Unique Places in North Dakota

Take some of the backroads in North Dakota. Many old farmsteads have buildings still standing, and you can practically feel the old ghosts talking to you. Even many of the current farms have a bucolic quality. This farm is on a scenic drive that follows the Sheyenne river from Valley City to Fort Ransom.

I would never have gone to White Butte if it were not for my goal to visit the highest point in every state. White Butte, 3,506-feet, is not in a park, but on the private Van Eason Farm. No road or established trail leads to the top of White Butte. The only way to get there is to park at the Van Eason home and hike along a cow trail, about 3/4 mile across the prairie and up the side of the butte. The Van Easons are congenial people and allow "highpointers" like myself to traipse across their property for a small fee. Please be respectful of their privacy and their property if you do so. Close fences behind you.

From the top of White Butte you can see miles of cultivated fields, however, the butte itself resembles some of the most the severe terrain of the Badlands, 100 miles to the north. Local folks say there are many rattlesnakes in this area, and for that reason some locals are afraid to climb the butte. I was not fortunate enough to encounter a rattler on my trip.

Contact:
Joseph Vandaele
HC1, Box 4
Amidon, ND 58620

Directions:
White Butte is in the southwestern corner of North Dakota, just east of US-85, about 7 miles south of the tiny town of Amidon and 18 miles north of Bowman.

It certainly is out of the way, on the border with Manitoba just south of Brandon. It is west of the (so-called) Turtle Mountains, actually mere lumps that are one of the few places in the eastern half of the state that goes up. The gardens are lovely in the summer, and anyone who goes there gets their picture taken on a bench on the border, one cheek in the US and the other in Canada.

This road runs from Gladstone (exit 72 on Interstate 94) south to the town of regent. It is filled with various metal sculptures and is actually adds some excitement to an otherwise boring drive. This falls into the "Ball of Twine" category for me, that is: If you would drive somewhere to see a ball of twine, you will probably like this, if not, you probably won't.

Always a family favorite. Prairie Dogs are highly socialized rodents. They live in communities of up to hundreds of members. They tirelessly tunnel under the prairie, building an interconnected complex of warrens. The communities are known as prairie dog towns. It is useless to try to approach prairie dogs because they will pop down into their underground fortifications. However, if you are polite and quiet it is possible to observe hundreds of prairie dogs as they go about their business in their "town".

At the southern end of the "Enchanted Highway" is the smaller than small town of Regent, population two hundred and change. The only sight that I could make out in Regent was this ancient thresher. Interestingly enough, it was purchased by H.G. Anderson in 1925 (I could have sworn old H.G. bought it back in '23). Oh well, you find your fun where you can get it.

Stanton, North Dakota: population 516. Seventy miles from Bismarck and hundreds of miles from anywhere else. A pleasant enough place in the summer, but one wonders what do the locals do in the dead of winter when the winds roll across the prairies and the temperatures dip well below zero.

I love this place. No, it is not a service station circa 1954. It is a rest stop circa 2002. In Minnesota and in most states in the U.S. we have very bland rest stops with the requisite map, drinking fountain (by the way who is brave enough to drink from a fountain at a rest stop?) and bathrooms. In North Dakota they have decided to jazz up the rest stops. I'm all for it. Good on you, North Dakota.