Upside Down Under: Rural North Dakota at its best...

This winter in North Dakota has been remarkable for a lot of reasons and because of it, I took advantage and did some traveling across the state.

The farmers’ market manager in Wahpeton contacted me about the lack of vendors at her market. It seemed like a desperate situation and because of Wahpeton’s size, I decided to take a trip and meet with her about those issues.

But, this isn’t about that meeting. Unlike most others who would go across the state on an interstate or U.S. highway, I traveled the backroads all the way to Wahpeton. If I had gone to Grand Forks, then south, my trip would have been 360 miles. Instead, because of the roads I took, it was

440 miles. But I enjoyed every minute of it.

Two years ago, I went to Missouri to visit my brother and instead of getting on I-29, I took the backroads through the states of South Dakota, Kansas and Nebraska. It took longer to get there, but was completely worth it.

Years ago I lived in Edgeley, but had forgotten most of what is east of there and it had been 40 years since I was in Wahpeton.

When you take trips like this, you get to see a lot of things and meet a lot of people you wouldn’t otherwise meet on an interstate or major freeway. My schedule was such that I had plenty of time to get to Wahpeton for my meeting so I took full advantage of it.

Living northwest of Minot, I took Highway 83 to Bismarck, then took N.D. Highway 1804 from Bismarck south, connecting to an Emmons County road west of Hazelton. From there, it was back to U.S. 83 to Linton and N.D. Highway 13 which would take me all the way across the state to Wahpeton.

Growing up in Hazelton, seeing my hometown and Linton wasn’t anything new because I’m so familiar with both communities. But from there, it seemed like quite an adventure.

My first stop was Stan’s Super Valu in Wishek which has the best sausage in the world. Step into that store and you immediately smell the wood chips smoking the sausages. Wishek is also home to Barney the Badger, a statue representing the high school mascot.

From there it was onto Lehr, a unique little community that sits in two counties; Logan and McIntosh. Between Kulm and Edgeley there’s a massive wind farm that certainly wasn’t there when I lived in Edgeley.

Twenty miles east of Edgeley is LaMoure which boasts the Omega Tower, a Navy communications tower that is capable of the relay of radio signals from one ocean to the other. It’s an amazing site just west of town.

From there you wind up in Verona and either have to go north to Lisbon or south to Oakes. And because N.D. 13 took me south, that’s where I went, almost all the way to Oakes before turning east. That’s also where I met N.D. Highway 1, which is one of the few highways that goes completely dissects the state from north to south.

Next stop was Gwinner. This community in Sargent County is known for its Melroe manufacturing plant. Gwinner is also a community that is completely different than I remembered it from 40 years ago. Also in Gwinner, it was time for a stop and a chat with some people in a convenience store.

Then, it’s Wyndmere and you cross I-29 before traveling another 10 miles into Wahpeton.

There was a lot to see and too much to describe in this article. Interesting driveways, beautiful lawns, a mall in the small town of LaMoure, massive cattle ranches and unique school buildings. In Wahpeton, it was a modern college and lots of manufacturing plants.

Those of us who complain about how dull North Dakota is, need to take some of these backroads and you’ll never say that again. There is a lot to see in this state and you’re not going to find it on the major highways.

(Marvin Baker is a news writer for the Kenmare News and formerly Foster County Independent.)