Some of the things that I have learned about North Da
kota I already knew. I knew that Bismark is the Capitol City. I knew that the Soruis River flowed through Minot. I knew that Rugby is the geographical center of North America. (Rugby is a small town just east of Minot. I also knew that the landscape of North Dakota is relatively flat (or so I thought).What I have learned:
According to a Cambridge University study, ND is the friendliest state in the U.S.
President Benjamin Harrison went to great lengths to obscure the order in which the statehood proclamations of North and South Dakota were signed on November 2, 1889, so the exact order in which the two states entered the union is unknown. However, because of alphabetical position, ND is often considered the 39th state.
The Dakota Dinosaur Museum in Dickinson holds the world's largest intact triceratops skull. It weighs 1,500 pounds. Also a rare mummified dinosaur was discovered in western ND - a portion of which can be seen at the ND Heritage Center in Bismark.
Sacred, albino bison White Cloud and white calves can be seen at the National Buffalo Museum in Jamestown.
I knew that ND was a huge agricultural state. What I learned is that chances are that the flour in your hamburger bun, the beef for your burger, and the potatoes for your French fries are from the farm fields in ND. Agriculture is North Dakota's top industry, and each year the farmers produce enough wheat for 15.5 billion loaves of bread, potatoes for 171 million servings of French fries, and beef for 102 million hamburgers. Plus enough soybeans to make 212 billion crayons!!!
I also learned that explorers William Clark and Meriweather Lewis spent more time in what is now North Dakota that any other place on their journey.
It is amazing the things that you can learn about a state!!
On our drive across the state we encountered several places along I-94 where water was over the road. We had to slow down to 25 miles an hour. In one place you could not get to a rest stop as the entrance was closed due to water on the road.
Along I-94 there is a turn off to travel down the Enchanted Highway. This highway has many large metal sculptures, the flying geese in the photo is one example. We had planned to take this route, however just as we were approaching the exit, it began to rain and the sky looked very dark so we decided to continue on our journey. Maybe another time we will take this highway.
It is always amazing to me that along the way we see so many small farms and houses that have been left. One has to wonder what happened to the people that lived there, and how long ago did they leave and why. I guess that we will never know....
We finally made it to Medora, ND. This is our third visit there. Many may know that this is the home of the Pitch Fork Fondue. They also have a huge western musical review every night. This year our goal was to explore Teddy Roosevelt National Park. I will have more on the park next blog.
Until then,
Candy and Johnny
