Life In These Plains

I have lived in North Dakota for nearly 6 years now. I often have people ask me what it is like to live here. The reactions I get are varied. Many people are surprised to learn that real people do indeed live here. Most people that I meet in my travels have never been to North Dakota and I once read that it is one of the least visited states in America. I think some people are under the impression that there are really only 49 states and the rest of the country just uses North Dakota for storage!! I am here to proclaim that it is alive and well. The thing that probably defines this land the most for me are the wide open spaces, simplicity of life, and the character of the people. There are many wide open spaces. We do have those type of towns here where the population signs show 12 or maybe 20 people live in that particular town. One town west of here called Tenney falls under this category. We don't have many traffic lights out here. In fact, our town of Ellendale is a no traffic light town. There used to be a blinking light here, but that was removed about 5 years ago. You can drive for miles out here and often the only things you will see are silos, corn fields, sunflowers, and the occasional pheasant smashed against your windshield. ( I have netted 3 of these!!) As I said, life is simple here too. I live in a small town of around 1500 people, but I can walk to the hardware store, check my mail, pick up some milk and bread at the local market, make a deposit at the bank, and get my haircut all in less than 1 hour. Other places may have more amenities and conveniences, but it is very easy and convenient to get around. I get stressed out if 3 cars arrive at a 4 way stop at approximately the same time. That happens to me at least once a month here!!! Finally, the people here are very unique. They take a little while to warm up to most folks, but they are very genuine 'salt of the earth' type of people. People here know you by your first name and there are strong bonds amongst these communities that dot the plains of America. I have a quick little story that illustrates life in North Dakota. I was up in Fargo a few months ago with my family to get away for the weekend. My two oldest kids and I decided to take in a North Dakota State football game at the last minute. We were at the hotel swimming when we made the decision about 40 minutes before the opening kickoff. We jumped out of the pool, changed clothes and headed off for the Dome about 7-8 miles away. We had no tickets and I know that NDSU usually sells out their games, so we left knowing that getting in could be a challenge. We arrived at the parking area in front of the Fargodome about 10 minutes before kickoff and the parking attendant informed us that the game was sold out. I was flustered and I heard sighs of disappointment from my two children in the backseat. I paused for a few seconds not knowing what to do. I had to make a decision soon as other cars were waiting behind me. After a brief silence, the attendant mentioned that there was one extra ticket that had been found and turned in. He offered to go and get it for me from his booth while I waited. He came back 30 seconds later with one ticket and then said he wouldn't charge me for parking because my chances of getting in with one ticket weren't all that good. I thanked him for the ticket and free parking and moved on with just a little bit of hesitation. I parked the car and hurriedly walked with the kids towards the stadium trying to explain to them that our chances were still slim as we only had one ticket. Finally, we reached the main entrance and about that time another man came up and offered us a ticket. My eyes lit up and I said "how much"? He looked surprised and refused my money while extending his hand with the ticket. I now had 2 free tickets, free parking, but it was all for nothing if I could not secure another ticket. I stood for probably 30 more seconds with the kids, the way someone who might be waiting for the last lottery number to be called might be before they see if that last number is a winning combination. Time was running short and the kickoff was just moments away. To top it all off, another older gentleman walked up to us and said his wife was sick and couldn't make it to the game. He asked if we would like to have his ticket. A big smile came across my kid's faces as they realized that the seemingly improbable was now about to happen. This man refused my money like the previous giver and soon we were off to enter into the Dome. We still had one small problem. All three tickets were located in different areas of the stadium and my children were 6 and 8 respectively, so letting them sit alone was out of the question. We entered into the stadium with a plan to look for empty seats. The start of the game was delayed a few minutes because it was senior night. This bought us some time to figure out this next obstacle. We made our way around the stadium with no success in finding 3 empty seats together. Finally, I approached an usher in one of the seating areas who just happened to locate 3 empty seats about 10 rows from the field right behind the North Dakota State bench. I told him about having 3 tickets in 3 different sections, and he smiled and led me and the kids down to our new seats. What an adventure!! It was also a great game that went down to the wire and the kids had a good time being there. I have lived in many other parts of the country and the chances of something like this happening elsewhere would be slim to none.
Living here and raising a family has been a positive experience for us, but it is not without its challenges. The winters are rough and -30 to -45 temperatures are not uncommon. It can get cold like this and stay below 0 degrees for weeks at a time. High winds are prevalent and the threat of tornados and flooding are a regular part of life here during the summer months. The last and probably worst thing about my time here has been the mosquitoes. They swarm like bees during the summer and I have never seen anything like it. There is a reason why they call them the state bird in this part of the country. They can ruin a barbecue or golf outing or anything else you might try to do in the summer. I must say I will not miss these pests when it comes time to leave. All in all, our time here has been a very positive one and this community has been very good to us. We will surely come back to visit the friends we have made in the future. The picture below was taken the day after a big snowstorm in downtown Ellendale. Lights out.

Who said North Dakota doesn't have roundabouts?