Friday, April 23, 2010

North Dakota: Home Of The Whirl-A-Whip

For some unknown reason, North Dakota is the only state in the Union that hasn't visited us here at WBN. We don't know why; since they've never been here, we can hardly have offended them.

So if ND won't come to WBN, then WBN must go to ND -- at least virtually. The North Dakota Tourism web site lists a number of things to do in North Dakota, many of them featuring the fantastic landscape.

My personal favorite is the Hidden Gems page on which they feature the Whirl-A-Whip famous ice cream: one tub of ice cream, 40 flavors.




Other hidden gems:

Natural Gems

  • Sheyenne National Grasslands, southwest of Fargo
  • Denbigh Experimental Forest
  • Killdeer Game Management Area, east of Killdeer
  • Nature Conservancy Property at Davis Ranch
  • Mushroom Rock Formations, Petrified Forest, North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park
  • Huff Hills, south of Mandan
  • Pembina Gorge, west of Walhalla
  • Icelandic State Park
  • Little Missouri State Park
  • White Butte - Highest point in North Dakota-Amidon, ND
Cultural & Heritage Gems
  • St. Mary's Catholic Church, Hague
  • Fairview Lift Bridge and railroad tunnel, Cartwright
  • Stone Butte Ranch, south of Elgin
  • Fort Ransom
  • Scandinavian Heritage Park, Minot
  • Pipestem Creek
  • Crow Flies High overlook
  • Chief Looking's Village overlook
  • Mystical Horizons, near Carbury
Attraction Gems
  • Lewis & Clark Riverboat, Bismarck
  • Pioneer Trails Museum, Bowman
  • Paul Broste Rock Museum
  • Whirl-a-Whip, Stanley
  • McHenry Train
  • Dory's Antique Car Museum, Marmarth
  • Five Nations Art Depot
  • Prairie Fire Pottery
  • Hotel Donaldson, Fargo
  • Sundog Glass Design, Park River

So how about it -- anybody out there in North Dakota? Tell us about it!

4 comments:

Bewilderebeest, Inc. said...

I’m from North Dakota, though I moved down to The Other Dakota about a year ago. I lived there for the first 25 years of my life, and I haven’t even heard of many of the attractions on that list! Theodore Roosevelt National Park is definitely a must-see, especially if you’ve ever wondered how large a bison is in comparison to your car, or if you’d like to see wild horses. It’s a great place for family camping. For those interested in history, Fort Mandan (where Lewis & Clark camped for the winter) and Fort Abraham Lincoln (once home to General Custer and the 7th Calvary) are really informative. St. Mary’s in Hague made the list, but St. Stanislaus in the tiny hamlet of Warsaw is another example of a beautiful old country church. Hunting tourism is big in the fall.

I could think of a lot of other things to add, but, to be perfectly honest with you, North Dakota is not a very exciting place. It’s beauty is subtle, and it’s most attractive feature is peacefulness. It is wide open skies, the feel of the wind, the songs of birds, the whirr of grasshoppers, dirt under your fingernails, grease on your arm, a hearty meal, and good night’s sleep after a long day. It’s a green, growing spring just when you were beginning to forget what the landscape looked like without snow. It’s about always finding help when you need it. It’s a testament to the tenacity of immigrants, who fought against nature year after year for their little farms in the middle of nowhere. It’s a place for hard work and good clean fun. I love it, and I’m so grateful that I got to grow up there.

Nod said...

Many thanks, Bewilderebeest, Inc., for your insights to North Dakota. We need wide open spaces like that in our country. Sounds great. Those bison are huge, actually.

Thanks to our reader in Bismark, ND we have completed the visiting map of the US. The staff here at WBN thanks you.

Enjoy your stay.

Potash said...

Does anybody know if there are any decent dental assistant Roosevelt Park positions available out there??

Samantha said...

I'm from North Dakota and lived here my whole life! I love everything about North Dakota please visit my sight wecareaboutoilcountrynd.weebly.com

It is a work in progress but I am trying to help connect people within ND! Hope you like it!

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