The Blog is Now Misnamed

We made it to North Dakota!

From Cross Country 2009

Rachel and I goofed off for a while in Fargo, including time for her first driving lesson. Right there in the parking lot of Fargodome, she got her first taste of working a clutch (and stalling). She's promised to blog about the experience, so I leave it to her.

We did a load of laundry then drove on to Fort Ransom State Park to camp for the night. Maybe it's the place or it could be my lack of experience with North Dakotans, but I thought the park ranger kinda looked like Frances McDormand in "Fargo". But that's not really the point. The park was gorgeous. All around Fargo, the land was flat and relatively treeless. We pulled off I-94 to head to the park and suddenly the landscape changed. There were gentle hills and we eventually entered a stand of trees and a river (the Sheyenne) runs through the trees & park.

From Cross Country 2009

While we were in "primitive" camping, the sites were still well-manicured. I've seen picky old men's front yards in worse shape. There were about 8 sites facing a field of prairie grass (see the picture above). We spotted several deer moving through the grass. There was just one other camper when we got there -- a photographer with California license plates on his car. I'd love to see his pictures!

After dinner, we explored the scenic view atop the highest hill in the park. We could see nearby farms and a vast area of prairie grass. According to onsite signs, the valley was carved by a river formed when glaciers melted umpteen million years ago.

From Cross Country 2009

Rachel took the chance to stretch her legs.

From Cross Country 2009

I looked at the nearby hillside where I could hear mooing.

From Cross Country 2009

We're in Bismarck now (about 2pm on Tuesday). It's the first city we've seen since Fargo this time yesterday. Everyone warned me there was nothing up here. They were right. Gas stations included. However, this wide open space is so different than anything I've ever experienced. It's just gorgeous.

The Stats

• License plates spotted: 37 states and 2 Canadian provinces
• Nights camped: 6
• States visited: Georgia (Megan only), South Carolina (Megan only), North Carolina (Megan only), Virginia (Megan only), Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota
• Loads of laundry mistakenly washed in fabric softener: 1 (the package looked just like detergent!)
  
• Best money spent: $2.50 on a pint of Ben & Jerry's Half Baked ice cream after the water park in Wisconsin Dells