Sunday, August 22, 2010

"The Secret of Getting Things Done is to Act"

The Enchanted Highway is a fun drive south from I-94 about 20 miles east of Dickinson. It has 7 of the world's largest metal sculptures. The artist is Gary Greff.

Gary was a school teacher in Regent, ND. Concerned about his community, knowing that many farming communities dry up and blow away; he looked for a solution. Although he had never done any art work or welding he undertook this task. He wrote that when he saw a hay bale strongman built by a farmer, he watched people pull off the road to snap pictures of it. He wondered how many people would stop to take pictures of huge metal sculptures. It must be working..... it got us off the freeway and down to Regent. All told the highway that the sculptures are on is about 30+ miles long.


At the intersection of the highway and the freeway, this sculpture always piqued my interest as we would go by. "Geese In Flight" is 110 feet tall and 154 feet long. It is made from used oil well pipe and oil well tanks. This one is listed in the Guiness Book of World Records as the World's Largest Metal Sculpture. It was put up in 2001. The largest goose is 19 feet long with a 30 foot wing-span.
Next down the highway is "Deer Crossing". The buck is 75 feet tall and 60 feet long. It is also cut from old oil well tanks. This was erected in 2002.
"Grasshoppers Delight"
WOW!! This is probably how big the grasshoppers seemed to the saints in the Salt Lake Valley. I wonder how big the seagulls would have been???
The largest grasshopper is 60 feet long and 40 feet tall. These are welded from old fuel tanks and old oil tanks. Erected in 1999.
"Fisherman's Dream"
This was my favorite sculpture. So many things going on. There are northern walleye, small mouth bass, a bullhead, a blue gill, a salmon. The rainbow trout is 70 feet long. Erected in 2006.
"Pheasants on the Prairie"
Erected in 1996. This is HUGE!! There is a rooster, a hen and three chicks. The rooster is 70 feet long and 40 feet tall. The hen measures 60 feet by 35 feet, while the chicks are 20 feet by 15 feet. You can see in the background here that many of the sculptures have picnic areas by them and they all have pull-outs so you can really enjoy. I think this teacher must have also been part salesman in order to get the land for these. (smile)
"Teddy Rides Again"
When Laurence and I saw the sign saying what the next sculpture would be, we guessed that it would be Teddy Roosevelt, but then we also wondered if we would really be surprised and find a teddy bear.
This is 51 feet tall and is supposed to be him on his favorite horse. It is to pay homage to Theodore Roosevelt's part in the history of North Dakota.
"Tin Family"
The artist got his inspiration for all of the sculptures from life in North Dakota. The man is 45 feet tall, the womanis 43 feet tall and the boy is 23 feet tall. Erected in 1991, this was the very first art project. He made it from used farm equipment and was done with the help of farmers and friends from the community.
This was such a fun drive. I'm so glad we took the time to do it.

4 comments:

  1. Love it! That is the kind of treasures that I love coming across on a road trip- in fact that is why I love road trips, you are free to wander off the beaten path and see thing you would have otherwise missed.

    I'm ready to sign on for a road trip with you, Viv, Mom, Janice (and Aisling if she loves road trips like the rest of us)!

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