North Dakota

We passed through North Dakota pretty quickly. After spending the night at Sioux Falls, SD, we visited the falls and headed north. Karen needs to walk as much as I need to sit and read. So she walked all over the falls that morning. It was great for her. It was great for me. I just finished the book I was reading by the falls. More about it below.

We spent the night in Fargo. Karen and I are trying to visit many of the states we missed in the U.S. South Dakota was my first new state. North Dakota was her first new state. We decided that we needed to spend the night in the state to make it a legitimate visit. But there really wasn't anything we wanted to see in North Dakota. So we visited the Hjemkomst Interpretive Center in Moorhead, MN.

This isn't a horrible cheat. Moorhead and Fargo are part of one urban center. Hjemkomst is the result of one man's dream to build a full-size model of a viking ship and sail it to Norway. When he was almost done with the boat, he learned that he had leukemia and died before he could sail it. His three sons and one daughter sailed it for him. It's a pretty moving story. Karen cried all the way through the movie.

They also built a stave church on the property, similar to ones found in Norway. Okay, I'm a little more cynical. I think these people have too much time on their hands. I believe Karen had those same thoughts because she said so about the heads carved by a local guy for the altar. It is a beautiful thing, however. A lot of care was taken.

We realized early on that we needed to watch our money. 4 weeks is a long time for motels and meals out. At first we were going to Super 8 motels. They provide breakfast of sorts. We ate a lot of Raisin Bran. But then we discovered Motel 6. Man, this is the way to live. Sort of clean rooms, a roof over our head, and a cup of coffee on the way out the door. Needless to say, we are looking forward to our splurge accomodations in Chicago. Full pictures with that one. And in the meantime, we'll be leaving the light on for you at our Motel 6s.

This is the book I just finished, Out Stealing Horses. It is beautifully written by a Norwegian, Per Petersen. It was nominated for a Times Book Prize. I've had this book since April. Better late than never. It's about a 67 year old man who is living with his dog in a secluded home in rural Norway. He meets a neighbor and a lot of his past comes back to him. The story jumps all over the place, WWII, 1948, and today. I wish I could tell you how well that is done. It is wonderful. I don't know if people who like mysteries and intrigue will like the book, but people who like a well-thought-out sentence will like it. And a lot of stuff happens. You just have to be ready to hear about it in a very nonlinear fashion.

The Ramblers