North Dakota

Few people I know have been to North Dakota, and it seems that few people ever really travel to this state.  But that doesn't mean that there is not a lot to be seen here, at least by some standards.

Jessica and I drove just about the entire length of the state.  Theodore Roosevelt is on the far western side of the state, and our next destination, Fargo, was on the Minnesota border.  This is a large state, but it is one of the very smallest as far as population goes.  In fact, there are fewer than one million people in this great state.  

After the buttes of western North Dakota, there are open expanses, vast prairie lands, pastures, and wind farms that take up the majority of the landscape for hours on end.  But the great people of North Dakota knew that there needed to be something to attract people here, so they created HUGE (pun-intended) attractions.  There was Salem Sue, the world's largest holstein cow.  Sandy, the world's largest sandhill crane was created by a farmer who enjoyed the creative challenge.  Dakota Thunder, the world's largest buffalo (bison) sits at the edge of a Frontier Village and the National Buffalo Museum.

A few weeks ago, my mom saw this story on CBS Sunday Morning.  In case you don't have the eight minutes to watch it, I'll give a brief recap.  For years, the small town in Northern North Dakota, Rugby, had claimed to be the center of North America.  But, one night, after a few drinks, the people of the small town of Robinson, a little south, decided that in fact, the geographical center of North America ran right through the very bar they were in.  To settle the dispute, a scientist plugged in latitude and longitude numbers and discovered that the geographical center of North America happened to be in the small town of Center (yep), North Dakota.  Luckily, Center was also the one closest to the interstate.  We made a detour to Center, and shockingly struggled to find the marker, a few miles outside of town, but after asking some very friendly locals, we were able to step foot in the geographical center of North America.

So, after a full day of driving and many very exciting stops along the way, we made it to Fargo.  While Trip Advisor doesn't list many attractions here, there is a lively vibe to Fargo.  It is a hipster town, a blue dot in a red state, a young city with a big heart.  Once again, everyone we encountered greeted us with warm welcomes going above and beyond.  Two friendly locals, after learning where we were from asked, "Why are you here?"  I'm not sure they are used to people visiting, but that does not mean they don't know how to host!

We stayed just a few blocks from the adorable downtown street of Broadway which stretches about five blocks long with a little of the entertainment district expanding just a bit beyond.  These blocks are full of funky new restaurants, breweries, ice cream shops, collectibles stores and scattered businesses.  Painted benches, wall murals, uniquely painted bison statues, creative bike racks and outdoor seating options graced the road adding flair.  

The border here between North Dakota and Minnesota is a river flanked on both sides by green space with a great pathway through it.  I enjoyed a walk in the morning and was shocked by the wildlife right here in the bustling city!  Rabbits scurried across the path in front of me, a turkey wallowed in a dirt spot in the middle of the grass, a groundhog (perhaps marmot) sat perfectly still on a log, camouflaging himself and what I believe was a very young beaver hurried to hide in the bushes.

Making the most of our time here, we enjoyed eating!  A hip restaurant in a basement off of an alleyway in an old boiler room provided me with a divine candied bacon BLT.  Breakfast from a coffee shop allowed us to taste the famous caramel rolls.  (Why do we not have these cinnamon-bun like creations drenched in caramel?)  Rolled ice cream from a Thai shop reminded us of our time in Asia where we first had rolled ice cream.  My first ever cidery was a true delight!  Not enjoying beer, I have found a real liking of cider, but it is not always readily available in the south.  This local cidery was a true delight for me!  One of their creations, Trail Magic, is different every year as it is created from donated apples from locals.  Tacos, ordered off of a menu printed on an old vinyl wrapped up our culinary delights in this fair city.

Caramel Roll

Before leaving Fargo, we had to make a quick stop by the visitor center to see the famous wood-chipper.  If you've seen the movie, Fargo, you know what I'm talking about.  If you haven't, well, don't ask...  As it turns out, the city didn't always accept their connection to the Coen Brothers film, but after the city decided to embrace the connection, they tracked down the movie prop and it is certainly a draw for the tourists!

I asked the locals we encountered about winter.  They all sort of sighed before answering.  It sounds truly brutal, with much of the day in darkness and months with snow on the ground.  It is only the truly hearty who can survive here, and perhaps that is why their hearts are so big!