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Favorite thing: Fort Lincoln, Bismarck, ND is a partly reconstructed military fort well worth the visit. Don't forget to visit Custer's house which has a lot of original furniture to be seen.
Fort Lincoln

Favorite thing: When Lewis and Clark first followed the Missouri River across North Dakota just over 200 years ago they witnessed great herds of Bison (Buffalo) as far as the eye could see. There were also large numbers of Pronghorn (Antelope), and the expedition encountered their first Grizzly Bear in North Dakota. Other animals they recorded seeing included whitetail deer, moose, prairie dogs, gray wolves, and many other species.

By the late 1800s, with the advancement of white settlers, Bison and Elk had both disappeared from North Dakota. But that was then. Today both Bison and Elk have been reintroduced and have regained viable breeding herds in the state. Because of conservative agricultural practices deer and moose are probably more abundant and with wider ranges now than in pre-settlement times. Prarie dogs are holding their own, but in much smaller numbers than before wheat was planted and ranches established.

The Grizzly can now only be found in the Rocky Mountains, further west. Wolves are now very rarely seen in North Dakota, usually strays who wander over the line from Canada. However, with their demise the population of coyotes and red fox have increased.

North Dakota is also known for it's abundance of gamebirds, including pheasant, turkey, prairie chicken and numerous species of waterfowl. The best places to see waterfowl and moose are in the eastern part of the state. Deer are abundant throughout the state, and pronghorn, elk and bison are scattered in the western areas.

Fondest memory: In the Badlands of western North Dakota I saw a colony of prairie dogs beside the highway and decided to take a hike across the prairie through their "town". My presence frightened the barking rodents, so I was unable to get a good photo of them. However, about a quarter-mile from the highway I topped a small rise and saw this maginificant bull bison. I quickly took this photo and backed away. If he had come my way there would have been nowhere for me to hide except down a prairie dog hole, and I don't think I would have fit.

North Dakota Wildlife: Then and Now

Favorite thing: Get ready to hear a lot about the Missouri River in 2004 as the Lewis and Clark bicentenial kicks off. After the third U.S. President Thomas Jefferson purchased the area known as Louisianna from France, he realized that he hadn't the slightest idea what he had bought. He enlisted the aid of two intrepid explorers and journal keepers to give him an accounting of what was now the American West. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark commenced their epic journey on May 14, 1804; wintered along the Missouri at camp Mandan in 1804-05; wintered on the Oregon coast in 1805-06 and with breakneck speed were able to return to St. Louis by September 23, 1806.

The expedition utilized the Missouri River for the majority of their trip passing through what are now the states of Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota and Montana.

For more info try: www.pbs.org/lewisandclark

Favorite thing: Abandoned homesteads are all too common in rural North Dakota. The rural towns are dying and people are leaving their family farms. The population of North Dakota stood at 680,000 in 1930. According to the 2000 census the population of North Dakota is 642,000. North Dakota is one of the few, if not only, states in the U.S. to drop in total population over that seventy year span (neighboring Minnesota increased its population from 2.5 million to 4.9 million over that same time).

Favorite thing: Not exactly amber waves of grain; more like flourescent yellow waves of grain. Canola seems to be a growing cash crop in North Dakota and Saskatchewan. I've been using Canola oil in some of my cooking, but had no idea that we'd run into these intense bright fields on our journey west.

Look at: www.canola.com for more information about canola than you would ever want to know. For example, I found out that each miniscule canola seed is approximately 40% oil and that refined canola oil has a low level of saturated fat (7%) and that its level of healthy monounsaturated fat is an astounding 61%.

Favorite thing: Sure, in places, North Dakota can be a flat prairie suitable only for growing hay. But another ten or twenty miles along the road will likely bring a completely different view. North Dakota is an interesting place, but few people ever get to this northern plains state because it is so remote so scarcely populated. I enjoy driving lengthy distances (50 or more miles between towns) so North Dakota suited me just fine. People with short attention spans may do well to avoid North Dakota.

Favorite thing: North Dakota is not exactly a mountainous state. However, it is not nearly as flat as you might think. To my eye, the terrain is pleasantly sloping with an occasional large rock formation. The western part of the state is dominated by badlands that are anything but flat. Another surprising fact might be the number of ponds and marshes. The northern part of the state is very marshy and is home to all kinds of waterfowl.

Fondest memory: The amber waves of grain that are the canola fields. Canola is a relatively new crop and it turns the fields of North Dakota into a brilliant yellow tapestry.

Favorite thing: After travelling through north-woods and along great lakes, we finally made it back to the prairies. This photo could be either Minnesota or North Dakota, but as I have fewer pictures for North Dakota, so far, I'll put it in North Dakota.