North Dakota

Danny told me that I needed to post to the blog so here is a copy of what I wrote last night after getting to my hotel.

I have wanted to go to North Dakota for a very long time. I guess it is on an unofficial "life list" I have. I have always perceived it as a distant frontier that only a select few ever make it to. That always made it more attractive and mysterious for me. I however never though that I would love it as much as I did. I was delighted by everything about it: the grasslands, the Badlands, the prairies, the farms, the cities. They all brought a smile to my face and an ever increasing love for North Dakota. The grasslands were wonderful, simple and wonderful. There was a touch of red in the grasses, a sign I would imagine of the oncoming Fall. The Badlands were stunning, intricate, and peaceful. I stood atop an overlook in the Theodore Roosevelt National Park; a soft wind rising from the valley and passing through me over the hill behind me. The landscape below me rich in the texture of the Badlands and the prairies. It was a spot wherein I could have stayed for a long time letting my senses enjoy the richness and peace. The farmland was in a time of transition; bails of hay lined the fields and farmers harvested their corn. The hill that crested just before Mandan and Bismark revealed a beautiful river valley that made me wonder why North Dakota is loosing population rather than gaining it. The blue, blue lakes surrounded by the greens and browns of the prairie delighted me with every one that I passed.