North Dakota: Land of Very Large Objects

North Dakota’s tourism slogan is “Start Your Journey to Legendary”. We think the wood chipper in Fargo fit that phrase but otherwise the state slogan should be “Come See The World’s Largest Whatever.” That seemed appropriate for this road trip, given all of the other oversized objects we’ve already seen along the way.

Traversing the state from east (Fargo) to west (Dickinson), we saw:

The World’s Largest Buffalo Monument. Dakota Thunder was built in 1959 and at 26′ tall and 45′ long, is the world’s largest bison. He is made of stucco and cement around a steel beam frame. Allegedly, for many years it was customary for members of the graduating class of Jamestown High School to paint Dakota Thunder’s genitalia in the school colors of blue and white. I didn’t look up.

Salem Sue, the World’s Largest Holstein Cow. Sue sits on a hill high above New Salem, North Dakota and was built in 1974 to honor the local dairy industry. She sits 38′ high and 50′ long, is made of fiberglass, and weighs six tons. Salem Sue can be seen from up to five miles away on Interstate 94, which isn’t too hard to believe since North Dakota is pretty flat and sparsely populated.

The Enchanted Highway. This 32-mile two-lane highway off of I-94 has seven scrap iron sculptures that qualify as the World’s Largest. Many of the pieces are made from old parts salvaged from North Dakota’s oil industry. All of the sculptures were designed and built by one man who, when the interstate arrived, tried to attract people to the town of Regent, which was pretty much left behind when the interstate was built. Here are a few of our favorite sculptures, which are enormous! If you’re ever driving through North Dakota, be sure to take a side trip to see them.

Yep. North Dakota. Come See the World’s Largest Whatever.