Green With Envy

I think what North Dakota lacks in elevation changes it attempts to make up for in color. Mainly the color green. There is also a lot of gold and yellow and blue sky. But for the most part it just looks organic here. After work yesterday I decided to head out to New John lake, got my bronze on laying in the back of my truck and on the way I snapped some photos of the area I'm driving through every single day. This is not the best place I've ever lived, but it is certainly not the worst either. I swear that none of these photos were edited in any way.

Pew! Pew! Pew!

Well, I've been working here for a while now and every once in a while it is important to blow off some steam. Me and the guys from work were a little upset about some work stuff, things didn't work out like they were supposed to so we decided to head out to the gun range and shoot stuff!

Down Range

Pew! Pew! Gotcha...

Bang! Bang!

Little man don't care.

You can see the shell ejecting. Neat!

So This is My Life

I finally got around to snapping a few pictures of my surrounding area. It's not so bad here. The people are friendly, in a trailer park kind of way, it's not very dusty, it's green and yellow, and there seems to be a relaxed kind of atmosphere that I can get behind. Would I ever choose to live here? No, definitely not, not a chance in the world. But of all the places I get paid to live in, it could be a lot worse.

100 Great Years!

Home Sweet Trailer Home

An Average Night in the Trailerhood

Complete with above ground pool

You can save so much time here!

Very inventive...

Yellow

Prettyish

Lookin fresh

It's not that bad here.

It's Wedding Season!

Being a Hobo Kid is great, but it does have it's drawbacks. A number of my friends have gotten married this summer and I haven't made it to a single wedding. But fortunately for me, I was able to make it one wedding. So what I didn't know the bride or the groom? So what I wasn't invited? I was ready for a good time and so was my new friend Tim, the reformed christian, recovered cocaine addict, harmonica player. And he was invited so I just rode those coat tails. It was a great time, the booze was flowing and all the people were farmer folk so I fit in just fine. Congratulations to Caylla and Dustyn!

Precious

Bride approves

Where is she keeping that cell phone?

Free party swag, poor guy

Pink camo. Classy.

Party!

I write like a child...

Impromptu Family

I realized the other day that I have had a new job every season for the last three years. I move around a good deal and spend quite a bit of time on my own. This is most apparent during the holidays. I always find myself envying the families and friends gathered together, laughing about what so-and-so did last year during the 4^th, or how this is gonna be the best Independence Day yet and so on and so forth. It’s the familiarity of tradition. The same group of people, gathering together celebrating in a familiar fashion as years gone by, I miss that. Don’t get me wrong, I love my life and I love new experiences, but the holidays are about friends and family. This year I was lucky enough to collect an impromptu family.

The group of guys I work with are similar to myself, they aren’t really from the “middle of nowhere” North Dakota area that we are working in, they are all transplants from here and there. This 3^rd of July (apparently that’s when a majority of the personal fireworks get set off) I was invited to celebrate with my coworkers and their families. I should also mention that I work with a crew of six guys, four of which are old enough to be my father, the other guy is just a kid himself. Not really knowing what to expect, I decided to show up and hope for the best. It was better than I could have ever hoped. We had hamburgers and hotdogs, potato salad and chips, the whole nine yards as far as bbq’s go. The best thing about it though was that no one cared that we had all just met for the first time a week and a half ago. We all acted like we had been there before. The elder statesman, Joel aka “The Old Goat” was shelling out advice to us youngsters, his wife was pip-pipping about making sure everyone had something to eat. Ernie, the boss man, was playing with his kids (and by playing I mean chasing them with an RC car.) And everyone was just there, comfortable, enjoying the time off and the company they were with. I’m not sure if it was small town hospitality, or that we were all looking to share a memory with someone for the holidays, or if we all just got lucky and ended up liking one another, but I know that for one night I had an impromptu family.

 

The Dudes

The Billy Goat

Life Lessons

Left to Right: Joel, James and Ernie

Baby Jacob

If you were a hotdog, would you eat yourself? 

The Gang 

Roman Candles

Jacob and Ashley

Men are always kids, no matter what age.

Happy 4th of July!