On our drive from Minot to the Peace Garden I was thanking that if we stopped at every place that I found interesting it would take us a really long time to get anywhere in this state. North Dakota is full of texture, from the drama of the badlands to the pastoral beauty of the rolling prairie to the dichotomy pumping oil wells as a backdrop to long abandoned homesteads. For every sign of demise there are signs of progress and a bright future. This place reeks of optimism which in many ways is understandable when much of your livelihood is derived from the land and often left to the whims of the ever unpredictable and changing weather.
With long drives between places, and Coop working on his ever developing skills as a car sleeper - The latest being that I am sure we had a conversation while he was asleep, I have had many opportunities to reflect on what I have seen and what I am seeing. This is a place with a great respect for it’s past. Nearly every town has some sort of museum that celebrates it origins. Some are small such as the post office museum in Grassy Butte. It is a plaster and wood timber building, barely tall enough to stand in with a sod roof. The amazing thing about it is it was in use until 1962. Some are larger such as the prairie village and museum in Rugby. In a lot of places it appears that everyone is poised for the tourism boom that will be coming at any moment. As you drive on both large roads and small there are an abundance of historical markers. some mark the grave of a homesteader, other mark a legendary crime and still others mark a bluff on a major cattle drive route. It is hard not to appreciate the respect they have for, and the dignity with which, they treat the past here.
A major feature as you drive through farmland and prairie, especially in the central and western parts of the state, are large piles of rocks dotting fields of wheat, or soy beans, or barley or flax. I thought that these were simply cairns built to honor people who had worked this land. As we drove through undeveloped land used as pasture that were littered with rocks I arrived at the answer. Most of North Dakota was covered by glaciers and much of it is a moraine or debris field. Before the fist settlers could even work the fields all of the rocks had to be removed. There are a lot of rocks and this one picture really brought home to me what a challenge it was to create a life here back in the 1800’s.
Something many of the roads in the state lack, and this is a state with some of the best roads that I have ever driven on including the fact that there is no traffic, are frequent highway signs giving the speed limit and what road you are on. They will be found at intersections but quite often intersections are few and far between. I cannot remember exactly where we were but I do remember that we were a long way from anywhere when off in the distance I saw a familiar blue sign. It was an adopt a highway sign and the next three miles were sponsored by a group who’s name I cannot remember. This is one of the cleanest places I have been and I am sure that this 3 mile stretch of road is just a little bit cleaner then the rest of the place.
Still to come... Our trip to the Scandinavian Heritage Center... Playing frisbee over the border at the International Peace Garden and getting stopped by US Customs and Immigration... Standing in the center of the continent... Touring North Dakota’s finest winery... Another Hawley connection... Camping on Devil’s Lake...
Stay tuned.
Posted by JW
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Things That Are Great About North Dakota
Things that are great about North Dakota:
- The People
- The Landscape
- The Animals
In North Dakota the people are incredibly nice. Everywhere you go, people are nice. People are nice when you are walking by, people are nice at shops, and people are nice just about everywhere.
In North Dakota, the landscape is just amazing. It also changes very much from place to place. In the Badlands, there are canyons and slumps everywhere that are amazing. Even the farming land where it is totally flat, it is amazing. All of the landscape in North Dakota is amazing.
In North Dakota, the animals are amazing. You will everything from a Prairie Rattler, to a herd of Bison. Some animals will let you get super close like the Prairie Dog, and some animals like the Bison want their space. All of the animals in North Dakota are amazing.
Coop
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Minot, ND
After two days in the back-country we are settled back into civilization in Minot, North Dakota. As much as I think that Coop appreciated our time camping in the park he was pretty excited about a hotel with a pool, a decent meal and a movie.
I already miss waking up in a room with a view. Our plan for two consecutive days and nights in the back country hit a small snag when we had difficulty locating the trail and I gave Coop the option of hiking back to the car and heading to Watford City for lunch. As much as I wanted to stay out and explore all day I did not want to turn this adventure into a trek. The option of a burger and fries over trail mix and carrots proved to be too much of a lure. While on our way out we had our adventure of the morning. Coop heard the rattle and yelled “rattle snake” as I turned to see the top 3rd of what appeared to be a two or three foot rattle snake. I said a dad word, the snake hissed and we both skitled away. Lack of sense got the best of me as I began to move in with my camera hoping to get a little rattle snake video until Coop counseled me that it was probably not such a good idea. He was right.
It is hard to adequately describe the Badlands. I could go into the long geological explanation but I did not pay enough attention in geology and am sure I would make numerous errors in my description. From a distance they look like those indian sand art bottles with the layers of dramatic colors. Much of the color is derived from the bluish gray bentonite clay, a red clay, a regular gray clay and sandstone. The prominent feature is called a slump. This happens when water and stream action cause the face of cliffs to be lubricated causing large sections to cut and slump away. from there wind and water erosion take over leading to dramatic, layered formations. As the erosion occurs the clays erode more quickly then the red clay and sandstone. The result is a unique combination of rounded and angular formations. Much of this area was under water for many years, millions of years ago which created the clearly defined layers of color. The red clays were baked by volcanic activity and has the appearance of red brick. The resulting scale is at the same time immense and approachable. Walking up little valleys in the formations allows you an up close look at the result. Meandering streams of erosion end in debris fields that look like a combination of a brick factory junk yard, a science experiment gone wrong and some odd artistic interpretation where baked and rounded sandstone seems impossibly supported by too small clay pillars. From a distance the kaleidoscope of colors is constantly changing with the changing light of day giving you the sense that this harsh place is fully alive.
While I became comfortable with the proximity of our neighbors the Bison, I’m not sure that Coop ever did. He was constantly asking is a certain bison was looking at us and pawing the ground, a sign that they are not happy with your presence. Our first day out in the north unit a herd was on the trail which caused us to take a long detour. serendipity took over, however, and that was what led us to our spot for the night. We found a grassy knoll overlooking the herd, which numbered around 30. Freeze dried sweet and sour pork and rice tastes better in a place like this in the company of bison.
One thing that has surprised me is how late the sun sets. It does not dip behind the hills until 10:15ish and is not fully dark until 11. As we were in sight of an almost full moon it never really got dark and It was nice to be able to peek out of the tent to see the moon’s light reflecting on the formations.
Our second night we headed up a different park of the Buckhorn trail to find a spot to camp above a prairie dog town. If you are a farmer these playful and curious critters are the scourge of the earth. If you are a “tree hugger”, a term that I have only heard used in a positive manner once on the trip, they are a gift to the earth and a great example of a social productive society. They build an elaborate network of burrows living individually unless it is during the spawning season where family units all live in a burrow. In a concept that Coop got a kick out of when the kids are old enough to take care of themselves the parents get kicked out of the burrow and have to build a new place to live. If forced to guess I think that there were upwards of 500 burrows. They communicate with one another with a variety of barks. Barks are warnings, greetings and sometimes just boredom. To call it a bark is a little generous. It is a high pitched birdlike song. when I think bark, I think german shepherd and these are not german shepherds.
Our second night we were also forced divert from the trail because of bison. This led us to what might be the best campsite that we had. We found an overlook about 50 feet above the stream valley and the prairie dog town. It was a flat spot on top of a slump at the base of a cliff surrounded by sage, juniper and prickly pear. On a side note... I remember hearing that prickly pear is good to eat. I would imagine that it is quite painful to eat as well as they are covered in and intricate layer of thorns and barbs. As adventurous as we felt we decided to trust what we have heard about the prickly pear and not add a tasting to our experience... Our vista afforded us a 270 degree view to the north east looking across the valley to the hills on the opposite side and partially up a couple of well developed stream beds. What we could not see was how deep the grazing are of the canyon floor went to our right. This we discovered when Coop motioned down at the bottom of the slope was a large male bison. He was less then 30 yards away and examining our work. We all stood around looking at one another. Actually I grabbed my camera, thinking that the climb up might be a bit aggressive, and Coop began slowly backing away while asking if he was pawing the ground. It appeared that he had come from nowhere, literally growing right out of the ground. He had been grazing up the canyon to our right. After setting up camp we first headed down to the prairie dog town to check out the little critters. They are sort of like a combination of a ferret and a squirrel and do not scare easily. You can get pretty close but when you get too close they scurry back in their burrows.
After the prairie dog town we explored up the canyon. Walking up the stream bed it became easy to see how a lot of this area formed. The streams cut away the loose clays and soil pretty quickly allowing the slumps to form. the harder and longer work happens over time and every rain and windstorm morphs the hills further. We saw lots of red clay debris and despite the fact that there are no advertised petrified forests we saw an abundance of petrified and crystalized wood.
I keep thinking that on this trip Coop and I are going to have some breakthrough conversation, he will ask me some big questions about things he wants to know or there will be some seminal moment when we bond a little further. That may happen, it may not. One of the best moments of the trip was the two of us sitting and looking out over the prairie dogs and bison soaking in the view and the experience. There was nothing to say and nothing that needed to be said. I do not know if he saw or experienced the same as I did. It didn’t matter. Just the two of us enjoying this place. The silence was broken by, “Dad, this is pretty cool.”
Dinner was more dehydrated food, chicken and mashed potatoes which was surprisingly good, in the company two herd of buffalo with the light show provided by a distant thunder storm and the soundtrack coming from the prairie dog village.
More of the same in the morning and for the hike out. Mule deer are pretty wary and if they smell you or hear you they move on pretty quick. The close ones in the morning were down wind and when I exited the tent and began preparing breakfast that scattered. The ones upwind were kind enough to stick around for a while, keeping me company while Coop snored and the sun rose.
That’s it for now. We’re off to the International Peace Garden up on the Canadian border after a visit to the Scandinavian Heritage park here in Minot. After the border it is on to Rugby, the geographic center of North America and then camping and fishing on Devil’s Lake.
More to come, Coop has more pictures and I will have more stories. It continues to be an amazing journey through a place that has provided too many “over the hill” moments to recount, even in the flat expanse of the prairie.
Posted by JW
I already miss waking up in a room with a view. Our plan for two consecutive days and nights in the back country hit a small snag when we had difficulty locating the trail and I gave Coop the option of hiking back to the car and heading to Watford City for lunch. As much as I wanted to stay out and explore all day I did not want to turn this adventure into a trek. The option of a burger and fries over trail mix and carrots proved to be too much of a lure. While on our way out we had our adventure of the morning. Coop heard the rattle and yelled “rattle snake” as I turned to see the top 3rd of what appeared to be a two or three foot rattle snake. I said a dad word, the snake hissed and we both skitled away. Lack of sense got the best of me as I began to move in with my camera hoping to get a little rattle snake video until Coop counseled me that it was probably not such a good idea. He was right.
It is hard to adequately describe the Badlands. I could go into the long geological explanation but I did not pay enough attention in geology and am sure I would make numerous errors in my description. From a distance they look like those indian sand art bottles with the layers of dramatic colors. Much of the color is derived from the bluish gray bentonite clay, a red clay, a regular gray clay and sandstone. The prominent feature is called a slump. This happens when water and stream action cause the face of cliffs to be lubricated causing large sections to cut and slump away. from there wind and water erosion take over leading to dramatic, layered formations. As the erosion occurs the clays erode more quickly then the red clay and sandstone. The result is a unique combination of rounded and angular formations. Much of this area was under water for many years, millions of years ago which created the clearly defined layers of color. The red clays were baked by volcanic activity and has the appearance of red brick. The resulting scale is at the same time immense and approachable. Walking up little valleys in the formations allows you an up close look at the result. Meandering streams of erosion end in debris fields that look like a combination of a brick factory junk yard, a science experiment gone wrong and some odd artistic interpretation where baked and rounded sandstone seems impossibly supported by too small clay pillars. From a distance the kaleidoscope of colors is constantly changing with the changing light of day giving you the sense that this harsh place is fully alive.
While I became comfortable with the proximity of our neighbors the Bison, I’m not sure that Coop ever did. He was constantly asking is a certain bison was looking at us and pawing the ground, a sign that they are not happy with your presence. Our first day out in the north unit a herd was on the trail which caused us to take a long detour. serendipity took over, however, and that was what led us to our spot for the night. We found a grassy knoll overlooking the herd, which numbered around 30. Freeze dried sweet and sour pork and rice tastes better in a place like this in the company of bison.
One thing that has surprised me is how late the sun sets. It does not dip behind the hills until 10:15ish and is not fully dark until 11. As we were in sight of an almost full moon it never really got dark and It was nice to be able to peek out of the tent to see the moon’s light reflecting on the formations.
Our second night we headed up a different park of the Buckhorn trail to find a spot to camp above a prairie dog town. If you are a farmer these playful and curious critters are the scourge of the earth. If you are a “tree hugger”, a term that I have only heard used in a positive manner once on the trip, they are a gift to the earth and a great example of a social productive society. They build an elaborate network of burrows living individually unless it is during the spawning season where family units all live in a burrow. In a concept that Coop got a kick out of when the kids are old enough to take care of themselves the parents get kicked out of the burrow and have to build a new place to live. If forced to guess I think that there were upwards of 500 burrows. They communicate with one another with a variety of barks. Barks are warnings, greetings and sometimes just boredom. To call it a bark is a little generous. It is a high pitched birdlike song. when I think bark, I think german shepherd and these are not german shepherds.
Our second night we were also forced divert from the trail because of bison. This led us to what might be the best campsite that we had. We found an overlook about 50 feet above the stream valley and the prairie dog town. It was a flat spot on top of a slump at the base of a cliff surrounded by sage, juniper and prickly pear. On a side note... I remember hearing that prickly pear is good to eat. I would imagine that it is quite painful to eat as well as they are covered in and intricate layer of thorns and barbs. As adventurous as we felt we decided to trust what we have heard about the prickly pear and not add a tasting to our experience... Our vista afforded us a 270 degree view to the north east looking across the valley to the hills on the opposite side and partially up a couple of well developed stream beds. What we could not see was how deep the grazing are of the canyon floor went to our right. This we discovered when Coop motioned down at the bottom of the slope was a large male bison. He was less then 30 yards away and examining our work. We all stood around looking at one another. Actually I grabbed my camera, thinking that the climb up might be a bit aggressive, and Coop began slowly backing away while asking if he was pawing the ground. It appeared that he had come from nowhere, literally growing right out of the ground. He had been grazing up the canyon to our right. After setting up camp we first headed down to the prairie dog town to check out the little critters. They are sort of like a combination of a ferret and a squirrel and do not scare easily. You can get pretty close but when you get too close they scurry back in their burrows.
After the prairie dog town we explored up the canyon. Walking up the stream bed it became easy to see how a lot of this area formed. The streams cut away the loose clays and soil pretty quickly allowing the slumps to form. the harder and longer work happens over time and every rain and windstorm morphs the hills further. We saw lots of red clay debris and despite the fact that there are no advertised petrified forests we saw an abundance of petrified and crystalized wood.
I keep thinking that on this trip Coop and I are going to have some breakthrough conversation, he will ask me some big questions about things he wants to know or there will be some seminal moment when we bond a little further. That may happen, it may not. One of the best moments of the trip was the two of us sitting and looking out over the prairie dogs and bison soaking in the view and the experience. There was nothing to say and nothing that needed to be said. I do not know if he saw or experienced the same as I did. It didn’t matter. Just the two of us enjoying this place. The silence was broken by, “Dad, this is pretty cool.”
Dinner was more dehydrated food, chicken and mashed potatoes which was surprisingly good, in the company two herd of buffalo with the light show provided by a distant thunder storm and the soundtrack coming from the prairie dog village.
More of the same in the morning and for the hike out. Mule deer are pretty wary and if they smell you or hear you they move on pretty quick. The close ones in the morning were down wind and when I exited the tent and began preparing breakfast that scattered. The ones upwind were kind enough to stick around for a while, keeping me company while Coop snored and the sun rose.
That’s it for now. We’re off to the International Peace Garden up on the Canadian border after a visit to the Scandinavian Heritage park here in Minot. After the border it is on to Rugby, the geographic center of North America and then camping and fishing on Devil’s Lake.
More to come, Coop has more pictures and I will have more stories. It continues to be an amazing journey through a place that has provided too many “over the hill” moments to recount, even in the flat expanse of the prairie.
Posted by JW
Scenic Badlands Vistas
Pictures of scenic vistas in the Badlands.
Pictures of scenic vistas in the Badlands.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Over the hill moments...
This trip has been full of what we are now calling “over the hill moments”. There have been so many times when we crest a hill and what lies ahead simply takes your breath away. Sometimes it is a stunning vista, of which there are many in the Badlands, other times it might simply be the next big town or the endless expanse of prairie and grassland. We had taken to calling them something else, but that phrase is not appropriate for a mixed audience.
We are currently sitting outside the Roosevelt Inn and suites in Watford City. which is about 15 miles to the north of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park North Unit. Last night was our first night on the trail, in the south unit. Aside from the bugs, which were quite remarkable, it was stunning. We saw our first buffalo, ate breakfast under the watchful gaze of a mule deer, protected from above by a hawk soaring on the currents floating off of the buttes and were entertained by the sights and sounds of the playful prairie dogs. Our little camp at the point of a ridge provided a nice base camp for exploring. We discovered a small petrified forest and felt like we had the world to ourselves. On the drive up we encountered a group of pronghorn antelope in the national grasslands and now eagerly await our two day trip into the north unit where we hear that there is a herd of over 200 buffalo still wandering together.
A note on Coop. I am pretty sure that he is having a great time. His car sleeping skills continue to improve and I am enjoying watching him fall asleep. The rhythmic bobbing of his head as we roll through the prairie provides a nice distraction to the endless expanse of grassland and the dramatic vistas of the badlands.
We have seen big towns and small and acres upon acres of wheat. It’s true that there are many small and dying towns but this is a place full of life and history. The people who call North Dakota home are truly the friendliest I have encountered on my many trips and they have a profound appreciation for where they are. In some ways I think they like that this place and their lifestyle is their little secret but they appreciate that we have chosen to take the time to find out the many things they think are wonderful about their state. We will run out of town before we run out of places to see and things that both amaze us and provide little moments of serendipity.
The stark contrast here is between the old and the new. For every old farm, or homestead, that is slowly being retaken by the land there is an oil well (ND is the 8th largest producer of oil, soon to become the 7th), a coal mine or a wind farm. Susan described it to me as energy rich and people poor. The other prominent feature of the landscape are the high tension power lines that ship the majority of ND’s energy to place like the twin cities which are people rich and energy poor.
I’m still falling behind on stories to tell and fall a little further each day.There is so much to do, so many places to get to and so many experiences (both big and small) to have and that we’ve had that it has been difficult to keep up with them all, but I am keeping notes.
It’s back out on the trail to be awed a little more. When we return from the backcountry we head north to Williston, the heart of North Dakota gas country and then we head east. We know we will hit Rugby, the geographic center of North America, other then that it is whatever the road, and this state, have to offer. If the past is any guide we are sure to have many more “over the hill” moments.
Cheers,
Posted by JW
We are currently sitting outside the Roosevelt Inn and suites in Watford City. which is about 15 miles to the north of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park North Unit. Last night was our first night on the trail, in the south unit. Aside from the bugs, which were quite remarkable, it was stunning. We saw our first buffalo, ate breakfast under the watchful gaze of a mule deer, protected from above by a hawk soaring on the currents floating off of the buttes and were entertained by the sights and sounds of the playful prairie dogs. Our little camp at the point of a ridge provided a nice base camp for exploring. We discovered a small petrified forest and felt like we had the world to ourselves. On the drive up we encountered a group of pronghorn antelope in the national grasslands and now eagerly await our two day trip into the north unit where we hear that there is a herd of over 200 buffalo still wandering together.
A note on Coop. I am pretty sure that he is having a great time. His car sleeping skills continue to improve and I am enjoying watching him fall asleep. The rhythmic bobbing of his head as we roll through the prairie provides a nice distraction to the endless expanse of grassland and the dramatic vistas of the badlands.
We have seen big towns and small and acres upon acres of wheat. It’s true that there are many small and dying towns but this is a place full of life and history. The people who call North Dakota home are truly the friendliest I have encountered on my many trips and they have a profound appreciation for where they are. In some ways I think they like that this place and their lifestyle is their little secret but they appreciate that we have chosen to take the time to find out the many things they think are wonderful about their state. We will run out of town before we run out of places to see and things that both amaze us and provide little moments of serendipity.
The stark contrast here is between the old and the new. For every old farm, or homestead, that is slowly being retaken by the land there is an oil well (ND is the 8th largest producer of oil, soon to become the 7th), a coal mine or a wind farm. Susan described it to me as energy rich and people poor. The other prominent feature of the landscape are the high tension power lines that ship the majority of ND’s energy to place like the twin cities which are people rich and energy poor.
I’m still falling behind on stories to tell and fall a little further each day.There is so much to do, so many places to get to and so many experiences (both big and small) to have and that we’ve had that it has been difficult to keep up with them all, but I am keeping notes.
It’s back out on the trail to be awed a little more. When we return from the backcountry we head north to Williston, the heart of North Dakota gas country and then we head east. We know we will hit Rugby, the geographic center of North America, other then that it is whatever the road, and this state, have to offer. If the past is any guide we are sure to have many more “over the hill” moments.
Cheers,
Posted by JW
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Royalty...
Day three... Word is getting out that we are spending our entire vacation in North Dakota and the people around here are no less surprised then some of our friends are. We set off this morning to the State Capitol with Bob. Before we hit the capitol we stopped by the courthouse to check out the courtroom where Bob conducts himself. Like many The capitol itself is the tallest building in Bismarck at 18 stories. Outside it looks like a government building. Inside is impressive.
We were treated like royalty and made to feel like two of the most important people in the state. It seems as if Bob owns the place. We were able to see both the governor and lieutenant governor’s offices. Neither were there but we were told we would have been invited in for coffee, not because we were with Bob but because that is the North Dakota way. - On a side note... This state has the friendliest, most genuine people I have ever met. We have only had one encounter with someone who was less then friendly and I attribute that more to the fact she was working the cash register at K-Mart then to any knock on the state. - We had an audience with the secretary of state, Al Jaeger, who even showed us the monkey room which is the secret entrance to the secretary’s office.
A lot of people have been surprised that we have decided to spend so much time in the state, people from here included. North Dakotans know how wonderful the state is but I think they kind of accept that it will continued to viewed as a dying state not a state vibrant with great people, natural beauty, large quantities of energy resources and some of the most productive farmland anywhere. Besides, I think they kind of like that it is their little secret. A few people have asked what we are going to do for almost two weeks and I assure you that we will run out of time before we run out of things to do, and it won’t even be close. We will be back.
Time is short right now. Coop and I are now in Medora, site of Theodore Roosevelt National Park and the Badlands. We have a trail ride on horses and then are going into the back country for some camping with the buffalo. We have more stories and experiences to share including Dakota the dinosaur, the world’s largest Holstein Cow in New Salem, Fort Saurkraut in Hebron, Brick City, Fort Lincoln (Where Custer mustered up the men for Little Big Horn), Fort Mandan (Lewis and Clark’s first winter camp), Coop’s visit to and old school soda fountain, Pitchfork fondue and the Medora Musical and many more.
It will be a few days before we update again, but so far it has been an amazing trip. Montana may be big sky country, but it begins here in North Dakota.
We were treated like royalty and made to feel like two of the most important people in the state. It seems as if Bob owns the place. We were able to see both the governor and lieutenant governor’s offices. Neither were there but we were told we would have been invited in for coffee, not because we were with Bob but because that is the North Dakota way. - On a side note... This state has the friendliest, most genuine people I have ever met. We have only had one encounter with someone who was less then friendly and I attribute that more to the fact she was working the cash register at K-Mart then to any knock on the state. - We had an audience with the secretary of state, Al Jaeger, who even showed us the monkey room which is the secret entrance to the secretary’s office.
A lot of people have been surprised that we have decided to spend so much time in the state, people from here included. North Dakotans know how wonderful the state is but I think they kind of accept that it will continued to viewed as a dying state not a state vibrant with great people, natural beauty, large quantities of energy resources and some of the most productive farmland anywhere. Besides, I think they kind of like that it is their little secret. A few people have asked what we are going to do for almost two weeks and I assure you that we will run out of time before we run out of things to do, and it won’t even be close. We will be back.
Time is short right now. Coop and I are now in Medora, site of Theodore Roosevelt National Park and the Badlands. We have a trail ride on horses and then are going into the back country for some camping with the buffalo. We have more stories and experiences to share including Dakota the dinosaur, the world’s largest Holstein Cow in New Salem, Fort Saurkraut in Hebron, Brick City, Fort Lincoln (Where Custer mustered up the men for Little Big Horn), Fort Mandan (Lewis and Clark’s first winter camp), Coop’s visit to and old school soda fountain, Pitchfork fondue and the Medora Musical and many more.
It will be a few days before we update again, but so far it has been an amazing trip. Montana may be big sky country, but it begins here in North Dakota.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Trip to Bismarck
Amongst Coop’s most impressive of skills is the ability to sleep in the car. Rather then being blessed with good company I have the opportunity to enjoy the countryside, listen to the BBC on the XM radio in my rental car and contemplate life. Every so often Coop will actually wake up and want to either talk or listen to music. I am sure we will reach some sort of accommodation as the trip progresses but for now at least the snoring is not too disruptive.
Nothing in this state is close to anything else and there is little in between the places that are far apart. Little except for wheat. There are a lot of wheat fields, and the world’s largest Buffalo, which is in Jamestown. Apparently we are going to be pleasantly surprised by some other bits of randomness that North Dakotans take a tremendous amount of pride in.
The eastern part of the state is flat. Pool table flat. I drove for miles upon miles without ever having to turn the wheel of the car. I did have to keep it cranked over to the left because one of the other qualities that we have discovered over our first few days is the wind. I do not think it dropped below about 25mph until right around dinner time yesterday. Wind, cold and rain has been the theme to date.
As we head west we travel through a large collection of bumps, not quite hills but a little texture to the terrain. Bismarck sits in the Missouri River Valley and seems to have a combination of everything that the state has to offer... flat, flood plain, buttes, hills... except the Badlands.
We arrived in Bismarck in time for dinner with Bob and Susan and were greeted like family. Bob is a former Attorney General for North Dakota and currently a judge in Bismarck. Susan in the chairwoman of the Public Utilities Commission. You will find out as we travel that this state is energy rich and population poor so much of their energy resources are sold to other states. In the continuing theme of niceness Bob and Susan have been awesome. They have opened up their home, made us feel like family, given us great direction for what to do next and made sure we felt like royalty when we visited the capitol.
After dinner we headed out to Fort Abraham Lincoln in Mandan. This was Custer’s fort at what was then the western terminus of the railroad. The fort itself sits on a bluff overlooking the Missouri River and overlooking Slant Village which was populated by the Mandan Indians living in earth dome lodges. The wind on top of the guard towers at the fort were bordering on absurd but the views were spectacular and Coop was actually awake and providing good company. The earth lodges that the Mandan lived in are really neat. It is a log structure creating the dome covered in grass and mud. Inside there is a big fire pit surrounded by all of the living space. In some ways it is similar to a yurt. The earth makes it warm in the winter and cool in the summer.
Family, forts, big buffalo, earth domes and wind. It was a pretty big day.
Nothing in this state is close to anything else and there is little in between the places that are far apart. Little except for wheat. There are a lot of wheat fields, and the world’s largest Buffalo, which is in Jamestown. Apparently we are going to be pleasantly surprised by some other bits of randomness that North Dakotans take a tremendous amount of pride in.
The eastern part of the state is flat. Pool table flat. I drove for miles upon miles without ever having to turn the wheel of the car. I did have to keep it cranked over to the left because one of the other qualities that we have discovered over our first few days is the wind. I do not think it dropped below about 25mph until right around dinner time yesterday. Wind, cold and rain has been the theme to date.
As we head west we travel through a large collection of bumps, not quite hills but a little texture to the terrain. Bismarck sits in the Missouri River Valley and seems to have a combination of everything that the state has to offer... flat, flood plain, buttes, hills... except the Badlands.
We arrived in Bismarck in time for dinner with Bob and Susan and were greeted like family. Bob is a former Attorney General for North Dakota and currently a judge in Bismarck. Susan in the chairwoman of the Public Utilities Commission. You will find out as we travel that this state is energy rich and population poor so much of their energy resources are sold to other states. In the continuing theme of niceness Bob and Susan have been awesome. They have opened up their home, made us feel like family, given us great direction for what to do next and made sure we felt like royalty when we visited the capitol.
After dinner we headed out to Fort Abraham Lincoln in Mandan. This was Custer’s fort at what was then the western terminus of the railroad. The fort itself sits on a bluff overlooking the Missouri River and overlooking Slant Village which was populated by the Mandan Indians living in earth dome lodges. The wind on top of the guard towers at the fort were bordering on absurd but the views were spectacular and Coop was actually awake and providing good company. The earth lodges that the Mandan lived in are really neat. It is a log structure creating the dome covered in grass and mud. Inside there is a big fire pit surrounded by all of the living space. In some ways it is similar to a yurt. The earth makes it warm in the winter and cool in the summer.
Family, forts, big buffalo, earth domes and wind. It was a pretty big day.
114 Joseph Street
The day began by heading east from Fargo on US 10 the 25 miles to Hawley, Minnesota. Our great grandfather, Knud, settled in Hawley in the late 1800’s. Cousin Bob (I believe that being my mom’s cousin would make him my second cousin) had given us some good visual directions, but no street names. Hawley is a tough place to get lost in and while we were not able to use the directions to find the house we never were lost. After 30 minutes or so of driving around fruitlessly we ventured into the Hawley Herald and handed over the directions to the a nice young lady who tried to make sense of that landmarks in the email. After a few minutes she went in the back and brought out Leona Lewis Anderson. She is 87 and has lived in Hawley her entire life. Not only did she know exactly where the Wefald house was, she knew both Knud, his wife Sarah and their children Olav (Bob’s dad), Magnus and Egil (my grandfather and Coop’s great-grandfather). It was pretty neat to meet someone who had a connection to the family. It felt like we were on a treasure hunt and so far it was going pretty well.
A little historical note about Hawley. Hawley was settled in the 1870’s as a depot for the Northern pacific Railroad. It was given its name by Thomas Hawley Canfield, who laid out the current town, in 1872. General Custer visited the town in 1876 not long before the infamous battle at Little Big Horn. More on Custer later...
We followed Leona’s directions to Joseph street and shortly were in front of the house that fit the description. Two story porch, middle of the block, left side of the street. Coop and I stood out front for a few trying to decide if this really was the house. It has fresh vinyl siding and does not look like a house built in 1901 on what was still fairly wild praire. Upon closer inspection I could see that the foundation was made of stone and looked to be pretty old. Coop encouraged me to knock, and we did. We stood out side for a couple of minutes and were turning back to the car thinking no one was home and we would have to simply assume that this was the house. Halfway down the walk the door opened. Ryan Klev walked out and we told him our story. This was indeed the house. He works nights, we woke him up, but he was still nice and genuinely excited to find out a little about the Wefald’s. We have promised him some more information and the house may even become a stop of next year’s Wefald Family Reunion tour.
Searching for our roots is not only exciting, but a little draining. It was time for lunch which brought us back to downtown and the Whistle Stop Cafe. When Coop decided not to get green peppers on his cheese steak, I decided to get them on my burger, which had two of thickest pieces of bacon I have ever seen on a burger. Apparently no in in the Whistle Stop has ever thought to put peppers on a burger and this led to a long discussion amongst the people who work at the Whistle Stop and then into a long discussion with me about the desire for peppers. I’m breaking new culinary ground in Hawley and am sure that if I return I will simply be known as the green pepper guy.
Having successfully left my culinary mark on Hawley, Coop and I took a walk around town. We checked out the train tracks, the grain elevator and tried to go back and thank Leona for the directions to the house but the paper was closed. Hawley is a small and simple place but it is going through somewhat of a growth spurt as it has been heavily promoting itself as a bedroom community for Fargo. Aside from family history, what Haley has the most of is really nice, genuine people.
Off to the cemetery in search of Knud (pronounced kuh-nude), wife Sarah and spinster Emma. We first found Bob’s mom and dad Olav and Walma,, and then found Knud, Sarah and Emma. Coop had the great idea of getting flowers so we went to Tony’s market and picked up the $9.99 bouquet of blue and yellow carnations. Coop also decided that Knud, as the big guy of the family, should get blue. Knud was a pretty impressive guy. He came over from Norway in the late 1870’s, went back and then came back. He is described as a poet, the mayor of Hawley, a congressman and a member of various commissions. His headstone, which may have been stolen from the colosseum in Rome is pretty striking. It is about 8 feet long with columns on either side. Next time we visit, it’s flowers and a toga.
Posted by JW
A little historical note about Hawley. Hawley was settled in the 1870’s as a depot for the Northern pacific Railroad. It was given its name by Thomas Hawley Canfield, who laid out the current town, in 1872. General Custer visited the town in 1876 not long before the infamous battle at Little Big Horn. More on Custer later...
We followed Leona’s directions to Joseph street and shortly were in front of the house that fit the description. Two story porch, middle of the block, left side of the street. Coop and I stood out front for a few trying to decide if this really was the house. It has fresh vinyl siding and does not look like a house built in 1901 on what was still fairly wild praire. Upon closer inspection I could see that the foundation was made of stone and looked to be pretty old. Coop encouraged me to knock, and we did. We stood out side for a couple of minutes and were turning back to the car thinking no one was home and we would have to simply assume that this was the house. Halfway down the walk the door opened. Ryan Klev walked out and we told him our story. This was indeed the house. He works nights, we woke him up, but he was still nice and genuinely excited to find out a little about the Wefald’s. We have promised him some more information and the house may even become a stop of next year’s Wefald Family Reunion tour.
Searching for our roots is not only exciting, but a little draining. It was time for lunch which brought us back to downtown and the Whistle Stop Cafe. When Coop decided not to get green peppers on his cheese steak, I decided to get them on my burger, which had two of thickest pieces of bacon I have ever seen on a burger. Apparently no in in the Whistle Stop has ever thought to put peppers on a burger and this led to a long discussion amongst the people who work at the Whistle Stop and then into a long discussion with me about the desire for peppers. I’m breaking new culinary ground in Hawley and am sure that if I return I will simply be known as the green pepper guy.
Having successfully left my culinary mark on Hawley, Coop and I took a walk around town. We checked out the train tracks, the grain elevator and tried to go back and thank Leona for the directions to the house but the paper was closed. Hawley is a small and simple place but it is going through somewhat of a growth spurt as it has been heavily promoting itself as a bedroom community for Fargo. Aside from family history, what Haley has the most of is really nice, genuine people.
Off to the cemetery in search of Knud (pronounced kuh-nude), wife Sarah and spinster Emma. We first found Bob’s mom and dad Olav and Walma,, and then found Knud, Sarah and Emma. Coop had the great idea of getting flowers so we went to Tony’s market and picked up the $9.99 bouquet of blue and yellow carnations. Coop also decided that Knud, as the big guy of the family, should get blue. Knud was a pretty impressive guy. He came over from Norway in the late 1870’s, went back and then came back. He is described as a poet, the mayor of Hawley, a congressman and a member of various commissions. His headstone, which may have been stolen from the colosseum in Rome is pretty striking. It is about 8 feet long with columns on either side. Next time we visit, it’s flowers and a toga.
Posted by JW
Friday, June 13, 2008
Bismarck...
Bob and Susan's house in Bismarck, North Dakota... Yesterday, my dad and I went to Hawley, MN in the morning. It was only about a half hour drive from Fargo, ND. I was glad that it was that short. When we first got to Hawley, the directions that Bob had given us didn't really help us that much to get to the old Wefald House. Since the directions weren't helping us, we stopped at the Hawley Herald. At first, the lady at the counter didn't know what to say. She went to the back and asked Leona Louis Anderson. Leona knew Magnus and Verna Wefald and she knew where they lived. We took her directions and found the original Wefald House. After, we went to a place called the "Whistle Stop Cafe" for lunch. It wasn't half bad.
After, we went to the Hawley Cemetery where Knud, Sarah, Emma, Olav, Walma, Magnus, and Verna Wefald are buried. I though that it was funny that seven people from one family were buried in the same place. We put flowers on everyone's grave. It wasn't hard to find the graves because one is that we had directions from Bob and two that there was a big diagram saying where each grave was. It was hard to believe how many things that Knud Wefald was involved in. He was a mayor for Hawley, state legislator, member of congress, and he was a executive secretary~ commission of administration and finance. He had a busy life. We started to drive towards Bismarck, North Dakota.
This time, the drive wasn't as short. In fact it was ten times longer. It took us five hours with a few stops on the way. We headed for I-94 out of Hawley. I have to admit that I did fall asleep. When I woke up, I saw a sign for the World's Largest Buffalo and the National Buffalo Museum. We got off at the Jamestown exit. We saw the statue of the largest buffalo. When I saw that it said that it was sixty tons, I was amazed. After we looked at the statue for a while, we went to the National Buffalo Museum. It didn't have the same feeling of a museum. It had history about buffalo and everything, but there was also a viewing deck into where the buffalo roam, National Buffalo Hall of Fame, and easily 750 arrow heads. When my dad and I were on the viewing deck, we saw a rare Albanian Buffalo Calf. I was really excited. Whenever we got to a place where I could take a picture, it had run away. Then I starting to feel sad. We hoped and into the car and headed for Bismarck.
. . . . . .
We found our way to Bob and Susan's house. We made it just in time for dinner. We had steak with fries and asparagus. Everything was really good. After dinner, we went to Fort Abraham Lincoln. It is just outside of Bismarck. When we got to the fort, we went to the block houses. The block houses were really cool because you could go all of the way to the roof and stand on the roof. We then took a trail down to the "On a Slant Indian Village." There was a map showing how many Earth Lodges there were. I was amazed because there was easily 100 Earth Lodges. After, we went to General Custer's house. It was really fancy. Susan and I went to the soldiers barracks and looked through the window. I wouldn't have wanted to be in the army. We went home and went to bed. It was an amazing day.
Come back to site in the future and read more posts.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Fargo...
Coop and I find ourselves at the Best Western Kelly Inn and Suites on the outskirts of Fargo. Yesterday was an early morning (3AM) as we caught our flight to Minneapolis. Yesterday's weather was what you would expect if you have been following the news. Cold, rain and lots of wind. We decided not to make our trek to Hawley and instead bought some final supplies, had a good meal, played in a pool and got a good nights sleep.
Today we are off to Hawley to retrace some Wefald, my mom's side of the family, family roots. The family settled here from Norway on the 1870's and we are going to track down property and family plots. We then head to Bismarck to spend two days with Bob and Susan Wefald. Bob is the keeper of the family history and we hope to get some good stories, a little history and maybe even a sense of connection to our past.
After that we will then retrace some of the Lewis and Clark trail, camp in the Badlands and see where else the trail takes us. We have a lot of idea but no real plan. In this, North Dakota, the least visited state we want to discover what we've been missing and hopefully share a few adventures and misadventures of Coop and John on the road. We will update as much as possible
Today we are off to Hawley to retrace some Wefald, my mom's side of the family, family roots. The family settled here from Norway on the 1870's and we are going to track down property and family plots. We then head to Bismarck to spend two days with Bob and Susan Wefald. Bob is the keeper of the family history and we hope to get some good stories, a little history and maybe even a sense of connection to our past.
After that we will then retrace some of the Lewis and Clark trail, camp in the Badlands and see where else the trail takes us. We have a lot of idea but no real plan. In this, North Dakota, the least visited state we want to discover what we've been missing and hopefully share a few adventures and misadventures of Coop and John on the road. We will update as much as possible
Fargo...
Best Western Kelly Inn and Suites in Fargo, North Dakota... Yesterday I had to get up really early because my Dad and I needed to catch a 5:45 a.m. plane. We got up at around three o'clock in the morning. When we got to the airport, we did all of the normal stuff. We checked our bags, went through security, and found our gate. We got on the plane and we were on our way to Philadelphia. We got off our plane in Philadelphia and got on our plane to go to Minneapolis. After we landed in Minneapolis, we got our checked luggage and went to the National/Alamo car rental. When we got out of the airport we headed for Rogers, MN. There was a Cabela's there to get some supplies. We got to Rogers, MN and went into the Cabela's. We got some food, a water purifier, and some fuel for our little cooking utensil. After we bought it, we made our way to Fergus Falls where we just drove through the town. We then made our way to Fargo, North Dakota. After we got to Fargo, we went to a different hotel, but then went to the Best Western Inn and Suites. I was glad that it had a pool and hot tub.
The first day is always the hardest, but it was still a lot of fun. We will keep posting as we get farther into our trip. Keep logging on to our website to read more blogs.
Posted By: Coop
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