Boondocking across North Dakota

North Dakota may be the 39th state admitted to the Union, but it’s the 50th state Bob and I visited. Many other people have never made it there. According to YouGov, only 14% of Americans have visited the Peace Garden State, named for the International Peace Garden that spans the boundary between North Dakota and Manitoba, Canada.

North Dakota is also known as the Roughrider State, in honor of the first volunteer cavalry organized by Theodore Roosevelt, and the Flickertale State, for its abundant ground squirrels. What the nicknames don’t tell you is that the state is the top producer of sunflowers, spring wheat, and honey, according to the nd.gov.

The 39th state is out of the way and requires intention to visit. As full-time RVers, we’ve been on a mission to see all 50 states (well, 49, since we can’t drive our fifth wheel to Hawaii), so North Dakota was on our radar. We had planned to cross into the state last year but rerouted to Plattsburgh, New York, to help with the annual CAF Airbase Arizona Flying Legends of Victory warbird tour. 

This year, we made it, entering the eastern side of the state from South Dakota and embarked on a boondocking adventure across North Dakota. 

Surprising weather

For our first night, we parked on a small dirt pad surrounded by farmland near the town of Hankinson, unprepared for the nearly 90-degree August heat. Boondocking with no electric hookups made for a very warm arrival. We decided to get up early the next morning and move to a more scenic spot near Bismarck.

Fog shrouded our early-morning drive most of the way to Fargo, the state’s largest city, with a population of nearly 138,000, according to World Population Review. There, we traded Interstate 29 for Interstate 94 and headed west against the wind. We had heard that North Dakota can be pretty windy, so we weren’t surprised by that. ​

What did catch us off guard was the number of lakes scattered across North Dakota. According to ndtourism.com, the state is home to more than 400 lakes. We thought it was all prairie land. Perhaps they caused the fog. 

A couple of hours passed before we pulled onto a little isthmus in Sweet Briar Lake and had the place all to ourselves. Out every window, we saw beautiful views of water surrounded by tall grasses. Our first night there, we had an interesting thunderstorm encounter that scared us out of the fifth wheel.

Unexpected scenery

North Dakota holds a lot of World’s Largest records. On our travels across the state, we marveled at the expansive yellow fields of sunflowers and sightings of the:

• World’s Largest Buffalo, Dakota Thunder, made out of concrete and standing 26 feet tall and weighing 60 tons
• World’s Largest Sandhill Crane, aka Sandy, a sheet metal sculpture towering 40 feet high and weighing 4.5 tons 
• World’s Largest Holstein Cow, Salem Sue, a fiberglass sculpture standing 38 feet high on top of a small mountain, stretching 50 feet long, and weighing 6 tons to recognize the city of New Salem’s dairy contribution ​

The state is also home to the Enchanted Highway, a 32-mile drive from the city of Gladstone to the town of Regent past a collection of the world’s tallest metal sculptures, the brainchild of a man who grew up in Regent and wanted to share his town with others. The seven sculptures include Geese in Flight, the World’s Largest Scrap Metal Sculpture and the only one visible from Interstate 94. ​

Picturesque badlands

After a few peaceful days at Sweet Briar Lake (once the thunderstorm passed), we moved on to the western part of the state. The Great Plains gave way to prairie grasslands and badlands. Unlike the flat eastern part of the state, the west is hilly and offers varied scenery. It’s also home to Theodore Roosevelt National Park. 

We boondocked in the grasslands near the small city of Medora, population less than 200. Our camping spot gave us beautiful views of a valley and the badlands. On hot days, Bob powered up the generator to run one of our two air conditioners, which helped. It’s a good thing he rewired the rig to enable that.

Across the state of North Dakota, we encountered friendly people and a relaxed pace of life. We may never make it back there again as it took nearly 60 years for us to get there the first time, but we’re glad we made the effort. It was well worth the experience. 

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