Fargo ND

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We hadn’t put much thought into exactly what our route back to Florida was going to be. Back in June, we had reserved a spot in Marquette Michigan for a couple weeks in mid September with the idea of heading back into the Upper Peninsula to do some more work on the Habitat for Humanity homes. We were there at the time and really enjoyed the area and working with that affiliate. Since we had an open schedule, it seemed like as good as place as any to return. But over the past couple months, we realized there was still more to see and do in Minnesota and Wisconsin and returning to a place we spent 2 weeks didn’t seem to be the best way to spend the beginning of the fall season. I had also recently received a message from relatives in Ohio asking where in Minnesota we were. She explained that they were heading to Grand Rapids for a her high school reunion. After confirming she was talking about the much smaller town of Grand Rapids Minnesota instead of the twenty times larger city of Grand Rapids Michigan, I told her we were actually planning on an overnight in Grand Rapids on our way across Minnesota as we headed to the U.P. Unfortunately our dates were going to be a couple days apart.

Serendipity presents itself in odd ways, but we took this as a sign to adjust our travel schedule to see a few different parts of Minnesota we had heard good things about and get in a visit with relatives. We investigated campgrounds in the North Shore area of the state and what route and dates would work out. We also were able to cancel our reservation in Marquette and get back all but a $20 cancellation fee. With that planning done, we had a couple of days before we needed to head to Grand Rapids. While we likely could have just extended our stay here at Turtle River State Park in North Dakota since it hasn’t been very crowded and the days we needed to cover were mid week, we decided we had seen most of the area and were ready for a change. We contemplated heading even further north but that would have made the drive back to Minnesota too long so we opted to check out another place in North Dakota - the picture below should give a clue!

Chris Reenacts a Scene from Fargo

It’s about 100 miles south on I-29 to Fargo. One unusual aspect of the drive was that they actually seem to treat the sides of the roads like hay fields. We saw large round bales all along the expressway during our drive. I suppose if the grass can be put to good use, it makes sense. Since we were only going to spend two nights in Fargo, we considered simply staying at the Elks Lodge but it was unclear the parking situation would work for our size of rig so we picked out a small city park that had availability. Lindenwood Park is right on the Red River. They have around 40 sites, most with views of the river and Minnesota on the other side. The site we picked was far from level, but it didn’t look like many of them were any better so we made do.

Cool Brickwork on Rest Area Building Along I-29

Chris had discovered that there is an unusual facility just across the river from Fargo in its sister city of Moorhead Minnesota. The Hjemkomst Center has some interesting displays celebrating the regions Norwegian culture and best of all, there is no charge for admission on Tuesday evening’s. We had a bit of time to kill so we head off to check out Northern Plains Botanic Garden on the north side of town. It’s not a huge place and seems to be still under development but there were nice walking paths and plenty of flowers in bloom.

Path in Botanic Garden

Zinnia Variety

There are many different sections to the gardens including an edible forest, children’s garden, fairy garden and rain garden. It was a good way to spend some time.

Checking Out the Edibles

Fairy House

There is a really neat old farmhouse right on the corner of the parking lot for the garden but it didn’t appear to be open.

Vibrant Cockscomb

Treasure Flower

Beautiful Old Farm House

It’s a short drive over to the Hjemkomst Center just across the river into Minnesota. It’s a rather unusual looking building with some sort of tall white tent behind the main building. It doesn’t take long before we understand the reason for the huge tent.

Hjemkomst Center in Moorhead MN

Viking Ship

While this place is all about the Norwegian people that settled in this part of the country, the main reason for the center being here is the Viking ship with its full mast and sails - thus the need for the huge tent. The history of this vessel is explained in a short video at the Hjemkomst Center. Robert Asp was a guidance counselor at a local school and had a dream of building a replica Viking ship and sailing it from Minnesota to Norway! He studied details of these types of ship and in 1974 he began construction. Most of the work was a solo project with some volunteers helping him. He fell the logs and milled the lumber to create the 77 foot long vessel with a 63 foot mast.

Igor on the Ship's Bow

Closer View of Ship Construction

Stern Decoration

During the years it took to build the ship, he was diagnosed with leukemia. Robert did get to sail the vessel on Lake Superior in 1980 before he died. In 1982, his family and friends embarked on the ambitious journey of sailing to Norway. The route started across the Great Lakes then the Erie Canal to the Hudson River before making the crossing across the Atlantic Ocean. Given that most of the people sailing the boat were not experienced sailors, the fact that they actually completed the journey is somewhat amazing. We wandered around the boat and checked out the numerous displays. They have constructed a viewing platform on one side that allows visitors to see the cramped quarters. There was a crew of 12 people that made the crossing in about 6 weeks from New York City to Norway.

View from Above

There is also a stave church just outside the main building and they offer guided tours periodically. We had some time before the tour was to begin so we check out some of the rest of the center. There are lots of displays explaining the history of Moorhead and its heritage.

Red River Cart

Norwegian Dresses

Photography Display

Our tour guide arrived and a dozen visitors joined him on the tour of the stave church replica. Built by a local resident on the site behind the ship, the Hopperstad Church is a replica of one he studied in Vik, Norway which was built in 1130 AD. This beautiful wooden building is much younger - built between the years of 1996 and 2001. The carved entrance is pretty amazing.

Replica Stave Church

Ornate Door

Having built and lived in a timber frame house, we really appreciated the craftsmanship that went into the construction of this building. Obviously this place is just a bit more ornate but given its purpose, it is still elegant. The guide was able to explain how the various aspects of the church were used. This replica can even be rented out for smaller wedding ceremonies.

Expansive Ceiling

Detailed Design

The next day, we want to check out more of Fargo. It seems like the most popular tourist destination is the local visitors center. It’s located right off of Interstate 94 an exit west of Interstate 29 so it is definitely easy to get to. We have both an Adventure Lab and geocache to find before heading inside. Outside is the backup wood chipper from the movie Fargo. This one is accessible even if the visitor center is closed so if you pass through after hours and still want the photo op, you’ll be able to get the shot.

Stage 1 of the Geocache at Visitor Center

Backup Wood Chipper Outside

Colorful Bison

Inside there is all sorts of the typical information you would expect for local attractions as well as other places in North Dakota and across the border in Minnesota. We wander around and see if there is anything we should consider. It looks like we could have spent a week in Fargo and not gotten bored but our newly revised plan only permits one full day. At least we were able to get in a couple things yesterday afternoon. The main attraction inside is the actual chipper from the movie. The staff has gone the extra mile and placed props in the chipper opening. Chris seemed to have too big of a smile on her face as she shoved the leg into it. (photo at beginning)

We had already decided we wanted to check out a place called Bonanzaville a bit further west of downtown Fargo. It’s run by the county historical society and has all sorts of buildings, items and displays from this region on its 12 acre property. As we got a couple blocks from our destination, the place seemed to be packed with well over 100 cars. We weren’t expecting such a crowd on a Wednesday morning. But as we made the turn into the parking, we discover that the crowd wasn’t at Bonanzaville but the neighboring fairgrounds. It turns out the Big Iron Farm and Construction Show was in progress and the place was packed. I’ll admit, it looked like that might have been more fun but we stick with our original plan.

Bonanzaville Entrance

The entrance brings us into the main museum which has a very wide range of items from the region including many Native items of clothing and tools. Many of the things have a sign detailing who donated the items and there were a few donations that almost looked to be given as a simple way of a family getting rid of items they don’t want to keep. But for the most part there were some really interesting items displayed here.

Bison and Calves

Native Garb

1882 Steam Powered Case Thresher

We spent well over 30 minutes just in this one building taking in all they have to offer.

Large Loom

1903 Ford Model A

Beautiful Stained Glass Panels

We head out of the main museum and start walking around the rest of the grounds. The old grain elevator building was built in the 1920’s and is kept in excellent shape given it’s a century old.

Trangsrud Grain Elevator

Next door is the Embden Depot and train shed. There are several old Northern Pacific rail cars including an 1883 steam locomotive, caboose, train snow plow and a 1930 passenger car. Only the passenger car was open to the public.

Kitchen

Passenger Coach

Nice Interior

Locomotive

Continuing down the lane, we find the Kathryn Depot which houses a model railroading club’s train setup. Most buildings are open but there weren’t any staff members wandering around. In fact we only saw one other couple that was visiting while we were there.

Water Tower

Kathryn Depot

Barber Shop

The Hunter Times building has a lot of newspaper printing equipment on display. They also have what’s claimed to be the first house built in Fargo in 1869.

Newspaper Printing Equipment

Fargo's First House

Cabin Interior

The Bjerklie Drug Store was interesting to us. Besides the large number of old time items on the shelves, we read the history of this store and realized that it was a drug store located in Gilby North Dakota where we had just come from a few days ago.

The South Pleasant Lutheran Church is a pretty building that was relocated here back in 2015. There is a reception hall in the basement and Bonanzaville rents the facility out for weddings and receptions.

South Pleasant Church

Church Interior

The Dobrinz Schoolhouse was built in 1895 and has a lot of old desks that looked very similar to those I used in grade school. The old Cass County Courthouse isn’t the original building but all the furnishings are from the old building. Chris appreciated the huge bell out front.

Classroom

Bell Outside Courthouse

Original Courthouse Furnishings

There are a few old houses across from the school and courthouse that had some very fancy furniture and decorations including a couple huge bearskin rugs.

Kitchen

Nice Needlework

Large Bearskin Rug

The south side of Bonanzaville has larger pole barns to house the vast number of tractors. Not all of them are John Deere green but it did seem to be the most popular manufacturer on display. One of the buildings seemed to have a large number of new Bobcat skid steers. On our way out we asked why they were on display but it was simply space that a local dealer uses to store some inventory.

Tractors Galore

Old Dozer

Bigger Crawler Tractor

New Skid Steer

The old firehouse had some retired fire trucks and other memorabilia but I found the wagon with 18 red buckets definitely showed off the history of the term “bucket brigade”. Next door was the Brass Rail Saloon and Hotel. We were underwhelmed by the Bridal Suite upstairs.

Eagle Statue

Fire Brigade

Bridal Suite

The Dahl Car Museum has a huge collection of old vehicles. It looks like the Fargo police donate cars as they are upgraded. The Model-T snowmobile seems to be a fitting addition to the museum given how harsh the winters can be this far north. The REO Speedwagon had me singing a song of theirs in my head as we checked it out. While not nearly as expansive as the Gilmore Car Museum in Michigan, there were some interesting vehicles.

Retired Police Cars

Ford Model T Snowmobile

1910 REO Speedster

1908 Brush Runabout

The Cass-Clay Creamery was pretty neat too. They have all sorts of old equipment used to make ice cream. Too bad they didn’t have any samples to offer us.

Let's Make Ice Cream!

The Eagles Air Museum has over 20 aircraft. Obviously not as comprehensive as the museum in Oshkosh Wisconsin, the were some neat old planes on display.

1940 Vultee BT-13A

1966 Air Force Snow Machine

One of the more hands on buildings was the Telephone Pioneers Museum. This building has all sorts of telephone equipment from the early days. There were several stations where we could pick up a phone, dial a number and watch and hear all the various relays and switches operating to have the call go through and ring a phone across the room. Obviously, technology has advanced greatly since the mid 1900's but some of this style equipment was still in use back in my childhood.

Telephone Museum

We spent about 4 hours exploring Bonanzaville and actually enjoyed it. We debated about going over to the fairgrounds and check out some new equipment but we were tired of walking around and didn’t feel like dealing with the crowds after coming from a deserted place. We opted to grab a few highly favorited geocaches around town and work our way over to Drekker Brewing Company.

Drekker Brewing

Lots of Beer on Tap

This was in a neat old factory of some sort so there were all sorts of exposed timbers and pipes. They actually have several vendors taking up some of the spots in the huge facility so we can get a beer and wander around the stores. They even have 2 taprooms on each end of the building so you’re never far from a fresh beer. They have a creative geocache hidden in a courtyard outside and the people sitting at the tables nearby didn’t even notice what we were up to.

Overlooking the Brewing Area

Old Smokestack

Nice Open Bar Area

We felt obligated to pick up some Broken Rudder beer to come with us. It’s not quite spelled the same but it actually was a good tasting beer. We definitely short changed our stop in Fargo. It’s not likely we will ever get this way again but if we are traveling east or west along Interstate 94 in the future, we will need to stop and spend some more time and possibly get some more of our namesake beer. Next stop - back into Minnesota to Grand Rapids.

Broken Rudder