Of Wizardry, Walleye and Wonder

Week 2 in Bismarck is on the books, and our good natured journey up the learning curve continues. The last few days have been filled with more adventure and insight -- and a hearty appreciation for what we've encountered.

Last Saturday night, we enjoyed our "first date" in town by taking in a Dakota Wizards basketball game. The Wizards are a development league squad, made up of young NBA hopefuls and recent NBA draft picks who were sent down from deep teams to get more playing experience instead of riding the bench behind experienced vets all season.

We watched some darn good ball from near-courtside seats, for $10 less than the nosebleeders at the top of Hec Edmundson Pavilion. The talented local gal singing the National Anthem (in jeans and a t-shirt!) put Christina Aguilera's Superbowl flub to even greater shame. The vibe was very fun and family focused, with shoot-around games for kids and grown-ups alike, an enthusiastic rendition of the chicken dance for all to participate in, autograph sessions with the players, and ready high fives and hugs from the team mascot, Dunkie.

This week, our appetite for adventure brought us into the local culinary scene. On Friday night we braved the rough and tumble Broken Oar, a workingman's bar on the Missouri River. The limited menu (Would you like the chicken and rice tonight? our sincere server asked) capped our experience at one light beer apiece. It was strange to hang out in an establishment where smoking is still allowed and stranger still to see boxes of cigarettes tucked between the Doritos and Pringles in the vending machine.

Emerging from the nicotine no worse for wear except for our hair and clothing, on we went to the Toasted Frog, a very nice restaurant which opened recently to much ado in downtown Bismarck. Detered by the lengthy wait, we decided to save that experience for later and found our way to the (smoke free!) Blarney Stone, a popular Irish-themed pub, with tasty food, friendly service, and a cozy atmosphere.

The most interesting culinary event of the week was our own attempt to cook the local favorite fish, the walleye. Walleye is a freshwater fish that looks a bit like a flat halibut, in the seafood case at Dan's Supermarket, anyway. While walleye can be baked and grilled, experts we trusted suggested breading and pan frying, which we did. Felt a little funny since our frying pan experience up to now has been limited to hash browns and the odd sauteed mushroom, but the result was actually very nice...alongside baked sweet potatoes and steamed asparagus, we'll call our first walleye dinner attempt a success!

In order to balance our gourmet indulgences, we needed to move around a bit. So we donned our new snowshoes (many thanks, Seattle Oppies!) and climbed around Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park, located about six miles from our house. The fort was built in 1872, primarily as a military outpost protecting the railway construction passing through the area at the time. We'll post separately as we learn more about the history of North Dakota, but for now here are a few shots of the vistas from the fort and our snowshoeing adventure. Windy, snowy, wonderful.

You've Got Mail.

The first three days we spent in Bismarck were colder than any I'd ever experienced -- or imagined possible. Even under bright sunny skies, after just a few minutes outdoors at 24 degrees below zero, an almost primal panic kicks in and an involuntary flight for cover follows. I need to find that box with my warm hats in it and unpack it, fast!

Life does seem to go on, even on very cold days, as people motor gingerly along on icy streets to the gym, the grocery store, and inevitably the drive-thru Starbucks, which boasts the only rush hour traffic jam in town, it seems.

I am sure we'll learn some tricks to cope with the cold, and even some ways to use it to our advantage. The first advice of this nature was shared with me by my new friend Dave the Mailman.

I had some mail to send out Wednesday morning, so I braved the elements in search of our mailbox, which I expected to find in its customary spot on either side of our driveway. It had snowed a great deal last weekend, and the fluffy white stuff had drifted up to several feet high around our yard...and frozen solid. I figured the mailbox was under one of the drifts, but wasn't sure where to start shoveling.

Enter Dave the Mailman, who rang our doorbell around 1 pm. Mike's sister and her family had sent us a lovely box full of housewarming goodies (thank you, Trish!), which Dave delivered with a smile.

"Do you know where our mailbox is?" I asked him, after introductions were made. "I think I will try to shovel it out when it warms up a little tomorrow."

With a wry smile Dave answered, "You don't have one. The last family who lived here used a P.O. box in town. So you'll need to put one in if you want one."

Together we looked across the yard and did the same math. The snow was high, and the ground will be frozen solid for months. Digging a post hole for a mailbox was out of the question.

"Here's what you can do," he said. "Get a mailbox and put it on a post. Fill a five gallon bucket with water. Put the post in the water, put the bucket outside, and it will stand up just fine until spring."

He saw my skepticism and assured me people do it all the time. Other local folks who have heard this story have just sort of smiled at us indulgently, so we're not sure what to think.

All I know is that it's been nice to see Dave the Mailman each afternoon since, as he's hand delivered the mail that is slowly starting to find its way to our new address. In a world with so much electronic correspondence, there's something awfully comforting about that.

We'll get the box up soon, and keep you posted about how we get it done!