More News From The West

                We’ve settled into a nice rhythm this week. Two people take the ATVs and drag while the third does nest checks. We rotate this so it theoretically means two hard days of dragging and one day “off” to nest check. With the amount of nests we have found, that easy day is not that easy. So far we have nearly 70 nests to check, and that is just counting the northern sites. Add to that our new time restraints and it can make for a stressful day.

Jarrett has been trying to keep us to 8 or fewer hours a day for the past week or so, an impossible task when it normally takes us around 12 hours to do everything. But he has good reason to want to keep our hours smaller. Already, I have over 100 hours of overtime added up, and the money situation for this project is not looking good.

Hustle and Flow: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Country Music

The weather forecast for the past two weeks predicted rain everyday but those Mondays. Since, we could not do our work in the rain we tried to get a full weeks worth or work done. In one day. Those days were not fun. Both days ended up being over 18 hours each, filled with lots of driving and running. That first Monday, I drove from the North Dakota border all the way down to the Nebraska border, and then back up to the middle of the state. We accomplished all of our goals each day, which turned out not too matter too much as it did not rain at all the rest of either week.
I am beginning to understand how Stockholm syndrome works. Before I came here, I had a strong dislike of country music, but now, after two months of really nothing else to listen too, I find myself enjoying certain songs. It is a terrible feeling.
With birds beginning to hatch, we ran our first trial of trapping. It went horribly. Our trap is a thrown hula hoop with a net attached to it. Try throwing a hula hoop and see how accurate you are. Now trying adding a net and a strong wind. Throw in some delicate and easily broken eggs into the mix and you can see our problem. We had one bird that we were trying to catch the hula-nets, and by the time we tried to use the stationary traps, the bird was so spooked that it would not go near the nest. We spent the drive back to the lodge coming up with new and exotic trapping ideas. It will be an interesting summer if we use any of those.
I really should write these things down sometime when I am not sitting at the gas station. Then maybe I will actually write down the exciting and interesting details of this job. Now though, I think I am going to get something to eat.

-Me

A Guide to South Dakota Cities (For Loose Definitions of “Cities”) 2nd Edition

                The Grand List of South Dakota Cities (For Generous Definitions of Cities) 2^nd Addition

Huron-Out of all the cities in South Dakota, Huron most reminds one of Michigan. Its downtown, as well as housing styles is a near carbon copy of Plymouth.

While Redfield is known as “The Pheasant Capital of The World,” it is Huron that claims to have “The World’s Largest Pheasant.” This fact has led to a bitter rivalry between the two cities. Redfiedlers claim that Huronites stole their Giant Pheasant while Huronites do not pay attention to anything the Redfielders say.

 Groton- Groton South Dakota has the most annoying intersection in the world. Never travel north or south through it if you can avoid it. If you must, bring a good book, or perhaps your lunch as you will be sitting there for a while.

Sioux Falls- Sioux Falls is South Dakota’s First City. As the largest city in the state, it boasts a population just slightly larger than Ann Arbor’s. Seeing that many people around can be quite a shock after spending time in some of the other cities of South Dakota. Do not worry though, SF has many fine attractions to take your mind off them.

If you are a history buff, there is a battleship memorial on the north side of the city. Be warned though, it is not a full battleship, as many of the signs seems to suggest. Rather, it is a large stone plaque with bits of a ship scattered around it.

For the more nature oriented visitor, why not visit the Falls of Sioux Falls? These impressive water works stretch a couple of hundred yards downstream, filled with rocks for climbing and sights for seeing. When surrounded by construction, it can be difficult to get to, but with a little luck, you should find the falls to be a pleasant experience.

After a day of sightseeing, relax at one of Sioux Falls’ many fine night clubs. A popular favorite is Bucks, an automotive themed bar. On a Friday night, you will find the place packed to capacity with people dancing, drinking and enjoying life. Why such a well-loved establishment is virtually empty on Saturday is one of Sioux Falls’ greatest mysteries.

Watertown- The Gateway to West is the fifth biggest city in the state. It runs along the highway, and as such has an elongated design, much like Aberdeen. In fact, Watertown and Aberdeen are twins in regard to their layout. Anything that you could do or find in Aberdeen could just as easily be done in Watertown.

In the middle of Watertown there is a well-used train crossing, going over the main highway, without gates or even lights to warn that a train is coming. There is not much more to say about that. It is just odd.