I’ve always been fascinated with the American West but I can’t tell you why. It’s not as if I grew up on a ranch raising livestock or caring for crops. My family lived in a nice Southern California tract house, complete with the requisite swimming pool. My parents were white-collar professionals busy raising four children and, to my knowledge, nobody in my extended family ever wore anything resembling western wear. I spent years in the Boy Scouts and enjoyed sleeping under the stars, but so did many of my childhood friends and none of them grew up wishing they could climb on a horse and drive cattle.
Missoula. Who Knew?
We discovered Missoula, Montana quite by accident. Due to the wildfires and heavy smoke on the west side of Glacier National Park, we cancelled the three days we had booked in Whitefish, MT and sought better air quality further south. The choices were limited and we landed in Missoula.
Before arriving, we knew pretty much nothing about this place, which meant one thing… we had to get out and explore! On our first night, there was a street festival downtown and just a few blocks from our Airbnb. We could hear the music from our back porch, so we had to check it out. They had art vendors, food and craft beer trucks, and live music on a very large stage. There was a sizable crowd with a mix of college students (the University of Montana is here), families, and oldies like us. Lots of fun.
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.
“And here ya are, and it’s a beautiful day” (Marge Gunderson)
There are a few things worth mentioning about Fargo, North Dakota.
The city is named after William Fargo, who formed Wells Fargo with his business partner, Henry Wells, in 1852. I retired from their company a few years ago and although the firm has recently lost its way, they have a rich history that began with Mr. Fargo and continues today.
It is also one of the settings for Fargo, among the greatest movies (and subsequent television series) ever made. The film was directed by the Cohen brothers, Joel and Ethan, and takes place in Minnesota and across the state border in Fargo. It includes a classic scene with a wood chipper, one that you will never forget once you’ve seen it.
When we learned that the ACTUAL wood chipper used in the film was on display in the Fargo Visitor Center, we had to add this famous city to our itinerary. We arrived late in Fargo after our adventurous day in Bemidji and awoke the next morning, excited to see this cinematic piece of history. It did not disappoint! The nice Visitor Center staff offered us ear-flap hats to wear as we posed with the wood chipper. It was a great moment for Team Pea as we stood on each side and pretended to operate the chipper. On top of that, the chipper was autographed by the Cohens and the original screenplay was on display. Was it as awesome as we’d imagined? You’re darned tootin’!
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The Trail Boss
We took a short early morning hike on the Painted Canyon trail in the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Everything was good until we came around a bend and saw this.
When Mr. Bison claims the trail, you don’t argue. You just turn around.
