Working in Minot

We arrived here in Minot, ND a week ago today.  Can't believe we have already been here a week!  Wow - time does fly when you are having fun or working. 

Minot is an interesting city.  I was told by someone that the town was founded when the Union Pacific Railroad was being built and this area was used as a supply depot and a home base for workers.  It became know as the Magic City because it was magical in how fast the nomadic workers made it into a town.  In essence, Minot is located in a bowl with a river that meanders its way through the town.  There are a number of big parks; one in particular is dedicated to the Scandinavian settlers.  We haven't make it there yet but plan on walking through it this weekend.  There are lots and lots of big green trees and miles of green fields surrounding the town.  And, for the most part, it is flat, flat, flat which makes it possible to see forever without anything obstructing your eye sight.  Not like my home mountainous area at all!

It's pretty here now but come winter, it does get cold, cold, cold.  And right now, Minot is in the center of a huge oil boom so the city is growing by leaps and bounds.

We are parked at a Lutheran church that had been used as a staging ground for the initial disaster relief when the river flooded in June/July 2011.  There were thousands of houses under eight to ten feet of water.  Many of the houses stayed that way for weeks as the city dyked the downtown and hospital areas in an attempt to save those buildings.  It created a huge pool with nowhere for the water to drain.  Many of the houses have been repaired and are occupied.  Others were torn down while others are in various stages of rebuilding.  It takes years for disasters such as this one to be resolved.  And this is the time when the NOMADS become involved. 

This is our project house

This was taken from the living room looking through the
studs into the front bedroom.  Teri, Kitty, and Carol are
getting ready to screw down the sub-floor wood.
 

This past Monday, we started working on a tee-tiny house located right next to Minot State University.  NOMADS had already started working on the house as the interior was cleaned out and the outside plywood was wrapped in the NovaWrap paper.  We all helped carry in supplies then we cut, glued, and screwed down the plywood sub-floor.  In the picture of the house, you will notice a small chimney.  That chimney doesn't exist anymore.  Larry chisel-hammered it out completely down to the base in the basement (oh, did I forget to mention that this tiny house has a basement with narrow steps going down?) then we all helped haul out all the bricks and debris to a construction dumpster outside.  The dumpster was delivered after the house picture was taken.  Then we swept and swept and swept and created a big dust storm in the house.  By the time we left that day, it looked pretty good inside.

We took the 4th of July off (more on that in a later post) but went back today to finish up the portion of the job that we were asked to do.  We are working through an agency called Hope Village - they supply all the materials and directions of what they need to have done.  The houses we work on are those for people who are in financial straits and really need the help.  Anyway, today while the guys reframed the windows and worked more on the sub-floor, the ladies put in all the insulation.  All those exterior walls you see behind Teri, Kitty, and Carol are now filled with pink, fluffy, and extremely itchy stuff.  I was never sooooo glad to get into a shower as I was this lunchtime when we finished!

Oh yes - I saw a big C-130 fly over us the other day.  Minot Air Force Base is located just a few miles north of the city and the plane was being used to spray for mosquitoes.  Since it was being used as a sort of crop duster (an awfully BIG one), it flew very low to the ground.  The whole ground shook as it passed overhead.  But I always feel a thrill when I see one of our military aircraft fly by.  Must come naturally - you know, once a military brat, always a military brat.  And now with two sons flying in the AF, the thrill is definitely there!

Oops - time to cook a couple of steaks for dinner, so -

More later . . .