Friday, January 20, 2012

Bison Road Trip

A few weeks ago, after overpowering the team from Georgia Southern, the NDSU Bison won the chance to play in their first championship football game since moving up to Division 1 FCS a few years ago. The location for the FCS championship game changes every couple years, and this year's game was to be held in Frisco, Texas. Frisco is almost 1100 miles from Fargo and almost 700 miles from Des Moines. My college roommate (Andrew) and I decided we were going to road-trip down for this amazing opportunity despite the incredibly long distance. Andrew left early in the morning from Fargo, drove south through North Dakota, South Dakota, western Iowa, and into Omaha, Nebraska where I met up with him. From Omaha, our route took us through Nebraska, Kansas, and Oklahoma. Most if the drive (at least the parts we saw in the daylight) looked like this:

 Kansas

We arrived at our hotel just outside of Frisco around 10pm. The long, flat, godforsaken drive was absolutely worth it in the end. The stadium where they held the game is actually a soccer stadium that was built when the US was hosting the World Cup awhile back.

 FC Dallas Stadium

The Bison were facing Sam Houston State Bearkats (Seriously. That's how they spell it. Not my fault. Illiterate Texans.) Their offense was ranked first in the nation in scoring, and their defense was ranked 2nd--behind the Bison defense. After a dismal first half for both teams, the second half of play got things rolling for NDSU and they put a couple touchdowns on the board including this one on a QB sneak by Brock Jensen.

 Touchdown

The Bearkitties' "top-ranked" offense was squashed and pummeled all game by NDSU's defense. Their team only scored twice--two field goals in the first half of the game. As time ran down in the fourth quarter, NDSU's secondary stepped up with two great interceptions to lock up the 17-6 win for the Bison. As soon as the final whistle marked the end of the game many of the 10,000+ Bison fans in attendance rushed down onto the field to celebrate and congratulate the team and watch the trophy presentation ceremony.

 Bison Win!

The Coach

Bison and the Gold Star Band

North Dakota really did invade Texas that weekend. The crowd at the game (just over 20,000 people) was split pretty evenly between NDSU and SHS fans. The biggest difference is that those Bison fans had to travel a lot farther than the Bearkat fans (who only had to go about 200 miles).

 North Dakota Invades Texas

Champions!

NDSU Bison Football

Bison Horns

As the Gold Star Band played NDSU's fight song at the end of the trophy ceremony, Senior Safety John Pike (who had one of those two interceptions to close out the game) took over as acting director of the band. A new career for Pike maybe?

 New Career?

The drive to Texas, early morning tailgating, the actual game, and the long drive back home were all part of an awesome weekend adventure. Here's to hoping the Bison can work their way to the championship again next season!

 Armor of a Champion

Project365: Day 365 - Dead of Winter

Day 365 - Dead of Winter by Tim Bungert
Day 365 - Dead of Winter, a photo by Tim Bungert on Flickr.

An unseasonably warm winter with no snow left on the ground has allowed this marsh to stay green, even on the very last day of the year.

This is officially the end of my Project365 for 2011. No, I will not be doing it again in 2012. I think one year of taking photos every day is enough to put my wife through!

Don't worry! I plan to continue posting more photos, stories, and adventures in this blog.

Just not every day.

Happy New Year!

Project365: Day 364 - Warm Winter Skating

We didn't have much (or any) snow to end the year, but that didn't stop people from enjoying the night skyline from the skating rink in Downtown Des Moines.

Project365: Day 363 - Hotel Fort Des Moines

Project365: Day 362 - Christmas Cactus

Project365: Day 361 - Iowa Power

Day 361 - Iowa Power by Tim Bungert
Day 361 - Iowa Power, a photo by Tim Bungert on Flickr.

Project365: Day 360 - Stacked Oak

Day 360 - Stacked Oak by Tim Bungert
Day 360 - Stacked Oak, a photo by Tim Bungert on Flickr.

This stack of wood will soon be turned into a handcrafted bookshelf--a wedding gift to Brittany and I from my parents.

Project365: Day 359 - All Saints Church

Project365: Day 358 - Red Reflections

Day 358 - Red Reflections by Tim Bungert
Day 358 - Red Reflections, a photo by Tim Bungert on Flickr.

Project365: Day 357 - Holiday Bokeh

Day 357 - Holiday Bokeh by Tim Bungert
Day 357 - Holiday Bokeh, a photo by Tim Bungert on Flickr.

Project365: Day 356 - Big Bugs

Day 356 - Big Bugs by Tim Bungert
Day 356 - Big Bugs, a photo by Tim Bungert on Flickr.

The class pets in Mrs. Hopkins' kindergarten classroom: two Madagascar hissing cockroaches named Bryan and...Hissy.

Project365: Day 355 - Braving the Winter

Project365: Day 354 - Parking

Day 354 - Parking by Tim Bungert
Day 354 - Parking, a photo by Tim Bungert on Flickr.

Project365: Day 353 - Pile of Presents

Project365: Day 352 - Windsor Heights Lights

Project365: Day 351 - Invitation Ornament

Curled slices from our wedding invitation fill this classy glass ornament. This was made by my wife's best friend/maid-of-honor as a Christmas gift for us.

Project365: Day 350 - Embassy Club

Day 350 - Embassy Club by Tim Bungert
Day 350 - Embassy Club, a photo by Tim Bungert on Flickr.

Project365: Day 349 - Elevator

Day 349 - Elevator by Tim Bungert
Day 349 - Elevator, a photo by Tim Bungert on Flickr.

Click this image to go to its Flickr page, then click it again there to view it on black. I HIGHLY recommend viewing it this way.

Project365: Day 348 - Kisses and Cookies

Project365: Day 347 - Chemistry Auditorium

The latest phase of our project to renovate the Chemistry Building at the University of Iowa was to update the large auditorium in the building.

Project365: Day 346 - Capital Christmas

Project365: Day 345 - Dale Valley Winery

Project365: Day 344 - BBS Holiday Party

Our office holiday party this year was held at Salisbury House, the same venue that hosted the Gingerbread Grandeur event. Rather than trying to go into the history of the mansion (and inevitably forgetting something important) here are a couple links to the story of the house: http://salisburyhouse.org/ and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salisbury_House_(Des_Moines,_Iowa) Our party was held in the large dining room, which also houses a one-of-a-kind Steinway piano that was built exclusively for Salisbury House. The Steinway company has indicated that it is one of the top three instruments they have ever created. Day 344 - Holiday Party 1 After dinner we were able to tour the entire house. When the Weeks family built and occupied the house, the room below was their family dining room. As you can see, during the holiday season the house is adorned with amazing decorations. Day 344 - Holiday Party 2

Project365: Day 343 - Wreath

Day 343 - Wreath by Tim Bungert
Day 343 - Wreath, a photo by Tim Bungert on Flickr.

Holiday decorations along Beaver Avenue in Beaverdale, Des Moines.

Project365: Day 342 - Snowy Footprints

Project365: Day 341 - Dallas County Courthouse

Project365: Day 340 - Another Bowl of Chili

One of my coworkers going back for another bowl of chili at our office's annual chili cook-off.

Project365: Day 339 - Chipotle Chorizo and Black Bean Chili

This was my entry in our office's annual Chili Cook-off. It was a little spicy, but definitely not the hottest entry. I did, however, come away with the prize for Best Overall Chili.

Project365: Day 338 - Holiday Temptation

Project365: Day 337 - Triptych Downtown

This is a single photo taken in Downtown Des Moines. From left to right, the three "panels" of the real-life triptych are the EMC East Tower, the Hub Tower, and the Wells Fargo Financial Center.

Project365: Day 336 - Pumpkin Roll

Day 336 - Pumpkin Roll by Tim Bungert
Day 336 - Pumpkin Roll, a photo by Tim Bungert on Flickr.

Project365: Day 335 - Ancient Ways

Day 335 - Ancient Ways by Tim Bungert
Day 335 - Ancient Ways, a photo by Tim Bungert on Flickr.

Project365: Day 334 - Hearth

Day 334 - Hearth by Tim Bungert
Day 334 - Hearth, a photo by Tim Bungert on Flickr.

Project365: Day 333 - Snowman

Day 333 - Snowman by Tim Bungert
Day 333 - Snowman, a photo by Tim Bungert on Flickr.