North Dakota – Jake & Eddie’s Excellent Adventure 😎🐶

Sunrise at Sioux Falls, South Dakota

After leaving North Dakota, we spent six days traveling leisurely southward through the region west of the Mississippi. We drove around 200 miles per day on average and drove the back roads as much as possible to get a better feel for the state and area

South Dakota

We stayed that evening in Sioux Falls. We heard the falls looked like tiny Niagra Falls, so we had to take a look. The park at the falls provided a most excellent sunrise walk!

The Big Sioux River was above flood stage. I saw other places further south where the rivers had swollen their banks.

Nebraska

When I worked for Hewlett-Packard, my first job involved supporting marketing and sales activities in the Midwest. We had just introduced Tsunami, a 2-channel digital signal analyzer that proved to be a big hit for mechanical testing. I spent several weeks visiting many of the sales offices in the region. I made it to all the states except one: Nebraska. I did land at the airport in Omaha and change planes, but I always remember I never actually made it there.

I must say I liked the little I saw driving through the Winnebago Indian Reservation there. It seemed like it had a nice vibe.

Swedish Church in Oakland, Nebraska. It was interesting how the different European cultures persisted after settlement in the last half of the 1800s, another consequence of the inheritance laws in Europe at the time.

I stayed too far away to see Omaha and the next night outside Kansas City. They were both quite a bit bigger, which made for an interesting and sometimes frustrating excursion.

Missouri

Northern Missouri had some nice areas, like Lake Winnebago. This name appeared at various points so far in the slide south. It is associated with the Ho-Chunk people who were forcibly resettled in many of the states along our route.

The northern part of Missouri resembled the rolling hills and crop fields of Nebraska. As I moved further south, it became less developed, at least along the route I chose.

As we drove further south, the landscape changed to resemble the South. Many churches and the Ten Commandments started appearing on billboards. It was not a great vibe compared to the earlier part of the trip. We were now in the Ozarks.

The Ozarks

The Ozarks have always had an interesting connotation to me. My Mom had religious survivalist friends who lived here and took her money for bullshit supplements. It seemed to be a hotbed of addiction when meth became popular. It’s sort of a white trash state in my mind.

Despite my astounding prejudice, I found a certain beauty here. It’s pretty much the same as any place in the rural south. It’s sort of an ‘unchanged by time’ vibe.

Fort Smith, Arkansas, was a strategic fort on the Missouri River in the 1800s. It played a big role in suppressing the Indian uprising and the infamous ‘Trail of Tears’ relocation of the indigenous people to Oklahoma. Most of the structure you see here was a prison.

The final drive into Hot Springs was quite nice. We climbed to around 1500 feet and saw some great visits. As we got closer to the Ozark lakes, more vacation rentals and boats started appearing. We were headed for one of the playgrounds of this part of the country.

The Families of the Heartland

Over two years ago, I planned to visit Wisconsin to check in on 6-month-old Theo. However, my knee had other plans after needing a major overhaul. With that under my belt, we came up with Excellent Adventure 2024 to visit them and, as an added bonus, my sister-in-law Myhra’s brother Richard and his wife LaRae at their home/farm /woodshop literally in the middle of (nearly) Nowhere, North Dakota.

Wisconsin Driftless Farm Country

Theo lives with his Mom, Dr. Kari, and Dad, Carl, in La Crosse, Wisconsin. I visited here a little over three years ago when Clan Tubridy gathered with Clan Bringe to celebrate Theo’s upcoming birth. This area, unaffected by the glaciers at the end of the ice age, is beautiful beyond words: rolling hills, windy farm roads, picturesque small towns, and lots, and lots, of farms.

**The Bringe Farm:** Mary Jo, Uncle Alex (aka Stewie), and Dad Carl. Theo is busy pushing the buttons!

Theo is two and a half years old and a sweet, inquisitive, and well-behaved little dude. We had many adventures in the three days I was there! On the first day, we visited Armand and Mary Jo at the Bringe homestead. Their oldest son, Alex (aka Stewie), would let some of his cattle out onto a new pasture.

Who Let the Cows Out?

We got to watch. It was very cool and somewhat surprising that some of the cattle were apparently afraid of Theo! Later, Theo rode in various tractors – John Deere Green Tractors – with Grandpa and Uncle Stewie! We hung out at the farm before heading back home for the day.

Country Farm Breakfast

The next day, Kari joined in, and we had a treat that really made the whole trip. In the morning, we went to a Country Farm Breakfast. These are held at different farms in the area and supported by the various farming associations, youth organizations, and the community as a whole.

Country Farm Breakfast is an organic dairy farm with Jersey milk cattle near Harmony, Wisconsin.

This was hosted at an organic dairy farm. I got to see the cows and talk about milking with one of the experts.

There was a good turnout despite the mud. Yep – it was raining, and on a farm, that means mud! Despite (or perhaps because of) the weather, everyone was having a fucking blast as near as I could tell. I loved watching old and young families and seeing how big a part of their kids are. Humbling. If I were raising a young family, it would be here—a beautiful sight. Theo’s grandparents and uncle were there with people they had known their whole lives.

Norskedalen Nature & Heritage Center

We then drove around in more of the most beautiful country I have ever seen. The people of Norway (including the Bringes) settled here and brought their heritage with them. In this case, a Norwegian homestead is now called Norskedalen Nature & Heritage Center—our next stop.

It was a celebration day for them, too! We watched a Maypole dance, a young girl churning butter, and traditional Norwegian handicrafts. Theo especially enjoyed the blacksmith’s fire 🔥.

A Troll along the path at the Norskedalen Nature & Heritage Center

I saw a Muskrat in a nearby lake—more or less a giant swimming rat. There were trails for both hiking and riding. Many volunteers were there, demonstrating and discussing the history of the craft and partaking in various crafts. At one point, traditional feats of strength like the Hammer Throw were demonstrated. It was big fun!

The Circus

After a quick nap back home, we headed out for the Circus! We saw a traveling circus called Cirque Italia. A group of about one dozen performers from all over the world performed for us, including aerial acts, juggling, balancing, dance, a light show, and—of course—a clown. It was more big fun! I was exhausted and passed out upon arrival home!

The La Crosse Queen

In the late 1800s, travel by paddlewheeler was the norm for people living along the Mississippi. Families would travel to visit friends and relatives and to shop. Our boat, although no longer a wood-burning engine, was from a long line of these boats.

A trip on the river had been on my bucket list for a while: a paddle boat tour of the Mississippi. And for an extra bonus, the river was at flood stage! It made for quite a sight, especially as we approached the dam to the north of La Crosse. Thro’s grandparents went, too, and I enjoyed Armand’s deep knowledge of commerce on the Mississippi.

Drive to North Dakota

Later that afternoon, we hooked up once again and made our way northwest into Minnesota.

Somewhere near Middle Spunk, Minnesota 🤩

After an uneventful overnight outside Minneapolis, we made it to our second stop somewhere in southeastern North Dakota.

North Dakota Farmlands

Rick’s wife, Myhra, is from North Dakota. One of her brothers, Richard, lives on a farm near the town of Gwinner. His wife LaRae worked as a heavy machinery operator at the nearby Bobcat factory. They raise two daughters and have now retired. They are both woodworkers! They have a good-sized garden, and I watched them dig potatoes for the evening meal.

Taters! *What’s Taters, Precious?* PO-TA-TOES – you can boil ’em, mash ’em, and stick ’em in a stew!

When I first learned woodworking, I read about it and assumed that many farmers were woodworkers. Their shop reminded me of another friend’s acquaintance in Maine, whom I visited in 2022. He was a canoe restorer.

One of Richard’s Band Saw Boxes. The drawer recesses are cut using a bandsaw. He also turned different wood burls into bowls and other shapes.

Richard has made some stunning bandsaw boxes and turned pieces. They had machinery in several buildings and pieces of wood lying everywhere! He was very generous and gave me a few choice pieces, including a live-edge slab.

LaRae’s lair, where she practices the art of quilting. She organizes tours in the region for friends to visit different quilting stores in the Midwest.

LaRae goes in for bigger stuff like cabinetry. She is also an accomplished quilter and had quite the setup in their basement. She was very sharp, and we had a lot of similar interests. She reminded me so much of my friend Laura, whom we will visit on this trip.

She introduced me to a new regional saying:

Opherphun

(Oh-For-Fun)

Richard let me drive his Bobcat – Opherphun! Jake hopped on, and we had a good time driving it to the end of the road. He took me to a nearby farming area where I got to climb in a huge John Deere tractor. We met up with a guy he used to work with spraying his crops. We spoke to him for a while. While talking about his 16-year-old son, he used the expression:

Uff Da!

My trip was complete! I actually heard a local use the word. It was priceless, as was the opportunity to meet all these beautiful people in this part of America.

I was sitting in a giant green tractor in a cornfield somewhere in southeast North Dakota—the Heartland.

I think I am beginning to understand now—hardworking people who love the land. May I be forever humbled.

We reached the top of the roller coaster! Now, we slide south from North Dakota to Arkansas! In the process, I will add the final state to my list of visited states —Nebraska. I stopped once at the airport, but that didn’t count. Also, South Dakota, Iowa, Missouri, and Oklahoma—right smack through Tornado country!

Tag: North Dakota

Southwards through the Heartland