The magic of North Dakota Greetings from the northern great plains! Today was primarily a travel day as we took route 94 across the very wide state of North Dakota. I was not really looking forward to what I thought would be hundreds of miles of flat nothingness, but the state surprised me. The landscape turned out to be a patchwork quilt of muted golds, vibrant yellows, warm reds, and earthy browns. Freshly rolled hay bales dotted open fields, cows freely grazed in the sun, and farmers were harvesting their crops.
And then there were the quirky highway distractions…world’s largest this and world’s largest that. We visited Dakota Thunder, the worlds largest bison sculpture. Then we found the world’s largest sandbill crane (and marveled at the randomness of it). Just when we thought we had seen it all, Salem Sue, a 38-foot Holstein cow statue, came into view on the horizon. We visited her, too. Oddly, like a living cow, she seemed to be a fly magnet. The view from the hill on which sat she provided incredible views of the surrounding plains.
The bison sculpture was located in a place called Frontier Village. It looked like a town from the Old West and the main street was lined with historical buildings that you could step inside. Artifacts from the time all were still in place, as if all the townspeople had disappeared leaving their belongings behind. There was a saloon, printer’s shop, dentist office, school, stable, and more. That’s where we had our daily peanut butter and jelly lunch sandwiches and Billy took a ride on a pony!
After our “world’s largest” tour, we headed for a quick look at Theodore Roosevelt National Park (betcha never heard of that one either, right?). The flat plains and farmland gradually became gently rolling hills. Then, in what seemed like the blink of an eye, the hills gave way to colorful canyons and mounds of sandstone and clay. One sneeze and you’d miss the transition. We’d found the Badlands.
At the park, we checked out the Painted Canyon overlook and spotted a group of wild horses running through a grassy ravine below. The light from the setting sun lit the canyon and brought out its vibrant colors. We decided to check out the park loop road to see if there was a good spot for sunset photos.
As we wound through the park, we saw more wild horses grazing on a hill. When we stopped to take photos, we heard what sounded like dozens of squeaky toys. Then we saw them…prairie dogs. They bobbed and yipped to each other like they were playing Marco Polo, totally unfazed by anyone nearby. We rolled around another corner and came face-to-face with a bison walking in the middle of the road. It also seemed totally unfazed and sauntered right past my car. Here’s the video I took of the action.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ud9g8-UcJYM]
It was then that I realized that the car only had 49 more miles of gas left in it and we had to turn around and pray that a gas station was nearby. Thank goodness there was. 🙂
Tomorrow we are heading back to the park for a full day of exploration. I can’t wait!
The view of the plains from Salem Sue’s hill.
Billy at the bar piano
The road through the Badlands
*Click on photos to enlarge.
Lori, I am really enjoying the magical photo ops you are taking of Billybob. I hope Billy watched out after that first shot under the crane! Have fun you two! (…did I mention I am jealous?)
There are plenty more where those came from! 😉 We are having fun and I think you may have mentioned it a few times :-). Wish you could meet us somewhere!
BISON!!!!
Cool. They must put up all these huge statues so that there are some sort of landmarks on the endless plains.
You guys should set up a live cam!
Second the live cam suggestion! Lip sync a song while you are at it!
A live cam of what? We are taking requests!
lip-syncing a song in the car, Billy making RDF, Billy riding a bison, you two doing a dance in front of something cool in every state (you should be like that guy Matty, and do the same dance everywhere you visit – just do a different dance than Matty so he doesn’t lawyer up)
Love everything about this. Can’t believe how far you’ve gotten already and how much you’ve seen. So many wonderful things (fake and real!)
Jeff and I learned our (nearly) empty gas tank lesson while in France too! Recommendation: Always fill up when you get to half a tank. Seriously, save yourselves the anxiety. (Also helps with the bug splattered windshield situation 😉 ) Have fun!
What a flattering review of North Dakota! Looks like you are finding all the best (and random) stuff to see!
North Dakota flatters herself! 🙂
Glad you are liking the blog, Laura! It has been wonderful so far…with a lot more to go! Thanks for the gas tip. It’s just the worst watching the gauge go down with sun and having no signal to even ask Google or Siri for help!
I’m enjoying the trip with you two. That bison needs a peanut butter and jelly sandwich if you have an extra when you’re back there tomorrow.
Haha…I agree. I think I videotaped the oldest, most decrepit bison of the herd. Poor guy.
Thanks Lori. I feel like I am there from your descriptions of rolling hills and bisons😱. Can’t wait to read more. Keep ’em coming and keep on having fun🏜😊☺️!!
Lol, I will, Janice! Driving to Montana today!
Loving every detail of your adventure so far!