Stop three: Fargo, ND
After my brush with death in Minneapolis, Bryan and I made the three and a half hour drive to Fargo. It was Father's Day so on the way there we called our Dad's. That night we both noticed that our day had kind of a Father's Day theme to it...
We stopped was in Moorhead, MN to visit the Hjemkomst Center. The center is home to two unique structures. The first is a replica of the Hopperstad Stave Church.
The second unique structure is the Hjemkomst Viking Ship, which was built by hand and sailed to Norway in 1982. The ship was started as a project by Robert Asp in 1974. He was diagnosed with leukemia the same year, but still kept on building and was able to take the ship on a maiden voyage throughout Lake Superior in 1980. Sadly he died before he could sail to Norway. Asp's children along with a few other crew members, were able to honor their father by making the journey two years later. See? Isn't that a great Father's Day story?
Even after watching a 20 minute long film, I still cannot say the word Hjemkomst properly.
Sunday is a tough day for downtown Fargo since many of the shops and restaurants are closed. If we ever go back here I definitely want to go on a non-Sunday so we can visit all the great stores I saw as we were walking.
After walking around, we had an early dinner at the HoDo Lounge, which is part of the Hotel Donaldson before seeing Chef at the Fargo Theatre. The movie, a story about a chef and his relationship with his son as he tries to figure out his career, also had a Father's Day feeling to it.
The next morning we made another stop at one of my member companies and then saw a piece of history. I'm talking of course about the Famous Wood Chipper from the movie Fargo.
Stop four: Jamestown, ND
It's not an American Road Trip unless you see the World's Largest Something. Fortunately for us, we got to see the World's Largest Buffalo in Jamestown! There were actual buffaloes there and a buffalo museum, but we were only interested in this guy...
Stop five: Bismarck, ND
We ended our day in downtown Bismarck eating and drinking our way through two World Cup games. We ate lunch at the Blarney Stone Irish Pub, watched the US vs. Ghana game at Laughing Sun Brewery, and then had dinner at Peacock Alley.
Stop five and a half: The Enchanted Highway (Regent, ND)
The next day we made our way to Mount Rushmore via The Enchanted Highway, a 32-mile stretch of road off of 94 leading to Regent, ND with seven impressive scrap metal sculptures.
Stop six: Rapid City, SD
Almost six hours later we made it to Mount Rushmore. We also saw the Crazy Horse Memorial, and then got dinner at the Independent Ale House.
The next morning we got breakfast in downtown Rapid City at Tally's Silver Spoon and did the City of Presidents Sculpture Walk and saw Art Alley. We walked to all 42 statues, but here are some of my favorites.
After my brush with death in Minneapolis, Bryan and I made the three and a half hour drive to Fargo. It was Father's Day so on the way there we called our Dad's. That night we both noticed that our day had kind of a Father's Day theme to it...
We stopped was in Moorhead, MN to visit the Hjemkomst Center. The center is home to two unique structures. The first is a replica of the Hopperstad Stave Church.
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| The original Hopperstad Stave Church is in Norway |
The second unique structure is the Hjemkomst Viking Ship, which was built by hand and sailed to Norway in 1982. The ship was started as a project by Robert Asp in 1974. He was diagnosed with leukemia the same year, but still kept on building and was able to take the ship on a maiden voyage throughout Lake Superior in 1980. Sadly he died before he could sail to Norway. Asp's children along with a few other crew members, were able to honor their father by making the journey two years later. See? Isn't that a great Father's Day story?
Even after watching a 20 minute long film, I still cannot say the word Hjemkomst properly.
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| Hjemkomst means "Homecoming" in Norwegian or "Word-Allison-can't-pronounce" in English |
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| You can really get a sense for how big the ship is by how they cover it from the outside |
Sunday is a tough day for downtown Fargo since many of the shops and restaurants are closed. If we ever go back here I definitely want to go on a non-Sunday so we can visit all the great stores I saw as we were walking.
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| The Fargo Theatre movie sign |
After walking around, we had an early dinner at the HoDo Lounge, which is part of the Hotel Donaldson before seeing Chef at the Fargo Theatre. The movie, a story about a chef and his relationship with his son as he tries to figure out his career, also had a Father's Day feeling to it.
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| The HoDo Lounge |
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| This was a great Art Deco Theatre that reminded me of Oak Park's Lake Theatre. Sadly, there were only six people there watching the movie. |
The next morning we made another stop at one of my member companies and then saw a piece of history. I'm talking of course about the Famous Wood Chipper from the movie Fargo.
Stop four: Jamestown, ND
It's not an American Road Trip unless you see the World's Largest Something. Fortunately for us, we got to see the World's Largest Buffalo in Jamestown! There were actual buffaloes there and a buffalo museum, but we were only interested in this guy...
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| World's Largest Buffalo with the World's Cheesiest Tourists |
Stop five: Bismarck, ND
We ended our day in downtown Bismarck eating and drinking our way through two World Cup games. We ate lunch at the Blarney Stone Irish Pub, watched the US vs. Ghana game at Laughing Sun Brewery, and then had dinner at Peacock Alley.
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| Our favorite place in Bismarck was definitely Laughing Sun Brewery - they even make their own soda (their cream soda is on the left) |
Stop five and a half: The Enchanted Highway (Regent, ND)
The next day we made our way to Mount Rushmore via The Enchanted Highway, a 32-mile stretch of road off of 94 leading to Regent, ND with seven impressive scrap metal sculptures.
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| "Geese in Flight" |
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| "Deer Crossing" |
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| "Grasshoppers in the Field" |
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| "Pheasants on the Prairie" |
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| "Teddy Roosevelt Rides Again" |
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| "The Tin Family" |
Stop six: Rapid City, SD
Almost six hours later we made it to Mount Rushmore. We also saw the Crazy Horse Memorial, and then got dinner at the Independent Ale House.
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| Mount Rushmore |
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| Crazy Horse Memorial |
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| We had great pizza at the Independent Ale House |
The next morning we got breakfast in downtown Rapid City at Tally's Silver Spoon and did the City of Presidents Sculpture Walk and saw Art Alley. We walked to all 42 statues, but here are some of my favorites.
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| FDR |
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| Lincoln |
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| Is that Jimmy Carter? I literally thought every other statue was Jimmy Carter. This is ACTUALLY the Jimmy Carter statue. |
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| This alley was amazing! |
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