"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.

School Lunch???

Laurence and I went to dinner last night in Riverdale North Dakota. What a beautiful place.We ate at the Knights Bar and Grill. They have turned an old high school into a Lodge with an attached Bar and Grill. I had baked Walleye with the world's largest baked potato. Delish!! Laurence had the rack of ribs. It was so yummy! I actually prefered his to mine, but they were both wonderful. As an added bonus Laurence had half of his for lunch today.
Here is the Lodge portion. They have changed the classrooms into suites. They advertise that you can play basketball or volleyball while staying there. Now THAT'S repurposing!!

Riverdale is on the north side of Lake Sakakawea. Lake Sakakawea is the third largest man-made lake in the United States. It was created in the 40's and 50's by the Army Corp of Engineers when they built the Garrison Dam to stem the flooding of the Missouri River and to provide an energy source.

Lake Sakakawea is 178 miles long and 14 miles wide at it's widest point. We crossed over to Riverdale from Pick City on the Garrison Dam. What a beautiful lake!!

SmUrFvIlLe

We visited the Teddy Roosevelt National Park in ND yesterday. The rock formations are incredible. I could just see the little blue smurf's living in these little mushroom houses.
Many of the formations remind me of the rock formations found out behind my parents house at a place we call the HooDoos.
Now who said that trees could grow on these outcrops? At the entrance we got Laurence's America the Beautiful - National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass - Senior Pass. It cost us $10. now it is good for entrance for the rest of his life. Yeah us!!
The Little Missouri River passes through here. It is amazing how green Montana and North Dakota are. You would think it was June not August.

We had a good laugh here! Scoria Point, are you kidding me? ..... we LIVE on top of a hill of scoria; that is why it doesn't hold any water. Scoria is coal that has burned in the earth. It is red in color and it can be very sharp or it can be very pourous.

WILD LIFE

And of course, while we were looking at the buffalo a lady from Texas got out of her vehicle and walked over to get a better/closer picture. What are people thinking of???

Don't forget those little prairie dogs......

We had such a fun drive through the park.

It'll be fun to see if we have time for more field trips while we are here.

Are YOU my Daddy????

You may recall that when we were at Arrowhead about a month ago a baby moose was hit by a car and killed. This time while we were there we saw several bull moose. I kept wondering if any of them were the daddy of the baby that was killed.

No matter how many pictures I take, I am continually struck by their beauty and majesty.

Yes, I know she isn't anyone's daddy. But I actually think she is the mama that was hit while we were here before.