[Flash]

That's right- Bismarck, North Dakota. Back last year (sorry, these pictures are from late May '06) my brother, a friend and I settled [were stranded] in Bismarck for about 4 days. It was the result of traveling over 1,600 miles in about a week with the purpose of documenting tornadoes. My brother's vehicle, an '05 Ford Freestyle, decided that its fuel pump would go out at literally the furthest point we were from home. It happened about 11 o'clock at night in the middle of nowhere, though it turned out Bismarck was not too far away.

http://metroscenes.com/bismarck/images/bismarck_nd_metroscenes_14.jpg

Perhaps all the bugs caused the fuel pump to fail? This was earlier in the day before the car seized up on us:
http://metroscenes.com/bismarck/images/bismarck_nd_metroscenes_03.jpg

This was about five minutes before we discovered the car would go no more. The orange glow on our targeted storm was from the city of Bismarck.
http://metroscenes.com/bismarck/images/bismarck_nd_metroscenes_01.jpg

http://metroscenes.com/bismarck/images/bismarck_nd_metroscenes_17.jpg

While in Bismarck, I focused a lot on their state capitol building- the tallest building in ND, and the state's only 'skyscraper' at 241 feet.
http://metroscenes.com/bismarck/images/bismarck_nd_metroscenes_32.jpg

http://metroscenes.com/bismarck/images/bismarck_nd_metroscenes_07.jpg

http://metroscenes.com/bismarck/images/bismarck_nd_metroscenes_13.jpg

http://metroscenes.com/bismarck/images/bismarck_nd_metroscenes_06.jpg

http://metroscenes.com/bismarck/images/bismarck_nd_metroscenes_05.jpg

http://metroscenes.com/bismarck/images/bismarck_nd_metroscenes_08.jpg

http://metroscenes.com/bismarck/images/bismarck_nd_metroscenes_24.jpg

http://metroscenes.com/bismarck/images/bismarck_nd_metroscenes_15.jpg

http://metroscenes.com/bismarck/images/bismarck_nd_metroscenes_18.jpg

http://metroscenes.com/bismarck/images/bismarck_nd_metroscenes_20.jpg

http://metroscenes.com/bismarck/images/bismarck_nd_metroscenes_21.jpg

http://metroscenes.com/bismarck/images/bismarck_nd_metroscenes_35.jpg

http://metroscenes.com/bismarck/images/bismarck_nd_metroscenes_34.jpg

http://metroscenes.com/bismarck/images/bismarck_nd_metroscenes_02.jpg

http://metroscenes.com/bismarck/images/bismarck_nd_metroscenes_09.jpg

The airport.
http://metroscenes.com/bismarck/images/bismarck_nd_metroscenes_31.jpg

http://metroscenes.com/bismarck/images/bismarck_nd_metroscenes_23.jpg

http://metroscenes.com/bismarck/images/bismarck_nd_metroscenes_16.jpg

http://metroscenes.com/bismarck/images/bismarck_nd_metroscenes_04.jpg

http://metroscenes.com/bismarck/images/bismarck_nd_metroscenes_10.jpg

http://metroscenes.com/bismarck/images/bismarck_nd_metroscenes_28.jpg

http://metroscenes.com/bismarck/images/bismarck_nd_metroscenes_30.jpg

http://metroscenes.com/bismarck/images/bismarck_nd_metroscenes_11.jpg

http://metroscenes.com/bismarck/images/bismarck_nd_metroscenes_26.jpg

http://metroscenes.com/bismarck/images/bismarck_nd_metroscenes_33.jpg

http://metroscenes.com/bismarck/images/bismarck_nd_metroscenes_12.jpg

http://metroscenes.com/bismarck/images/bismarck_nd_metroscenes_25.jpg

http://metroscenes.com/bismarck/images/bismarck_nd_metroscenes_27.jpg

http://metroscenes.com/bismarck/images/bismarck_nd_metroscenes_22.jpg

http://metroscenes.com/bismarck/images/bismarck_nd_metroscenes_29.jpg

Thanks for viewing!

[vid]

WOW.

Amazing photos! :yup: You made the city look amazing!

[Goody]

That sun set is nuts, I bet you could make a pile of steaming dog shit look like art. Perfect as always

[BnaBreaker]

First of all, your photography skills are just crazy.

Second of all, thanks for posting photos of a city i've never seen before. Bismarck actually looks kind of charming.

[olga]

Wow, amazing photography.

[LMich]

Excellent photos! And, what an interesting tour. Your story kind of reminds me of an unexpected city visit we had in Oklahoma City when my dad's car broke down just outside the city.

BTW, their are actually two other 'skyscrapers' in Fargo, North Dakota.

[Urban Zombie®]

http://metroscenes.com/bismarck/images/bismarck_nd_metroscenes_05.jpg

Good lord, Flash. Seriously, good lord!

[peacefu603]

So clean!

[M. Brown]

What a nice looking town. Awesome pics man!

[flar]

nice!

[Upward]

Incredible photos.

I haven't seen one of your threads for a while. That this one appears right after the filtering out of the "hey look at these pic's I founded!!1" threads from City Photos is a sign that the change was for the best. :)

[glowrock]

:worship:

Amazing stuff, Flash!

Aaron (Glowrock)

[Robert Pence]

Stunning stuff! That storm shot is wonderful. Good thing you weren't chasing/being chased by a tornado when the fuel pump quit!

The electronic gadgets on modern cars are a mixed blessing; cars can run 100K miles without a tune-up, compared with 25K in the "good old days", and get phenomenal fuel mileage, but when the electronics fail, they often disable the car without warning and can't be patched up in the field to get you to a repair shop.

When the old-time mechanical fuel pumps failed, they rarely caused the car to refuse to go. More often, they leaked either onto the ground or into the crankcase and you knew because you smelled the gas or the crankcase oil level started to rise (people actually used to check it every time they bought gas) or your mileage went to hell. Any competent shade-tree mechanic with a wrench and a screwdriver and pair of pliers could install a rebuilt pump for less than $20. The downside was that if you managed to keep a car running for 100K miles, you could count on having that experience a couple of times.

[Ex-Ithacan]

Sorry to hear about your misfortune, but it turns into our good fortune. A beautiful Bismarck thread (should have known if Flash is involved). Just a couple of comments.

Not the best job trying to sneak 3 more floors in on us.:rolleyes:

http://metroscenes.com/bismarck/images/bismarck_nd_metroscenes_23.jpg


American Ingenuity.:D

http://metroscenes.com/bismarck/images/bismarck_nd_metroscenes_28.jpg


So pretty I almost want to cry.


http://metroscenes.com/bismarck/images/bismarck_nd_metroscenes_29.jpg


Thanks for the treat Flash :)

[Tex1899]

Great photos!

[-GR2NY-]

Okayyyy, mister national geographic. These are,,, incredible. Good camera, and good eye.

[Flash]

Thanks everyone.

LMich - I guess you're right....I did go through Fargo, ND after leaving Bismarck and grabbed a few photos. They do have a lot more high rises than Bismarck, though I'm not sure what their heights are.

Upward- I agree on the change.

Rob- This new fuel pump cost $600 and it even may not have been the problem. After they installed it, the car would start but shut off soon after. After a senior master technician of Ford almost gave up, he realized the emergency cut-off switch located inside a passenger side panel in front of the door was tripped, causing the fuel to cease from flowing. There was no way to verify that it would have been tripped before all the work that was done without costing even more money.

[LAsam]

Wow, those are some seriously top quality photos!

I can't believe such a new car would have so many issues. I would imagine it's still under warranty?

[LordUnum]

Wow, those are some seriously top quality photos!

I can't believe such a new car would have so many issues. I would imagine it's still under warranty?
I see the problem: that damn blue oval emblem!

I KEED, I KEED! :D

Anyways, nothing to do here but echo the sentiments expressed above. Came in here expecting merely some shots of a rarely-seen/experienced city and was treated to some serious art. BRAVO!

:tup:

[ColDayMan]

Pierre is better.

[Flash]

I can't believe such a new car would have so many issues. I would imagine it's still under warranty?

I guess I should have prefaced everything with the fact that, at the time, my brother's car had 60,000 miles on it. As of today is has over 90,000. Storm chasing and related business brings many miles on a car, particularly when you are based in the east.

You can follow what happened with the car here: http://www.myfordfreestyle.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=4784

[Evergrey]

Announcer: Okay, the capital of North Dakota is named after what German ruler?
Homer: HITLER!?


Amazing photos of a mysterious town... bravo!

[HomeInMyShoes]

Can someone please pick up my jaw for me?

[Tony]

Holy Schmokes... beautiful work Flash.. just stunning.

[mSeattle]

You done it again there guy!

[excel]

Very Very imperessive photography of a cool looking place.

[harls]

Unbelievable! That skyscraper sure looks lonely!

[Wheelingman04]

I drove through it several years ago, but didn't stop because I was trying to get to Minneapolis before sunset. I did chase a severe thunderstorm in Cass County, ND. I am a trained spotter for the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh.

[Sacto]

Excellent photos!

[Flash]

thanks again everyone

[urban surfin]

I'm told that the North Dakota capitol, thrusting, as it does, skyward far above any structure for hundrends of miles, is sometimes known as "the penis on the prairie."

[MSPtoMKE]

Spectacular, thanks for filling in the blank spot of "What does Bismark, ND look like?"

[Buckeye Native 001]

Fantastic and underappreciated city on this thread :tup:

[city dweller]

I love the No Pay! No License! sign. It reminds me of one of those crude Chinese to English translations. "You No Pay! You No License!"

As far as the thread goes, simply put: astounding. I've never seen Middle America depicted so well on these threads. The lightning shot is money. Just think a few years down the road you'll be reminiscing about the time the "Goddamned Ford Freestyle broke down outside of Bismarck, ND..." Then you'll look back at these photos and remember why it was all worth it.

[tower]

your photos are always rockin'