lake Street in extreme southeast Grand Forks (I think I rode my bike here in an earlier blog post).

View Larger Map

Exercise extreme caution, it's still a dangerous trip even though it's local. Dress appropriately for winter!

Also, I caught a picture of Mayville on the news last night and saw the Pizza Shop is almost completely submerged...for those familiar with Mayville, that's a lot of water. If anyone has any pictures of Mayville's flood, please send them to me! I don't think people realize how bad it is there.

Still Fighting: Part Two

2009-03-24T21:39:00.005-05:00

After sandbagging again in Fargo today, it's very clear that they still need a lot of help. There's still a lot of work to be done as the river creeps closer and closer to homes. A sense of urgency can be felt in the entire city, I even saw a National Guard truck loaded with sand escorted by Fargo police to get to the needed areas quicker.

Also, I just noticed a crawl on my TV screen saying Grafton needs immediate help shoring up their dikes, so if you're reading this and you're in the Grafton area, please consider helping out. Instructions were to meet at the Grafton City Hall. Dress warm, and bring gloves.

I drove over the Red today and noticed an extreme increase in traffic. There are a lot of curious folks out there who want to see exactly what's going on. The city urged people to stay away and not go look at the River...but I mean really, that's like setting a steak in front of a dog and telling him not to eat it. We definitely have a right to see the river that taxpayers have paid plenty of money protecting against. Now I don't necessarily condone driving back and forth over the bridges to gawk at the river while it is much easier to just park downtown and walk to see it for yourself. That's what I did tonight where I snapped the following pictures:

Definitely a lot different than it was this summer:

Alright, I need some sleep...then it's back to Fargo again tomorrow morning.

As of this post,

Red River @ Fargo: 32.59 feet
Red River @ Grand Forks: 38.88 feet

Also, it appears they will be closing the Sorlie (DeMers) bridge tomorrow morning at 10 am.

Grafton Update:

From the Herald...

Volunteers answer call to Grafton; official says there's enough help for now

Grafton, N.D., is discouraging out-of-town volunteers from driving to the city Tuesday night to help with sandbagging due to icy roads and a no travel advisory for Walsh County, according to a city official.

City Auditor Connie Johnson said they will probably need more volunteers Wednesday morning and during the day, but she strongly encouraged those interested to call the volunteer hotline at (701) 360-3281 before driving to town.

Current information on the city’s flood fight can also be found at www.graftongov.com.

Still Fighting

2009-03-24T11:14:00.003-05:00

Just a quick post today, I'm heading back to Fargo again soon to help out. They still need our help, just show up to the Fargodome and they'll put you on a shuttle to whereever you're needed.

I know Moorhead residents may feel like the spotlight's all on Fargo, but anyone willing to help out in Moorhead, here's the info:

Volunteering to Help
Volunteers for sandbagging can show up all week between 8:00 AM & 8:00 PM at Nemzek Hall on the MSUM campus. Nemzek Hall is located on 17th street between 6th and 7th avenue south. Please car pool if possible. You must bring an ID. All volunteers must fill out a registration form. Minors must bring the form signed by their parent/guardian.

Quick Grand Forks update: Red River is at 36.32 ft as I type this post, which is a little bit higher than they predicted at this moment. Point Bridge is closed as well as the Greenway. To my knowledge there is no need for a large amount of volunteers, I will of course update this if I find out anything more.

Please feel free to leave a comment about your own flood story, story of volunteering, or any helpful flood-related information.

I will get a new picture of the Red in Grand Forks when I return from Fargo tonight.

"It's Time to Take This Thing Seriously"; Fargo Needs Your Help

2009-03-23T11:18:00.005-05:00

While I've given Grand Forks most of the attention regarding this year's flood, it appears that Fargo will be hit much harder. The weather is not cooperating with moderate to heavy precipitation forecast to linger all week. The Red River is currently at 25.71 feet in Fargo, which falls in the designated "Moderate Stage." The highest level ever recorded at Fargo-Moorhead was 40.1 feet in 1897; that record could be broken very soon. The new flood outlook states that the Red River could reach as high as 39-41 feet by as early as Friday.

“Volunteers – it’s time to take this thing seriously,”Fargo mayor Dennis Walaker pleaded at a press conference today to discuss the flood. There's still a lot of work to be done, and they need all the help they can get. So if you're reading this and you want to help make a difference, get to Fargo and start sandbagging.

The University of North Dakota has sent out a mass e-mail encouraging students to help with sandbagging efforts as well:

Statement from UND President Robert Kelley On Students Helping Sandbag in Fargo:

I am gratified -- and not at all surprised -- that our students are eager to volunteer to assist our neighbors in Fargo in their flood preparation efforts.  Such concern for others is a hallmark of the University of North Dakota community.

Grand Forks and the UND campus are expected to be able to function effectively and safely as we look ahead.  We can help to make a difference in protecting Fargo.

Student volunteer efforts are being coordinated by the Student Government Association, working with the authorities in Fargo.  Students wishing to volunteer need to go to the Office of Student Government in the Memorial Union to sign in and to sign a release form.  Student Government is coordinating transportation to Fargo.

Students wishing to volunteer should contact faculty members in advance if classes would be missed.  Faculty members are encouraged to be supportive of students' volunteer efforts.  Verification of volunteer work will be available from the Student Government Association.

--30--

There's a bus that leaves at 1 and a bus that leaves at 5. I'll be one of them. I couldn't ask all of you to get out there without volunteering myself could I? All kidding aside, Fargo needs our help..so let's get to it.

I would love to hear any stories about volunteer efforts, send in your stories to touringgrandforks@gmail.com . I would also love to see ANY flood related pictures, send them into me and I'll give you full credit. Especially any Fargo-Moorhead area readers out there.

A quick Grand Forks update, we are currently at 31.33 feet, which falls in the "Flood Stage" according to the National Weather Service. We are forecast to hit 50.9 feet by the end of this weekend, as always I will keep you posted.

So throw on some work clothes and get to Fargo, they really do need our help.

Trip 20 -- Thawing Out; Flood Update

2009-03-21T16:00:00.003-05:00

I was hesitant to call this my first trip of the year since I didn't go very far and I pretty much just wanted to get a look at the Red River from the Greenway. It just feels nice to get back out there. I didn't even use my bike, it's about time for it to be retired, so I'll be purchasing a new one very soon (any suggestions?)

The National Weather Service in Grand Forks is forecasting a significant storm in our area starting tomorrow and lasting into next week. This storm could bring with it around 2 inches of rain as well as a wide variety of other possibilities such as thunderstorms, freezing rain, and yes...snow. This is extremely unfortunate for our area as it will only worsen our flood situation. It's strange how all of these things seem to be falling into place to make this flood more intense.

Yesterday, I snapped a few pictures from my cell phone on the East Grand Forks side of the Red River by DeMers. I apologize for the quality, but you can see where the river stands now and it will be a good point of reference for when it starts rising. Like I said before, I plan to keep you updated with pictures of the river as it rises to various levels so check back often.

So today I took a brief stroll on the Greenway near the 47th Ave. S. access point.. or maybe it was 49th? Well, you get the idea. South.

It's kind of depressing to look at everything and see how brown and dead it is...on a cloudy day no less. This is a far cry from how great the Greenway looked in the summer. Soon enough we'll see green again.

The Mighty Red will rise again soon unfortunately...

Ah, my favorite piece of random playground equipment:

Not sure if this is flood preparation or if they just don't want anyone using this access point.

Just thought this was cool looking, whatever kind of plant it is. Are those clovers? Sorry, I'm definitely not a botanist.

That's all I have for today, check back often for more flood updates!

The Flood of 2009?

2009-03-13T14:20:00.006-05:00

As Spring draws closer and closer, there's an uneasy feeling around Grand Forks, as well as everywhere else along the Red River. That feeling is understandable, because it's becoming more apparent that the Red is gonna rise again. A lot of residents knew it was bad news when we had record setting precipitation in the Fall. Then came the first blizzard of Winter, along with a ton of snow. After that was the bitter cold, which doesn't really affect the flood outlook as much as it just pisses us all off. It appears Winter made its final roar this month with Blizzard Coyote and gave us all the middle finger by dumping even more snow on us. Now the forecast calls for warmer temperatures, it looks like highs in the 40s next week. That's great and all, but it also means it's time to start thinking about that 5-letter word no Grand Forks resident ever wants to hear: Flood.

The National Weather Service in Grand Forks released their latest flood outlook probabilities and gave a 50% chance of the river reaching 50 feet. They also gave a 10%-20% chance of flood levels exceeding the 54.4 foot record level reached in 1997. Keep in mind that those are pretty slim odds. Even if the river did exceed that level, the levee is good up to 60 feet. The odds of us seeing anything even REMOTELY close to the nightmare of 1997 are extremely slim.

Here's some perspective on flood levels for Grand Forks:

60.0		Top of the levee constructed by Corps of Engineers for City of Grand Forks.
54.4		Record flood level. 22 April 1997...from floodmarks.
53.0		Top of the rails on the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad Bridge over the Red River.
52.6		Water on Gateway Drive approach to Kennedy Bridge in East Grand Forks.
47.0		Begin Railroad closure if water is expected to rise to over 50 feet.
46.2		Water on Demers Avenue at Sorlie Bridge.
46.0		Major Flood Stage.
45.0		Sorlie Bridge...Demers Avenue is closed. Top of the elevation of the low level levee protecting Riverside Park.
44.9		Water on East Grand Forks approach to the Point Bridge.
42.0		Road entering Riverside Park is closed.
41.5		Flood gates on English Coulee are closed, pump station and diversion gates are activated.
40.0		Moderate flood stage. Extensive flooding along greenway for Grand Forks.
38.0		Flood gates are closed in Grand Forks and storm water pumping stations are activated.
34.0		East Grand Forks water encroaching 4th St underpass of Highway 2.
33.0		Agricultural flooding between Oslo and Grand Forks. Agricultural damage begins at river mile 271 - 296.
28.0		Flood warning stage...minor. Bank full stage.
27.0		Forecast Service Stage.

(source: NWS-GF)

This is the page you want to keep your eyes on for details about flood levels. Other good sites to keep you updated are the Grand Forks Herald website and National Weather Service- Grand Forks Office's website.

Don't start panicking, but do keep informed. I will continue to follow the flood and post pictures up showing the different stages the river reaches this spring.

Until then, enjoy the warmer weather! We can actually go outside again!

Also, for those with short memories, I found a USGS site with pictures from 2006's flood.

Blizzard "Coyote" Howls; UND Doesn't Hear It

2009-03-10T12:13:00.007-05:00

It's March right? Okay...just making sure. Winter will not go quietly, let's just hope this is its final roar. What a mess, I couldn't even park in my spot after returning from class because a giant drift filled it in. Oh and speaking of class, I like how every other college/university in the area has canceled classes and activities for the day but UND still feels the need to have a "business as usual" attitude during this. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the last time UND shut down was for the flood. I don't think UND would close if Hell itself froze over. I don't know why they're so hesitant to close for a day during a blizzard, but they're unnecessarily putting students' and employees' lives in danger. Will everything really fall apart if they close up shop for one day? I had enough trouble getting to class living in Grand Forks, I couldn't imagine what travel is like in rural areas...i would assume that it's nonexistant at the moment.

The North Dakota Highway Patrol issued a no-travel advisory for our entire area, but still UND just chugs along like it was any other day. I do realize that professors have canceled class at their own discretion, but some don't...and I even had a test today that I trekked through this mess to get to. You would think that city employees trying to keep the roads clean as well as police officers trying to keep the roads safe would appreciate it if more people stayed off the roads. UND definitely is not doing their part, and I just do not understand why. Why are they so reluctant? NDSU closed for this most recent blizzard as well as for the blizzard that crippled the area in December and UND didn't even blink.

Anyways...here's a view of the mess from my window. This picture really doesn't do this storm justice, but I don't anticipate going outside for the rest of the day so this will have to do. The first day of Spring is in 10 days, surely the snow will be gone by then! .....i'm going back to bed.

Also if you're curious, the Grand Forks Herald is the group responsible for naming the blizzards in our area. They named this one Coyote in honor of Thompson resident Nancy Yoshida's lead dog. Yoshida is competing in this year's Iditarod race in Alaska. The other two blizzards were named Barack and Allie.

--UPDATE--

Of course not even an hour after I post this UND decides to shut down after all:

UND:  No Classes After 3:30 p.m. Tuesday; Facilities Building Services Technicians Should Report At 4 a.m. Wednesday Instead Of 11 p.m. Tuesday

Due to weather conditions, UND will not hold classes after 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 10.  Facilities Building Services Technicians should report at 4:00 a.m. on Wednesday morning instead of 11 p..m. Tuesday night.  All individuals are urged to exercise good judgment when making decisions about travel. 

The UND Concert Choir performance scheduled for this evening has been canceled.

Tonight's basketball games at the Betty have been rescheduled to Thursday.  The games originally scheduled for Thursday night will be played Saturday at noon.

--30--

Clearly they closed down as a result of reading this blog.

Probably not...but this is still too little, too late, the vast majority of students have already had their classes and there are very few with classes after 3:30. I will consider this them admitting they made a mistake by opening at all today...but like I said, too little too late.

Frozen Solid

2009-02-27T13:41:00.004-06:00

Hey everyone, I'm still alive if anyone was wondering...just hibernating until we thaw out which still feels like it's very far away. I can't believe it's almost March and still this cold...well, yes, actually I can. North Dakotans aren't surprised by much when it comes to cold.

I promise when it eventually thaws I will be back on the paths and taking more pictures. I'm going to be making some changes as well to keep things fresh, so hopefully you'll check back when the temperature gets back above freezing.

Stay warm people!

JP

Trip 19 -- Fall!

2008-10-09T16:24:00.003-05:00

Firstly, I'll spare you all any excuses for not updating in a long time...school, work, blah blah blah. I know you don't want to hear it. Updates will be more scarce as I said, but I'm going to really try to step it up before we start seeing that four-letter-word start falling from the sky. I really wanted to get out there today because the forecast for the weekend doesn't look too forgiving:

Today was a really nice day outside, except a little too windy and chilly maybe. Fall is great, the turning leaves and lack of bugs...but then you just know winter is coming real soon. Too soon.

I hate mushrooms, they're disgusting and I really don't understand how people can eat them. I'd rather put cardboard on my pizza than any kind of fungus.

No, this isn't my helmet and no I didn't steal it...but some poor girl named Amelia is probably missing her Bratz helmet. Hopefully it finds its way back to her. It looks like it has some battle scars too.

Thanks for reading, and try to not get too depressed during the upcoming monsoon. I've been meaning to get pictures of my bike up here, so I'll do that soon. I'll also need some suggestions for a new mountain bike for next year if anyone wants to throw me some.

Temp: 55

Yeah I Know

2008-09-08T13:18:00.002-05:00

I know this blog has been dead as of late...but I do have a legitimate excuse. I promise. I am just getting over a nasty cold that plagued me the entire weekend..and with two tests scheduled this week, on top of my already terrible time management skills--that all adds up to a dead blog.

But I'm not giving up, I promise I will pick up the pace.

Also, I wanted to mention this story in the Herald.

A bicyclist was treated for minor injuries at Altru Hospital after being assaulted and robbed late Saturday night on the Columbia Road overpass in Grand Forks.
Benedict Smith, 37, Grand Forks, told police he was riding north on the overpass at about 10 p.m. when three male subjects confronted him and demanded his wallet, according to the Grand Forks Police Department. When Smith refused, they threw him off his bike, punched and kicked him and stole the backpack he was wearing.
The backpack is blue and black and contained Smith’s prescription medication, a TRAC phone, clothing and other miscellaneous items, according to police.
Smith was only able to describe one of the suspects, a tall Hispanic man wearing a dark shirt. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Police Department at (701) 787-8000.

I was pretty upset to read that this morning, it's a shame when stuff like this happens. But it is a reminder that Grand Forks isn't the safe little haven in friendly North Dakota that most like to believe. The crime is definitely here. Be careful, people.

Trip 18 -- Uphill Both Ways...

2008-09-03T22:49:00.002-05:00

Remember when I said the posts might get shorter and lack substance once school starts? Well, this is one of those posts unfortunately. It sucks getting older in college, the classes definitely get tougher. I already have a test on Tuesday! ARGHHHHH

I did go on a ride today, but it was just to school and back, so I won't bore you with the details. I do not have class on Fridays so I'll be definitely hitting the trails this weekend.

I'll actually post pictures of my bike this weekend, as per a reader's suggestion. But don't expect anything remotely fancy.

Oh, and NFL starts tomorrow...awesome.

Trip 17 -- Saying Goodbye to the Heat

2008-09-02T12:59:00.004-05:00

This trip actually happened yesterday, when I left it was almost 90 degrees and windy (of course). I rode all the way over to the west side of town to visit some friends and while I was there, the cold front started to move in. Right when I decided to leave it started to rain, but it only lasted a few minutes. On my way home I could see that it was going to get worse, it was very dark to the south...so I decided to pick up the pace a little bit. Luckily I made it home just in time, a few minutes after I got home it started pouring and the wind increased. That would've been a nightmare to ride in...not to mention the dangerous lightning.

Well, as I look at the forecast it looks like it's gonna be cool for a while. Today's high is only 57 degrees (though the current temperature is 61 according to the NWS website). Pretty much the exact opposite of yesterday afternoon. I don't know if we're done with the heat for the year but it looks like we're done with it for at least a week. That's fine with me, I prefer this kind of weather.

This is from the University Ave. overpass in between downpours.

A view of a bunch of trains from the Columbia overpass over DeMers.

Hopefully we're done with the 80+ degree heat, I don't know if I'm alone here, but I prefer the cooler weather... I said cooler not cold. Winter can wait.

Time: N/A since I spent a while hanging out my friend's place.
Temp: 88 at the start and about 65 at the end

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Trip 16 -- Still Hot, Still Windy

2008-08-29T15:46:00.003-05:00

The worst part about late summer/ early fall has to be the resurgence of insects everywhere. I don't know why the yellowjacket population quadruples this time of year, but it does...and I hate it. This probably stems from my irrational fear of spiders, which can be blamed on being exposed to the move Arachnophobia as a child. The violent video games had no effect on me, but of course the movie about spiders still gives me nightmares. (Ok, not really nightmares, but I still hate spiders).

I don't know how bugs manage to find my face every time I go on a ride, but it's getting ridiculous. I swear I'm gonna start wearing a paintball mask from now on.

Anyways...

Another cloudless sky.

Don't worry, I resisted the urge to jump into this "pond." Is that toxic waste?

This building is right off the Greenway access point on Belmont...so you know the drill people, someone tell me what it is please.

Jeez, I should have you guys do my homework too.

Start: 12:45
End: 2:05
Temp: 78
Trip: 10.06 mi

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Trip 15 -- Shadyridge Estates

2008-08-28T10:55:00.004-05:00

Did you miss me? Finally got the computer working again and I'm ready to get back into the routine. This "lost" trip is from last Friday, and I don't remember much of the details like temperature and time, and most of it isn't even on Google Maps so I'm not going to bother with that. I do remember that it was very windy...hmm, not much had changed.

The first thing I noticed was this entire yard painted to be what I'm assuming is a football field. I thought that was pretty awesome, as I'm also a backyard sports enthusiast. Wiffle ball, football, frisbee, love 'em all.

Another lovely day in the Grand Cities.

I did my usual trek down the Greenway to the end of the trail and I never really think about this long road that seemingly goes to nowhere...but what would be the point of this blog if I didn't explore it?

WINDY!

Much to my surprise, I stumbled upon another mysterious part of Grand Forks.

Shadyridge Estates...shady indeed.

Is that an island? Where the hell am I?

I found this sketchy area where they're growing a lot of trees...probably some kind of black market tree distribution. I'm thinking mafia.

Oh don't worry, they do pine trees too. Does every tree in Grand Forks come from this place?

Looks like this guy's trying to compete with the others. By the way, all the houses back here look like that, they're all huge and very nice..

Thanks for bearing with me people.

Happy First Day of School

2008-08-26T13:23:00.004-05:00

So the bad news is that apparently my motherboard is fried on my Dell laptop, but the good news is that it should be fixed tonight. They're sending someone to my apartment to fix everything. So we should be back to normal tomorrow.

The other bad news is that school has started and I'll have a lot to juggle now, but I'm up to the task. Check back tomorrow night.

Good thing it's just the motherboard that got broken:

Kidding of course...credits for that image go to eyestare.com I guess.

UPDATE:

So I guess the guy who's going to come fix my laptop has a bad cold and had to push the appointment back one night. Summer colds are the worst. Back to normal tomorrow hopefully.

Computer Troubles

2008-08-22T22:43:00.003-05:00

I'm having issues with my laptop, keeping me from uploading my pictures...hopefully it gets back to normal ASAP.

Please bear with me.

Have a good weekend, looks like it's gonna be cool tomorrow.

Here's some entertainment...maybe I'm just a loser, but I've been addicted to this map game lately:

http://www.travelpod.com/traveler-iq

Trip 14 -- Me: 1 Wind: 0

2008-08-20T18:46:00.004-05:00

I already triumphed over rain, today's test was the high winds. The Weather Service says it's a south wind of 23 mph gusting to 35 mph. Riding north with the wind was no problem at all, but coming back was a beast. I had no idea bicycles could catch wind so bad, sometimes I felt like I was gonna get blown over. There was a point when I was on 55th st. and I came to a stop to take a picture. I stood up on my bike and my body was like a sail, the wind alone was pushing me down the road...it was pretty cool.

So I beat water, wind, and I guess you could say earth. I really hope I don't have to deal with fire, because I already concede.

Anyways,

Very windy today..that tree should be standing up straight.

So what exactly does a storm water pump station do?

Talk about homes being close to each other... at least they have alternating colors.

When I said I wanted to find crazy stuff in Grand Forks, this is what I meant. I have no idea why someone would put a chair on the top of a large dirt mound, but I'm glad they did.

The new welcome sign entering Grand Forks through highway 2. I do like it, it brings a little breath of fresh air to an otherwise unsightly road in GF.

Found this on the fitness trail by UND. I am completely stumped by what it is, but someone else was apparently curious as well and started taking bricks off.

People can be pretty frustrating sometimes...where the fitness trail crosses 17th ave there's one of those blinking light crosswalk beacons that I love so much. I pushed the button and a lady was nice enough to stop for me, even with like 5 cars behind her. I cross and the guy behind her just lays on his horn...I don't know if he was mad at me, her, or both...but really, guy? Did I slow you down that much? Did I make you late for some extremely important appointment? Jeez people, can we have just a little more patience? I never expect people to stop for me at those things, but I sure am grateful when they do.

Due to extremely high gas prices and a more health conscious nation, there are going to be more bicyclists than drivers are used to...we're going to have to find a way to coexist. Drivers are going to have to be more aware of bicyclists and vice versa.

Thanks for reading.

Start: 4:40
End: 6:20
Temp: 83
Trip: 12.66

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Trip 13 -- Morning Ride

2008-08-19T11:48:00.003-05:00

I'm going to have to start getting used to these morning rides with fall semester on the horizon. It's been nice staying up until 2 am and waking up at noon...but it's time to adjust my sleep schedule back to college mode. One huge perk about riding in the morning is the temperature...it was still in the high 60s when I left, so that was really nice on a day where the high looks to be in the high 80s.
Some less aggressive birds...but the falcons were still cooler.

This is a very purple house, pretty cool though. Bravo to the owner for standing out a little bit from the crowd.

I was glad to see that the path had easy access to the downtown area, I haven't been down there yet on my bike so I thought I'd check it out.

This playground looks a little more fun than the lonely pull-up bars further south on the trail.

I've never actually been in the little ampitheater right by the bridge until now. That's what I love about doing this blog, I've seen a lot of things up close that I've always wondered about from afar.

That's all I got for today. You may notice that posts will (or already have) decreased in length and substance. That is the challenge of writing a daily blog...not every post is going to be a home run, but I'm trying. When school starts, these posts may become even smaller, but I will continue to put as much effort into it as I can. Thanks for reading!

Start: 8:17
End: 9:24
Temp: 69 degrees
Trip: 8.3

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Trip 12 -- When Falcons Attack

2008-08-18T21:27:00.003-05:00

I didn't expect much to be going on tonight when I took a short ride to the Greenway, and not much really did happen until I got about half mile south on the path. I heard a unique bird call while riding, and it sounded close so I wanted to investigate. It took off and started flying around rather aggressively, like it was protecting its nest. I got a good look at it and it looked too small to be a hawk, but it definitely was something similar to a hawk, like a falcon. Anyways, while I was standing there trying to take pictures, someone rode past and another bird showed up and dove at him, I thought the guy was gonna lose control, but he didn't. I breathed a pretty big sigh of relief...but then i realized I was the only person there, so I didn't want to be the next target...I took a couple pictures real quick and got the hell out of there.

So I leave it up to you bird experts, is it a falcon?

This basketball hoop's seen better days. Pretty lame of someone to break it like that...I also saw what looked like graffiti on the Greenway today...let's hope that trend stops ASAP.

First time I've rode at dusk...looks great until you ride on the streets and can't see anything.

Rydell looks really cool at night, I figured I'd snap a quick pic of it.

The Twins series was great, we saw them sweep the Mariners...unfortunately I just watched them lose on TV tonight, so that's no good.

Anyways, I guess today's lesson is to respect wildlife. They were here first, and some falcons just reminded me and a few cyclists of that today.

Thanks for reading!

Start: 8:15
End: 9:12
Temp: 70 degrees
Trip: 7.75 mi

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Off to Minneapolis

2008-08-15T09:54:00.003-05:00

This weekend I will be in Minneapolis watching the Twins play the Mariners, so the trails will be safe from me for a few days. Things will return to normal on Monday.

Get out there and do some exploring of your own, it's supposed to be really nice all weekend...although a bit hot for my liking.

Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 83. South southwest wind between 3 and 5 mph.

Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 57. Southwest wind between 5 and 7 mph.

Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 88. West wind between 5 and 10 mph.

Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 60. West southwest wind around 8 mph.

Sunday: Sunny and hot, with a high near 90. West wind between 8 and 11 mph.

Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 60.
From National Weather Service - Grand Forks Office

Thanks for reading, have a good weekend!

Trip 11 -- Grand Forks Fitness Trail

2008-08-14T13:11:00.005-05:00

I decided to navigate the entire GF Fitness Trail today, a map of it (and the Greenway) can be seen here. It is a really nice trail, and I wish there were more like it in Grand Forks. I didn't even realize it goes right by Sertoma Park, which I recently discovered for myself this week.

The trail was great, I loved how it was marked with the smiley faces. My only complaint is sometimes it's hard to tell which way the trail goes when you come to an intersection. I did figure it out for myself, but accidentally left the path a couple times.

I went early because the forecast calls for more rain, it still looks pretty nice out as I type this but according to this, it's supposed to pour soon.

I'll start off with another question for anyone who can answer it. What the hell are these greenish things I see everywhere? They're usually unmarked too so it's been a big mystery to me for a while. Not that I've been losing sleep over it, but I have faith one of you knows what they are.

Someone else was apparently frustrated by these things too and wanted to get a look at their insides.

I've been trying to take more pictures of wildlife, but I keep scaring them away before I get a chance. Luckily this guy decided to hang out for a little bit.

This is a pretty cool marker near Sertoma Park, off of the Fitness Trail. For reference, I put a placemark on my Google Map of where the marker is. It is pretty crazy to stand there, read that, and think of what it was like during the flood.

Click the image to make it larger

I could've either continued on the trail or gone down the path through this rickety bridge. I definitely had to choose the bridge.

I thought this a pretty cool area and was surprised I'd never heard of it before. I continued down the trail to see a familiar area...the same spot I was in earlier this week. A sign that said Sertoma Park. It all makes sense now.

The Ralph Engelstad Arena is definitely one of the coolest things in this entire region. We are really lucky to have it.

Saw this guy on 20th street near 24th ave. They are a good idea, but I gotta think it backfires sometimes. I know I've seen people gun it just to see how fast they can go when they drive by these things.

If you noticed, I just added a blogroll of some of the blogs I read, if you want yours on there, shoot me an e-mail.

That's all I got for today, thanks for reading!

Start: 11:27
End: 12:40
Temp: 79 degrees
Trip: 9.6 mi

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Trip 10 -- Cherry

2008-08-13T18:28:00.004-05:00

Today is, for the most part, about Cherry St. I decided to take Cherry all the way south again, but I explored some of the townhome neighborhoods. Those neighborhoods were a nightmare when I worked as delivery for a local restaurant. There are so many winding roads, and the signs aren't very helpful, but the homes do look nice.

It was a very nice day out today, no clouds to be seen.

You guys have been good about answering my previous questions, so I'll throw another one out there. What exactly is this large dish for? It's outside a Seventh Day Adventist church, and I have no idea what they would need a dish this big for.

Look at this sign from a delivery driver's perspective. Yeah, not fun at all.

Not sure what they're doing here, extending the road maybe?

Another picture of a really nice house added to my collection.

Today I learned there is no shortage of places to live on Cherry. Seems like every other block there was a huge townhouse neighborhood.

Thanks for reading!

Start: 5:15
End: 6:04
Temp: 82 degrees
Trip: 6.2 mi

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Trip 9 -- West

2008-08-12T18:12:00.002-05:00

Wait, it stopped raining? I wasn't sure if i needed to start gathering supplies to build an ark, but it looks like we're safe for now. I ended up going to see the Twins/Yankees game yesterday with a few friends. A great game it was, the Twins shut out the Yankees...I won't go into detail, but it was awesome. We then decided to leave for home right after the game, it always seems like a good idea until around Fargo when it really hits us. I don't recommend driving while tired.

Today I decided to head west. I was pretty disappointed to see that the sidewalk on 42nd doesn't span all the way from 32nd to Demers. I really don't like riding on busy roads where there's not much room for bicyclists.

I've decided to make a change, I'm not going to be taking as many pictures from now on to help reduce the time it takes for the page to load. So from now on, the posts will be a little bit smaller.

So that's where Sertoma Park is. I hear about it all the time, but I've never actually seen it. I always associate this park with rubber ducks. Isn't there some kind of annual rubber duck race or something here?

Some construction right off of 42nd, I believe these are going to be apartments. Not sure when they're supposed to be completed.

A view from the University overpass. Kinda intense having cars go nearly 80 right below you.

Now this kind of housing development is cool. The houses are actually unique from each other, not the Stepford Wives style houses in one of my earlier posts.

A view of the western edge of town, now I just need to explore the extreme eastern edge.

One more thing...I really hate when people park their cars so that it's blocking the sidewalk. Today I was on the sidewalk and a girl drove by me, looked at me, pulled into her driveway and parked right in the way of the sidewalk...come on people.

Oh well, thanks for reading!

Start: 4:06
End: 5:43
Temp: 81 degrees
Trip: 11.66 mi

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Off Day(s)

2008-08-11T10:42:00.002-05:00

I didn't actually take yesterday off, since I was visiting in my hometown and my friends and I all went for a fairly lengthy walk because frankly, there's not much else to do in that town. I expected to return to the normal format today, but today's forecast calls for thunderstorms all day and night. As much as I love storms, I can't really justify riding my metal bike in one and trying to take pictures, but we will see what happens.

Off Day

2008-08-09T14:21:00.003-05:00

I haven't actually taken an off day since I started this blog, so I think it would be a good idea to give my legs some rest. I can definitely still feel yesterday's trip.

So instead, I would like some feedback from whoever's reading. Does the page open slow for you because of all the pictures? I know there's a lot of them, and I'm afraid this is becoming a problem. Is there a way I can give each post its own individual page? Similar to how they do it on Deadspin? I tried to find a way, but came up empty. After looking around other Blogspot blogs, I'm assuming this is not an option.

So is the page too slow, or is it manageable?

Any other feedback, praise, criticism, tips, etc? Please leave a comment or shoot me an e-mail.

Lastly, the Minnesota Twins play the Royals tonight at 6:10. Francisco Liriano makes his second start since being recalled to the rotation. Here's to hoping he can stay hot and spark the Twins to the playoffs.

Also, thanks to Grand Forks Life and Campus Dakota for the free publicity! I really appreciate it!

Trip 8 -- Heading East

2008-08-08T18:46:00.006-05:00

Today I decided to explore that mysterious land known as East Grand Forks. This was not without hardships, however. I definitely got lost on the path a few times. At one point, the path just ended and I'm pretty sure I was on some kind of construction site. I really should print out a map of the Greenway path. I think the city should do a better job of keeping travelers of the path informed though. Some more informative signs wouldn't hurt.

Traveling some of the paths in East Grand was pretty lonely. I only saw 2 other people the whole time I was lost...I saw more when I finally made my way north. There was a point when I was in a pretty heavily wooded area and it was dead quiet. I was pretty sure a wolf was gonna jump out at me. Don't worry, there were no wolves, just TONS of grasshoppers.

I went off the path a few times onto some pretty rough terrain, but hey that's what a mountain bike's for right? Speaking of which, I hope mine holds up. Sometimes, the chain sticks and clicks...kinda makes me nervous. But so far, so good.

On to the trip:

I took the usual route to the Greenway, and didn't snap any pictures until I crossed the river. As you can see in the first picture, it was another cloudy day. There were a few sprinkles, but nothing nearly as bad as it was the last time I rode in 'cloudy' weather. Right when I got into EGF I was already presented with a choice, there were numerous forks in these paths..and it just became frustrating after a while.

I guess I'm on a frisbee golf course now. I just keep following the path, assuming it's taking me north.

Where's the river? Where am I? It was around this point where I was thinking about the wolves.

This looks strikingly similar to the path on the other side of the river...I'm almost positive I've taken this same picture earlier this week in Grand Forks.

For all you bench connoisseurs, this one has a great view of the Red Lake River, and of the large tree planted right in front of it.

Yikes, I don't think it's necessary to keep the black tube around this tree. Looks pretty dead to me.

Uhh... I can only assume this is a city vehicle. I heard an engine behind me and was pretty surprised to see a pickup behind me going the other direction. I have no idea where it came from.

Oh you've got to be kidding me. I've already been up and down paths trying to find the right direction, and just when I think I've made progress I see this thing.

90% of Hummer owners will probably never take theirs off road, although that's what they're built for. Well, I don't know what the made-up statistic is for mountain bike owners, but I'm definitely taking it off the path at this point.

WHERE AM I?!

I rode through the empty construction area and popped up on James Ave. SE. I was just relieved to see any kind of road. I followed back to the path and eventually navigated my way north...finally on the right path!

So I go under that sketchy railroad bridge and see this. Why it's there, I have no idea.

A view of the flood marker from Minnesota. Imagine that water at the top of the monument....yeah.

Hey look at that, I get into Minnesota and immediately see trees. Who woulda thunk?

A Minnesota view of the dam I never knew existed.

Good ol' pedestrian bridge...I finally found you.

I was done taking pictures at this point and just wanted to get home...definitely felt the burn during this trip, and that's a good thing. I was pretty exhausted when I got back.

Well, I will definitely be back to explore more of East Grand Forks' winding paths, and even venture into the actual city to take some pictures. I might need a light day tomorrow after today's trip.

Thanks for reading!

Start: 12:30
End: 3:00
Temp: 72
Trip: 18.1 mi

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Trip 7 -- More Uncharted Google Map Territory

2008-08-08T01:46:00.005-05:00

They really need to update Grand Forks in Google Maps, so much has changed since they last updated. Sorry for the late post, I headed straight to Fargo after I got done riding and was there for the rest of the night. Perhaps a bike trip to Fargo in the future? Hmm...probably not.

I wanted to head south again today to the end of the greenway path...but this time in sunnier circumstances. Nothing too crazy happening today...I did see a fellow bicyclist get chased by a dog and the owner was yelling for her dog. I thought she yelled "Mauer" as in Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer. I thought that would be an awesome name for a dog, probably because I'm a huge Twins fan. I asked if that's why she named the dog that, and she said that the dog's name was "Bauer"...as in the hockey equipment company. Yeah, not nearly as cool, but I guess it's better than Spot or Rover.

Anyways, on to the trip:

Near the Elks access of the bike path, I saw this...uh...thing sitting alone in the grass. I'm assuming it's some kind of child's playground equipment, but it's just all alone, and I'm not even sure how it would be used. Seriously, it doesn't even look fun for a kid.

So I'm not 100% familiar with the Adopt-A-Trail program. I'm assuming it involves the "adopters" making sure their part of the trail is free from litter and other debris, but usually it's businesses or organizations adopting sections. I thought it was interesting that a family actually adopted this part. Thank you Schill family, whereever you may be. I waited until after your section to litter. (Kidding of course, I don't even have anything to litter when I'm riding bike).

Ah, this picture looks much nicer on a sunny day where I'm not pouring rain water out of my shoes. Right after this is when I was introduced to Bauer.

This is a cool addition I'm starting to see more of in the area, blinking pedestrian lights with a button you can push to activate the lights before you cross. This combines my love for both pushing buttons and blinking lights. Grand Forks, you know the way to my heart.

This picture does not do much to dispel the belief that North Dakota is nothing but flat and treeless...in its defense, this area was probably farmland a couple years ago.

I just keep pedaling down that long, lonely sidewalk waiting for a familiar road. I eventually come upon King's Walk golf course. I'm not sure which water tower that is off in the distance.

Wow, this is quite the house. Oh to be rich...

On Wednesday I was leaving my apartment and did a double take as I saw a giant hot dog driving by me at an intersection. What the hell is the Weinermobile doing here? I wasn't gonna ask questions, I just wanted a picture of the thing. I followed it and took a quick picture of it as it was turning. If anyone has any extra info on what it was/is doing in Forks, I'd love to hear it.

Hey, it's the 1 week anniversary of this blog...try to contain your excitement please. I hope you've enjoyed it so far. Also, happy 8/8/08 day. Hopefully it's more fun than 7/7/07 was.

Trip: 8.2 miles
Temp: 80 degrees
Start: 1:45
End: 2:45

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Trip 6 -- Hidden Path

2008-08-06T22:37:00.004-05:00

Today I figured I should head south again, so I went south on 20th down to all of the uncharted Google Map territory. After riding by tons of identical homes, I eventually ended up by the Columbia Mall and I accidentally found another bike path. I wasn't really looking for one, but still managed to stumble upon one, and it was actually pretty nice.

Today's a short one...yesterday still has me worn out.

Here's some of the new houses on the south side. They're nice and all, but I don't think I could handle living on a street of almost completely identical houses. It's just...creepy. I wonder how often people forget which house is theirs?

Columbia Towers in the distance..at least I think that's what those apartments are called. Just ahead is where I unknowingly enter the bike path.

It was on this path where I found a ton of these plants. I think this is where every piece of cotton floating around in the city comes from.

She doesn't seem to mind the cotton.

Like I said, this is a pretty nice path, right in the middle of the city. Hopefully I can stumble upon more like this one.

I gotta say, one of my least favorite things about riding is crossing intersections. Drivers can be so unpredictable and they don't always use their blinker, which can be a nightmare. I've had drivers wave for me to cross when there's traffic coming from the other side, then they think I'm snubbing them or something...No! I just don't wanna die, alright? I hate driving on roads, and try to avoid them as much as possible. I don't know if it's good bicycle etiquette to ride on sidewalks, but that's what I do. Sorry walkers, but I'm avoiding roads like the plague. It's kinda lose/lose...walkers don't want us on the sidewalks and cars don't want us on the roads. They say "why don't you use a bike path?" Yeah, and how am I supposed to get to the bike path? helicopter? parachute? teleport? Sorry, but we're all gonna have to find a way to coexist peacefully. If they can do it in the Middle East then...oh, nevermind.

Length: 5.2 mi
Temp: 81 degrees
Start: 5:30
End: 6:23

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Trip 5 -- Alpha Ave?

2008-08-05T19:04:00.003-05:00

I was so intrigued by the southern part of yesterday's bike path, that I decided to explore the northern part of it. I thought it would be as cut and dry as the southern part...man was I wrong. The northern part looks even better than the southern part, but there's a ton of forks in the road and decisions to make. I felt like I was in one of those children's books that let you choose the ending, but there really wasn't a wrong choice. It wasn't as easy as just following the southern trail to a sign that says "End." I kept exploring north and found some interesting things that I've never seen before. After a while, the trail led me to a pedestrian bridge that crosses the river to East Grand Forks. That's where I decided to end today's progress. Don't worry, the East side will have it's day in my blog eventually. As I began my journey back home, I ended up on a street named Alpha Ave...I used to work for Red Pepper and did delivery for about a year. I thought I knew every street name in Grand Forks, but that one's new to me.

On to the trip:

I entered the bike path where I usually enter it, near 24th Ave. S. Near that entrance is the Lincoln Park Golf Course. I love the way they incorporate the path into the course, it all looks really nice, I'll have to try this course sometime. But for now, I'll stick with slicing through it with my bike. Near the golf course is this pedestrian bridge which goes to the mysterious land of East Grand Forks. Like I said, you'll have your day, EGF...just not today.

Still trekking on, looking for an end. The dike actually looks very nice, it doesn't have the feel of a giant fence seperating the river from the city, it actually is easy on the eyes.

Looks like I finally reached the Point Bridge. Here's one of the forks I was talking about, I could have gone three different ways. I stuck with the middle.

This thing can support trains? Glad I'm not in the railroad business.

I gotta say, we do have a very nice city building/ courthouse/ whatever you wanna call it.

The flood marker which marks the height of the Red River during the 1997 flood. I've driven by it numerous times, but seeing it up close was pretty awe-inspiring. I didn't live here at the time of the flood, but looking up and seeing how high the water was...wow. I recommend you check it out for yourselves.

Took a little breather and noticed there's a nice view of the Herald building from this spot.

This used to be a hospital as far as I know. My grandmother as actually born here. It's located right by the Gateway Dr. bridge.

Another fork...so many decisions. Around this point I caught a gnat in my right eye...that really hurt. Definitely one of the hazards of riding a bike around here.

I found a swimming pool that's definitely seen better days. It looks like it's been closed for years, but for all I know it's just been closed for the summer. It's definitely all dried up though.

We have a dam? At this point, I'm hoping the end is nearby...this is getting ridiculous. I'm wondering if I'm even in the city limits anymore.

So the trail turns into a pedestrian bridge heading to East Grand. I might not have reached the end, but I think I've reached the northernmost point of the trail. As I said, one day I'll head east, but I was starting to get exhausted.

A view of the dam from the pedestrian bridge.

Uhh...where am I?

Oh, on the corner of Alpha and 6th of course.

On the way back I saw a medical helicopter outside Altru, just thought it was cool. My dad used to fly these things.

Well, that ends my longest trip to date...I'll definitely be trying to top it soon. The longer the trip, the longer it takes to post these blogs...so I could definitely use a nap right about now.

Length: 12.16 mi.
Temp: 79 degrees
Start: 4:35
End: 6:15

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Trip 4 -- Riding in the Rain

2008-08-04T18:21:00.004-05:00

So I figured I'd get a little wet today, but I didn't expect the monsoon that rained down upon me. I decided to ride part of the trail by the river...I think it's called the Greenway, but maybe that refers to the golf course, I'm not entirely sure. Anyways, as you can see from the map I entered the path around 24th ave. s. and I decided to head as far south as I could, assuming that it didn't take me all the way out to the country. I almost decided to turn around as I saw the clouds keep rolling in, but I really wanted to find the end of the trail...luckily the end was conveniently marked for me.

Of course when I found the end is about when it started pouring...and it didn't let up for around 15 minutes. So if you saw some crazy drenched guy riding his bicycle this afternoon, there's a good chance it was me. Thankfully my waterproof bike pouch worked as advertised, otherwise I would've been sitting on about $500 worth of wet electronics. I gotta say, riding in the rain felt pretty good. Something about being in heavy rain just makes me feel alive. It was really cool, although I could hardly keep my eyes open. I did draw some funny looks from people, but hey..don't knock it 'til you've tried it. Next time it's pouring, go outside...just don't get struck by lightning.

On to the trip:

Entering the bike trail. A sign of things to come in the sky.

A couple views of the path a little south of the Elks Dr. entrance. This was a very scenic path, it was nice being right by the river. I'll definitely be traveling this path again, next time I'll explore how far north it goes.

Getting darker, starting to sprinkle...

The end's in sight. At this point, the sprinkling started to pick up.

So this is where it ends, I had to kinda improvise in my Google Map, since a lot of the new southern stuff doesn't even show up yet. I'm not even sure if I traced the bike path correctly.

After I left the end of the trail, the rain really started to come down, and it did not let up. I was enjoying the rain until I thought about my bike's pouch, it said it was waterproof, but how waterproof was it? I decided to pull off into an overhang at an elementary school, and saw my favorite shed again.

I hung out there for a few minutes and the rain didn't let up very much. After discovering my bag was indeed waterproof, I roughed it out the rest of the way home. Needless to say, I was pretty drenched. I literally poured water out of my shoes. It's going to be a while before everything dries out, but was it worth it? Yeah I'd say so.

Trip: 8.3 mi.
Temp: 71 degrees
Started: 4:00 pm
Finished: 5:15 pm

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Trip 3 -- Heading North

2008-08-03T20:38:00.004-05:00

I guess I lied when I said I wasn't going to ride today. I came back to Grand Forks earlier than planned, and figured instead of sitting around I may as well take a trip. I felt like heading north today and trying to find a bike path that I knew of. It took a little bit, as you can see in my Google Map I was kinda all over the place when I got to campus. I did find it eventually, and it's pretty nice. I'm going to have scope out all of the bike paths in the GF/EGF area eventually.

Alright, on to the trip.
I've noticed there are a lot of businesses like this in Grand Forks. Businesses that make you wonder how they're not closed down, as well as businesses that you aren't quite sure what the hell they do. Finest Auto Trim? Firstly, it might be kind of brave to claim they're the "finest" of all auto trims... I've never even heard of them until today. Just another one of those businesses you drive by and don't think twice about. I'm not even sure what auto trim is.

Not far from Finest Auto Trim, I find Unique Auto Body also setting up shop along Gateway. How many auto body places are there in this town? I don't know what makes this one so "unique" from the million other auto body places around here...unless it's the porcelain bear outside of it. In that case, it's probably the most unique auto body in town. Also, that bear is very small.

These are the stairs to get up to the Columbia-overpass-bike-tunnel-of-doom-thing.

A view looking south on Columbia from the top of the stairs.

A view of the tunnel ( is tunnel the right word? cage?) from the inside. I had to wait until a girl jogged by, I didn't want to creep her out too much. I sure love looking like a tourist taking pictures of a bunch of random stuff...but I do it for you, people. Also, it's kinda scary how close you are to oncoming traffic, even though you're in the cage.

It took me a while to find this bike path, but once I did it was like I wasn't even in Grand Forks anymore. I was pretty sure I found an undiscovered part of the city and I was gonna claim it for myself but then someone just had to build a house right here.

Damn, they must've known I was coming too.

HAH! There we go...claiming some land in the name of JP. I think I'll build a tiny Wal-Mart there...or something.

That's all I got for now, tomorrow I have a dentist appointment first thing in the morning..so that's probably gonna ruin my day. Wish me luck.

Trip: Approx. 8 miles, Temp: 79 degrees ...maybe I should start keeping track of time too?

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Trip 2

2008-08-02T17:57:00.006-05:00

Today was a shorter trip because I had to do it before I saw Dark Knight at River Cinema with my roommate. That would be the third time I've seen it now, so needless to say I really enjoy that movie. Go see it now if you already haven't...see it a lot.

One thing I've really noticed in this past week is how friendly other bicyclists and walkers/joggers are. Nearly every person gave a smile and a nod to me as I rode by. I usually like to rip on people who think Grand Forks and North Dakota in general are full of nothing but nice people, and people that can do no wrong...but times like that change my mind. I guess all the rude people aren't big exercisers.

Anyways, it didn't take long for me to find my first photo opportunity. I'm not sure what's going on here, or how the glove is even stuck on ... whatever the hell that green thing is, but I'll just leave it to your imagination to figure it out.

I found this strange little shed in the parking lot of an elementary school. I have no idea what they would want to keep in there, but if it's empty I decided that this would make a good place to live if I'm homeless...I might able to move it somewhere else. Yeah, I think i would prefer this to the tunnel under Washington. I'll keep looking for more potential homeless spots.

Noble Tree Service and Geek Squad...together at last.

As I was riding by this house, I noticed a large metal tower in the yard... at first I was wondering if it was some kind of antenna, then I thought it might be a lightning rod...now I'm convinced it's an extraterrestrial communication device and aliens disguised as humans are actually living in that house.

This pavilion is on Belmont near the river, I just thought it looked nice. This would not make a good homeless place to live. Not pictured is a ton of empty chairs facing the pavilion. Apparently I was a little early for the show.

I took this picture of some fishermen from the bike path bridge near Lincoln Park. These guys are participating in this weekend's Catfish Days celebration. I'm all for celebrations...but catfish? No thanks. Anything that comes out of the Red River can stay in the Red River.

Can someone explain to me exactly what these things are? I see them everywhere, protruding from sidewalks. There's some that stick out so high I'm convinced that I'm gonna wipe out after hitting them. Looks like it's working wonders for the sidewalk too.

Alright, that's it for today. I might not post tomorrow because I'll be in Hatton...but who knows. Thanks to all 3 of you for reading.

Trip: About 5 miles; Temperature: 71 degrees

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My "First" Trip

2008-08-01T15:57:00.000-05:00

Technically this would be my 5th or 6th trip, but for the sake of the blog I'll consider it my first. Nothing too exciting going on, since I thought of the idea of this blog about halfway through this trip. The pictures aren't the best quality because they're taken with my cell phone. I'll have to figure out a way to bring my digital camera.

On to the trip: I decided to explore the extreme southeast part of Grand Forks, a lot of things are new...so new that Google Maps doesn't even have most of the buildings on there yet.

The first picture shows the new Aurora Medical Park. It's kind of forgotten along with other things on the extreme south end. But I have a feeling that this area will be booming within a few years.

As I got to the corner of 55th Ave. S. and Cherry St. I was surprised to see that the street was closed. Apparently some vandals decided plant a large wheat field in the way of the road, so they had to close it off. Damn kids.

As I said, I am easily distracted...especially by shiny balloons. I did not check out the garage sale, but I'm sure it's a grand ol' time. I also love the choice of Halloween colors to promote their sale. Bold move.

Like an oasis in the middle of the desert, here is Grand Forks' southernmost Valley Dairy, right by Aurora. I guess it does make sense, there are a lot more homes down there than people think...and as I said, that part of town is due to flourish. Stay cool indeed, Grand Cities.

I just thought this was a cool design for a house...some, or maybe even most may think it's ugly, but I like the non traditional house designs. If I can ever afford a house, I think I'm going to have it shaped like a dome...or a lighthouse.

Towards the end of my trek, I decided to use the tunnel going under Washington right by the WDAZ building. It seems like a lot of graffiti has seen its way in there, which doesn't surprise me. I have no idea why someone spray painted "JP RULZ" on the ceiling, but whatever. This would make a great spot to live if I'm ever homeless.

The trip was approximately 8.5 miles and the temperature at the time was 81 degrees.

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Well, that's it for now...please bear with me as I figure all of this blogging stuff out.

Introduction

2008-08-01T15:09:00.000-05:00

Alright, well first I'll introduce myself. My name is Jon, and I am a 4th year psychology student at UND. I am 6'5", and I've been asked to grab items off of top shelves numerous times, so don't be afraid to ask. I am easily amused, and even more easily distracted...as you will see if you continue reading this blog (assuming anyone does).

Before I get to the point of this blog, here's a little back story. Most of my life I've been leaning towards pudgy/chunky/husky/whatever cute euphemism you want use. This was more evident when I was younger, but all of a sudden I grew...a lot, and that kinda stretched everything out so it wasn't as bad. This was never really a problem, but in this day and age, who doesn't wanna lose weight, right?

Being a Grand Forks resident of legal drinking age, I enjoyed my fair share of binging, until one weekend of partying that finally caught up to me. The next day I came down with probably the worst case of flu I've ever had. Later that week, I was just sitting down and all of a sudden my heart started beating rapidly and out of rhythm. Needless to say, I was pretty scared. My roommate rushed me to the ER and they had to admit me to the hospital as they administered some drugs to slow my heart down. Don't believe the myths about hospital food, Altru's was delicious. They kept me overnight, and the next day I had to see a cardiologist. He told me I was in a state of atrial fibrillation. After a few tests, everything seemed to be normal, but they gave me a prescription anyways (amiodarone). After a couple months, I saw the cardiologist again and he told me that everything was normal, I just came down with a case of "holiday heart." Basically, my heart was weakened after being pummeled by booze all weekend, and then a viral infection during the week...I guess I don't blame it for going crazy on me...sorry heart, just please don't stop on me, thanks.

So I was told to drink alcohol very sparingly for the remainder of my life. I have no problem with that, I had to laugh at some of my friends who treated it as a death sentence though...I'm not dying guys, I just can't get drunk anymore...which is probably a good thing, hangovers are no fun. I'll probably save thousands of dollars after a while too...bars are not cheap. (Yet I'm still broke somehow).

In addition to ditching binge drinking, I decided to change other aspects of my lifestyle...for one I'm going to exercise a lot more often than I did before (which was uh... not much to say the least). Hey we finally got to the point of this post! Thanks for bearing with me!

I recently brought the old mountain bike from home to Grand Forks and I've taken it for a ride almost every day since then. As we all know, it's easy to lose sight of things and slip into old habits, so that's why I'm starting this blog. I want to chronicle each of my trips and take pictures along the way. I'll be looking for all kinds of odd things in Grand Forks to entertain you, and (hopefully) make you laugh. I'm hoping this will keep me motivated enough to keep riding as much as I can. It's harder to give up when people are actually watching...so please read this blog! MY LIFE DEPENDS ON IT! Okay, maybe a little extreme, but if I ask nicely will you read it?