Welcome to North Dakota

I have to hand it to North Dakotans - they definitely have a sense of humor. The first thing that greets you in the Fargo visitors' center is the wood chipper from the movie "Fargo" - complete with a fake leg sticking out. If you haven't seen the movie, you won't understand, but I was suitably impressed at the audaciousness of it. And greatly amused.

Also today, I also saw a replica Viking ship (it was built by a school teacher in the seventies, and then, after he died of leukemia, sailed to Norway by his children in 1982) and a replica Viking Stave Kirk (church), both at the Hjemkomst Museum across the river in Moorhead, Minnesota.

After Fargo, though, the rest of North Dakota seems pretty much empty. Endless prairie stretching out to the horizon, with only the occasional small hill or clump of short trees to break up the monotony.

I made it to Medora and camped for the night - so glad I went with a decent tent from REI for the trip. Even though this was the first time I'd actually used the tent, I was able to get it up in no time, even in the dark.

Tomorrow - Theodore Roosevelt National Park, and then on to Montana.