North to Alaska: The flatness of The Great Plains

FLAT, FLAT, FLAT

Even though I grew up in South Dakota and have been back to The Great Plains on numerous occasions, one forgets just how flat it is out here on The Plains! We have traversed 100s of miles across Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota and now North Dakota. It is not unusual to be driving along the Interstate and see way off in the distance a water tower or a grain elevator. I have measured several of these sightings: they are usually anywhere from 3 to 8 miles away!! Imagine seeing that far in a straight line out East in the rolling and forested countryside!

The farm equipment is HUGE to handle the bigness of the farms now! The fields are now measured in hundreds of acres compared to those I remember from my days on my aunt and uncle's farm. Back then, there were often 3 or 4 farms per section--a section being one square mile of 640 acres. My cousin now owns 2 sections and farms a third up near Flandreau, SD. He grows corn to finish feed about 2500 head of cattle at a time! His cultivator measures 20 rows across to allow him to efficiently manage his crops!

The weather out on the Plains has been cold and wet. I heard on the news yesterday that in North Dakota, only 53% of the corn crop has been planted--normally by this time of year, about 81% of the crop has been put in the ground.

Before leaving Minnesota for Fargo, Ray, Tam, Betty and Jack just had to make a stop in Austin to visit--wait for it!!--THE SPAM FACTORY! There were no glowing comments about "sampling"!!

ON TO MINOT

After a two day stop in Fargo, we moved out across The Plains to Minot. We could see for miles and miles--mostly corn fields. Here are a couple of examples of The Great Plains:

Looking northwest a bit west of Fargo

A farm across the highway from a rest stop near Carrington, ND

The highest point nearby is often on a bridge over the highway!

Minot has a strong Scandinavian heritage. Thanks to the beneficence of a kind doctor, there is a heritage park which houses the visitors center, a replica of one of the oldest stave kirkes in Norway, and some other replica buildings. We took time out to walk about the grounds and poke our heads into the several buildings. Rich found a Norwegian chap to chap with....he couldn't explain what the Troll said for fear of a Trollish curse!