After I thoroughly scoured every crumb and smear of red velvet cake from our hotel room walls and carpet, we hit the road for home.
Side note: My travel philosophy includes a huge leave the place as you found it, if not better, clause.
Did I mention we successfully re-homed our box family? What with the extra room, Teresa and I settled into the back of the mini van for the long trip. Little did we know, we'd be stopping sooner than we thought.
 |
| My OCD is ridiculous. |
Did I mention we successfully re-homed our box family? What with the extra room, Teresa and I settled into the back of the mini van for the long trip. Little did we know, we'd be stopping sooner than we thought.
Another travel philosophy I absolutely adhere to 100% is "Have an Adventure." To achieve this you must keep in mind:
*Go with the flow. If something piques your interest, stop and look, but don't stress. Nothing hurts an adventure more than anxiety.
*Ask open ended questions. Talk to people; let them tell you their life story. Some of the best adventures I've stumbled upon came from me just listening to people.
*Take in your surroundings. From the smallest pebble to the biggest building, notice everything around you. Something will pop out.
And most importantly
*WANT AN ADVENTURE. If you truly aren't open to having a memorable experience you'll completely overlook the possibilities right under your nose.
Enter The Enchanted Highway.
(Also known as the only reason to ever go back to North Dakota).
This stretch of country road is an incredible testament to the power of what one person can do. Local teacher Gary Greff feared that without some sort of landmark to interest tourists, his small home town of Regent, ND would die off, becoming yet another forgotten ghost town. So what did he do? He imagined a stretch of highway dotted with larger than life art. Gary learned how to weld and before you can say "sodder," the first statue was in place and the magic of one person's dream took flight.
The best part is Gary wanted no fiscal return for his work. He genuinely desired to capture a traveler's attention and inspire them with the art. While we only had time to see the most recent addition "Deer Crossing," it was enough to get us to donate all our cash to the cause.
On our way to find an open business to leave our offering for funding future endeavors, we came upon some older buildings. These structures seemed to hold that small, dilapidated town feel I can never resist. Old buildings always make me feel oddly alive, like I'm breathing/walking through the past; a past that somehow stood the test of time and generations to remind people of what once was. I got to see and touch something that has survived all adversaries. These structures also stood as a silent witness to the ruin Gary hopes to fight off.
We stood with them.
Enter The Enchanted Highway.
(Also known as the only reason to ever go back to North Dakota).
 |
This stretch of country road is an incredible testament to the power of what one person can do. Local teacher Gary Greff feared that without some sort of landmark to interest tourists, his small home town of Regent, ND would die off, becoming yet another forgotten ghost town. So what did he do? He imagined a stretch of highway dotted with larger than life art. Gary learned how to weld and before you can say "sodder," the first statue was in place and the magic of one person's dream took flight.
The best part is Gary wanted no fiscal return for his work. He genuinely desired to capture a traveler's attention and inspire them with the art. While we only had time to see the most recent addition "Deer Crossing," it was enough to get us to donate all our cash to the cause.
 | ||
| See that ant to the right... Yeah that's me. |
On our way to find an open business to leave our offering for funding future endeavors, we came upon some older buildings. These structures seemed to hold that small, dilapidated town feel I can never resist. Old buildings always make me feel oddly alive, like I'm breathing/walking through the past; a past that somehow stood the test of time and generations to remind people of what once was. I got to see and touch something that has survived all adversaries. These structures also stood as a silent witness to the ruin Gary hopes to fight off.
We stood with them.
No comments:
Post a Comment