One Last Weekend Trip To Fargo

After a busy week of work and packing for the family move to Maryland, we decided to take one more quick weekend trip to Fargo. The winter weather has finally tamed a bit and temps. were even approaching 50 degrees today. We have not experienced that kind of warmth since October. The only downside is the snow is melting rapidly and North Dakota is preparing for some large scale flooding. The Fargo area is especially vulnerable right now and city planners are worried that the Red River could crest to over 40 feet within the next week or 10 days. If that happens, it could be worse than the devastating floods of 1997. Grand Forks, North Dakota was probably hit the hardest during 1997 as most of the city was underwater. Fargo has ordered one and a half million sand bags and volunteers are showing up to help the city prepare for the rising water. Our town of Ellendale will also be susceptible to some flooding if we get any serious rainfall within the next week or so. The ground is completely saturated and there are pockets of water everywhere you look. After such a brutal winter, it is tough to now have to start worrying about flooding. We decided to be proactive before we left for Fargo this afternoon, so Essy and I worked on testing our sump pumps this morning. That involved shoveling snow and dumping load after load of heated water into the pits around the house where the pumps are located. While pulling the pvc pipe up out of the drainage area, I managed to snap the one elbow. At the same time the elbow broke apart, the pump kicked on and water began spewing everywhere. I then had to make a quick trip to the hardware store and pick up a new elbow and some solvent cement. I managed to get things put back together, so hopefully we are ready for any threat of flooding that might come our way. Exciting stuff huh? After 4-5 months of heavy wind and snowfall and more days below 0 than I care to mention, the next challenge of life in North Dakota is presenting itself. Hard to believe mosquito and tornado season is right around the corner! Lights out.