Big things in North Dakota

The world's largest. Holstein cow Salem Sue. The world's largest Buffalo: unnamed in Jamestown. North Dakota likes 'em big. And by the way, the buffalo is male. In case you wondered.

We saw the North Dakota Capitol. It's big too. 22 stories of Art Deco splendor. You can see it from miles in all directions. Lawrence Welk has a special place on the wall. So does Peggy Lee. And not a single security guard or metal detector in sight.

On the banks of the Missouri River near Bismarck is Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park. It celebrates three things: 1) the Mandan people, 2) the cavalry fort where Sakakawea teamed up with Lewis and Clark and where General Custer and his men lived and from where they launched their Little Bighorn campaign; and 3) the Civilian Conservation Corps and all they did to build state and national park infrastructure. Mostly a tale of heroics and everyday goodness. Partly a tale of misguided hubris. I'll leave it up to you to sort out which is which.

Note: It takes a long time to drive across North Dakota. But it really is beautiful. Fields of sunflowers or soy beans or corn. Bales of hay for as far as the eye can see.Tall grasses flowing in the wind. The lyric, "amber waves of grain" is so alive here. The stark badlands (more on this in the next post). The oil boom will likely change the state in some way -- hopefully not too much.