Back into upper Minnesota, which the radio called the Northland, the land of giant American cars and really nice people. Seriously—at least two-thirds of the cars are high-clearance Ford/Chevy/GMC/Dodge units, and the gas station clerk gave me a free coffee. Feeling slightly out of place in the Corolla, I settled in for a leisurely drive through the deciduous forests, along with the coffee and NPR. Folks, remember to keep supporting Ukraine.
I crossed the Mississippi about fifteen miles from its source, still an unassuming stream. I pulled into Moorhead, next-door neighbor to Fargo, and followed the Food Bible once again to a gas station chicken shack. It advertised the chicken as ”broasted,” which I thought was a portmanteau of ”broiled” and ”roasted”; I now know it to be Minnesotan for ”deep fried.” It was… pretty good? Certainly not Food Bible-worthy. This would be a harbinger of things to come. Before leaving town, I bought groceries and stopped to see the wood chipper from the exceptional film Fargo. Frances McDormand plus Steve Buscemi? Instant classic.
I cheated for this next bit, because I was in a bit of a rush to head west. I have a feeling most of my trip will be spent out in the plains, deserts, and mountains, so I hopped on I-94 and gunned it to Bismarck, where I could not find any good restaurants. I resigned myself to an Arby’s reuben and a bag of baby carrots, and started the final leg of today’s drive. The plains are only truly flat for a couple hundred miles, after which they morph into sepia-tinged hills. This is the most rural place I’ve been so far—cars and buildings are one a minute, and towns are little more than a gas station and a reduced speed limit.
Five hundred miles from this morning, I made camp at Little Missouri National Grassland, and it was all worth it.
I couldn’t help but run through the trails and jump. Look at it! Click on it and look closer. My woeful camera skills can’t come close to showing this place’s beauty, but you can still see how the grasslands are full of surprises.
Tomorrow I head to the nearby prairie of Teddy Roosevelt National Park, and hopefully find some prairie dogs!
What happened to Lake Woebegone, MN. “Where all the women are strong and all the men are good looking”?
How come you avoided Frostbite Falls? Were you afraid you’d run into Boris and Natasha (or am I dating myself here)? “Ho-boy! Moose and Squirrel!”
Anywho… Frostbite Falls is really historic. Legendary home of Whatsamatta U!
I’m glad you mentioned that Minnesota is the “land of really nice people” because I had forgotten that about Minnesota. When I was at Prudential I made several business trips to our Minnetonka office, and that was my impression of my hosts. So hospitable and kind and friendly. We even talked about it. For me it was eye-opening that the culture was of such really nice people, as compared with the northeast culture. Broasted chicken: here in downtown Hawley is a bar that features “broasted chicken”. I have never been brave enough to go in and try it, even for take-out. I wonder if it also is just basically fried chicken. The picture of the Little Missouri National Grasslands park makes me want to see more of your pictures of the park. I’m glad you are taking all these pictures and I hope to see some of them someday. Love, Grandma