October 15-19, 2024.
There were many ways we could have routed our road trip across the Northern United States, but I wanted to prioritize places I’d never been. When I moved to Oregon in 2006, I drove straight across South Dakota and missed its cousin to the north. That settled it, planned to see what North Dakota is all about. We drove Interstate 94, with a few diversions, straight across the state.
Theodore Roosevelt National Park
Our introduction to the state was a drive around the South Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. We began at the visitor’s center, as we always do. Before arriving here, I didn’t know that Theodore Roosevelt had his own national park. Familiar with the common narratives and myths about Roosevelt’s strong conservation ethic as well as being a hunter and explorer, I was also struck by the less well known facets of the man. “I don’t go so far as to think that the only good Indians are the dead Indians, but I believe nine out of every 10 are. And I shouldn’t like to inquire too closely into the case of the tenth.” Funny how that quote doesn’t circulate too widely.
With these complexities in mind, we ventured into the park. The loop road was under construction, so we drove as far as we could and returned the way we came. Along the way, we stopped to do several short hikes. We observed many bison, prairie dogs, grouse and other birds. Each hike offered up a different take on the vast landscape, from badlands to rivers to coal seams and canyons. We returned to Windy Point to take in the sunset, which was absolutely beautiful overlooking the Missouri River. Behind us, bison grazed on the hillside. The moon rose as the sun set, with the sky turning day-glo orange and pink.
Satisfied with our full day in the park, we returned to the Cottonwood Campground, glad that we swung through earlier to select a site. The place was empty in the morning but it had filled up throughout the day! It wouldn’t be a National Park without a full campground.
The next day, we did the Painted Canyon hike on our way out of the park. It was not one I’d return to, unless I was using it as a jumping-off point for a longer hike through the park. The other side was much more impressive.
White Butte
Next to the important bit: North Dakota’s state highpoint. Getting to White Butte required a bit of a detour on our west-east route, but it was a must-do for me. I am not a serious highpointer, since I will likely never climb Denali, Rainier or Mt. Whitney (for various reasons), but I do like to check out the off-the-beaten path destinations when they’re close enough. This particular highpoint is located on private land, but the landowners permit access by donation. They have a small parking area and a 0.9 mile one-way trail to the summit.
Aaron and I made the short pilgrimage to the top and back. It was a very nice hike in a beautiful landscape. It is well-described as a white butte; there’s nothing else like it in the surrounding flat fields. I checked my 10th state highpoint off the list!
Bismarck
We didn’t have nearly enough time to explore the state capital, but I can recommend these two stops.
Huckleberry House. We looked for a unique and North Dakotan place to eat and landed on this restaurant. It’s got a Scandinavian-inspired menu, which is a nod to the people who immigrated to this part of the country. I saw menu items I’d never seen before and I remember eating a lot of cheese. No complaints.
North Dakota State Museum. This large, beautiful and educational museum has free admission and enough stuff to keep you interested for hours. We particularly enjoyed the rooms about indigenous people in North Dakota and the extensive fossil collection. The staff were very friendly too and we chatted with some of the museum’s archivists who had set up an interactive display.
Roadside Attractions
Salem Sue. She’s the world’s largest Holstein cow and she’s quite something. What will capture your attention the most? Her size? Her paint job? Her scenic hilltop location? Her incredibly veiny udder? Go see for yourself! And don’t forget to grab lunch or a coffee at the nearby Metro Perk and Market.
World’s Largest Sandhill Crane. Yes, North Dakota has a theme and it’s “World’s Largest ___.” There is a small park here but there’s not much to see, so grab your photo and get back on the road.
World’s Largest Buffalo. This statue stands beside the North American Bison Discovery Center, so plan to spend a bit more time here. General admission is only $8 or it’s free if you have a NARM membership. There also appears to be a tacky (IMO) “wild west” town facade that is open in the summer months with more activities, food and trinkets. We enjoyed learning more about bison in the museum as well as posing with the statue. They are supposed to have a bison herd on site but they were not visible during our visit.
Medicine Wheel Park. Located in Valley City, ND, this lovely little park packs a lot into a small space. You can take a solar system walk and note the accurately placed rocks representing how far apart each planet is from the next. It contains a section of the North Country National Scenic Trail, which I’d never heard of before. This 4,800 mile route crosses 8 states! I was excited to walk about a half mile of it!
Fargo
It appears that the Fargo Chamber of Commerce has accepted its fate as the city known for the Coen Brothers movie. Right outside the Visit Fargo-Moorhead Information Center you can see the woodchipper made famous by the film. The staff inside were happy to answer our questions and recommend some places to visit. Again, we didn’t have as much time as we wanted, so we hit up the rock gym, a meadery and a coffee shop and continued on our way. Note that I sought out a meadery once I learned that North Dakota produces more honey than any other state in the US! I had no clue! And they out-produce every other state by A LOT.
I learned this by watching the Google cartoon that pops up when we crossed into North Dakota from Montana. Do you ever do this? If you’re using Google maps to navigate your road trip (and you’re NOT the driver), pay attention to when your vehicle drives across a border. You’ll see a character pop up on the screen. There’s a unique character for each state. When we drove into North Dakota, the character was wearing a beekeeper suit. I didn’t get the reference, so I looked it up and learned about honey.
One of the best parts about a long road trip to me is the opportunity to learn new things you didn’t even know you wanted to know. Curious about what Google has chosen to highlight about your state? I challenge you to figure it out! And if it were up to you, how would you design your state representative?
