pathfinder
Nov-09-2007, 05:35 PM
A few threads down on this forum was a poster asking about travelling on Blue Highways. Blue highways are the smaller, less heavily travelled state and federal highways that are used mostly for local traffic, rather than the major interstate highways that always look very much alike at each exit, whether in California, or Mississippi, or Virgina.
I first became aware of the term blue highways in the book,"Blue Highways", written by William Least-Heat Moon in 1982. "Blue Highways" is his travelogue of his experience traveling America on back roads, after he decided to chuck everything he owned into a van and hit the road, after finding out that he had lost his job, and his wife on the same dismal day.
I love traveling blue highways because you never know just what is around the bend or over the hill. After the shootout in Glacier, Nightingale and I decided to take the blue highways back to Indiana as much as possible.
We departed Glacier, swept down across Montana and into North Dakota. I posted several images of Montana backroads here (http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=73150)
Lots of scenes like this
http://Pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/205847846-L.jpg
We spent the night just west of Theodore Roosevelt National Park, so that we could spend half a day in the park next morning.
T Roosevelt Nat Park
http://Pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/203827271-L.jpg
Which we did; and we saw the usual suspects.
Buffalo
http://Pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/214304457-L.jpg
"I see you!!"
http://Pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/214303783-L.jpg
Song dogs - lots and lots and lots of song dogs ( aka prairie dogs )
http://Pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/205348066-L.jpg
antelope
http://Pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/204176455-XL.jpg
We passed by Greaper, who had raced ahead of us the previous morning, on his way out of TR Nat Park.
Then we headed east, racing home on I-94, when a blue highway reached out and grabbed us, and pulled us off the Interstate, and onto the little asphalt path called The Enchanted Highway (http://www.realnd.com/enchantedhighwayindex.htm) at exit 72.
Now, I had never heard of The Enchanted Highway, and Nightingale was asleep, so I made an executive decision and turned south on the Enchanted Highway that leads to Regent, North Dakota in the late afternoon sun. The sign at the exit said we were about to see the largest out door metal sculptures in the world. ( I wonder if they were including the Statue of Liberty in that boast)
At exit 72 was the first sculpture "Geese in Flight" - http://www.realnd.com/images/enchantedhighwayphoto1.jpg
We had not gone very far south when we saw the first installment, Deer Crossing - http://www.realnd.com/enchantedhighwayphoto2.htm
When we were there, there was only one deer statue still erect, the other was pipe fallen to the ground. It is hard to get a feeling for scale here, but the doe is 50 feet long and 50 feet tall
http://Pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/207850316-XL.jpg
The sun was getting low, and we had no real idea what lay ahead of us, so we soldiered on, to Grasshoppers in the Field
http://Pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/218432775-XL.jpg
http://Pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/218428621-L.jpg
The sun was getting lower, as we approached the fishing well, which is not listed on the website (http://www.realnd.com/enchantedhighwayindex.htm)
http://Pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/218427219-L.jpg
These two fish are the size of a city bus.
http://Pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/218426752-L.jpg
http://Pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/218431422-L.jpg
Next, was the Pheasants on the Prairie. Again the massive scale of these is hard to appreciate, but notice Nightingale in the lower right corner of the first image. The pheasant rooster weighs 13,000 pounds.....The little chick weighs 5,000 pounds.
http://Pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/218436462-XL.jpg
http://Pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/218433075-L.jpg
On we went, racing the sun, to "TR Rides Again" which ways a mere 9,000 pounds and is 51 feet tall.
http://Pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/218429145-L.jpg
Immediately in front of the statue of TR, is a stage coach that is more approachable in size
http://Pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/218457846-L.jpg
Time and sunlight were running out as we raced up the road, to the Tin Man and his Family. Tin Man and his Wife are 45 feet tall, that is as tall as a five story building...
http://Pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/218429641-XL.jpg
http://Pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/218458209-XL.jpg
http://Pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/218458746-XL.jpg
As we pushed farther south, on the small asphalt highway leading to Regent, we saw hundreds of real pheasants on the road and in the grass as we passed.
http://Pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/205347000-L.jpg
http://Pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/205347540-L.jpg
In the town itself were more intriguing metal sculptures along main street, and an Enchanted Highway Gift shop, which was unfortunately closed.
Regent native, Gary Greff, was the artist responsible, but the farmers and families of the surrounding areas provided the raw materials, muscle and sweat, and capital, and land to make this all possible. Each of these sculptures encompasses at least an acre or two of ground for the statue and the adjacent parking and picnic area. The parking areas are covered with crushed white rock. I am impressed by the effort that these art works entailed to completion.
This is why I love to travel blue highways, and discover, new to me, unknown gems of American enterprise and ingenuity.
I hope you all enjoyed my trip down this Blue Highway, the Enchanted Highway (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4582125) in North Dakota. It is worth the trip.
See you on the road.
Keep the rubber side down!
I first became aware of the term blue highways in the book,"Blue Highways", written by William Least-Heat Moon in 1982. "Blue Highways" is his travelogue of his experience traveling America on back roads, after he decided to chuck everything he owned into a van and hit the road, after finding out that he had lost his job, and his wife on the same dismal day.
I love traveling blue highways because you never know just what is around the bend or over the hill. After the shootout in Glacier, Nightingale and I decided to take the blue highways back to Indiana as much as possible.
We departed Glacier, swept down across Montana and into North Dakota. I posted several images of Montana backroads here (http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=73150)
Lots of scenes like this
http://Pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/205847846-L.jpg
We spent the night just west of Theodore Roosevelt National Park, so that we could spend half a day in the park next morning.
T Roosevelt Nat Park
http://Pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/203827271-L.jpg
Which we did; and we saw the usual suspects.
Buffalo
http://Pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/214304457-L.jpg
"I see you!!"
http://Pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/214303783-L.jpg
Song dogs - lots and lots and lots of song dogs ( aka prairie dogs )
http://Pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/205348066-L.jpg
antelope
http://Pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/204176455-XL.jpg
We passed by Greaper, who had raced ahead of us the previous morning, on his way out of TR Nat Park.
Then we headed east, racing home on I-94, when a blue highway reached out and grabbed us, and pulled us off the Interstate, and onto the little asphalt path called The Enchanted Highway (http://www.realnd.com/enchantedhighwayindex.htm) at exit 72.
Now, I had never heard of The Enchanted Highway, and Nightingale was asleep, so I made an executive decision and turned south on the Enchanted Highway that leads to Regent, North Dakota in the late afternoon sun. The sign at the exit said we were about to see the largest out door metal sculptures in the world. ( I wonder if they were including the Statue of Liberty in that boast)
At exit 72 was the first sculpture "Geese in Flight" - http://www.realnd.com/images/enchantedhighwayphoto1.jpg
We had not gone very far south when we saw the first installment, Deer Crossing - http://www.realnd.com/enchantedhighwayphoto2.htm
When we were there, there was only one deer statue still erect, the other was pipe fallen to the ground. It is hard to get a feeling for scale here, but the doe is 50 feet long and 50 feet tall
http://Pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/207850316-XL.jpg
The sun was getting low, and we had no real idea what lay ahead of us, so we soldiered on, to Grasshoppers in the Field
http://Pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/218432775-XL.jpg
http://Pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/218428621-L.jpg
The sun was getting lower, as we approached the fishing well, which is not listed on the website (http://www.realnd.com/enchantedhighwayindex.htm)
http://Pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/218427219-L.jpg
These two fish are the size of a city bus.
http://Pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/218426752-L.jpg
http://Pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/218431422-L.jpg
Next, was the Pheasants on the Prairie. Again the massive scale of these is hard to appreciate, but notice Nightingale in the lower right corner of the first image. The pheasant rooster weighs 13,000 pounds.....The little chick weighs 5,000 pounds.
http://Pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/218436462-XL.jpg
http://Pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/218433075-L.jpg
On we went, racing the sun, to "TR Rides Again" which ways a mere 9,000 pounds and is 51 feet tall.
http://Pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/218429145-L.jpg
Immediately in front of the statue of TR, is a stage coach that is more approachable in size
http://Pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/218457846-L.jpg
Time and sunlight were running out as we raced up the road, to the Tin Man and his Family. Tin Man and his Wife are 45 feet tall, that is as tall as a five story building...
http://Pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/218429641-XL.jpg
http://Pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/218458209-XL.jpg
http://Pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/218458746-XL.jpg
As we pushed farther south, on the small asphalt highway leading to Regent, we saw hundreds of real pheasants on the road and in the grass as we passed.
http://Pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/205347000-L.jpg
http://Pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/205347540-L.jpg
In the town itself were more intriguing metal sculptures along main street, and an Enchanted Highway Gift shop, which was unfortunately closed.
Regent native, Gary Greff, was the artist responsible, but the farmers and families of the surrounding areas provided the raw materials, muscle and sweat, and capital, and land to make this all possible. Each of these sculptures encompasses at least an acre or two of ground for the statue and the adjacent parking and picnic area. The parking areas are covered with crushed white rock. I am impressed by the effort that these art works entailed to completion.
This is why I love to travel blue highways, and discover, new to me, unknown gems of American enterprise and ingenuity.
I hope you all enjoyed my trip down this Blue Highway, the Enchanted Highway (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4582125) in North Dakota. It is worth the trip.
See you on the road.
Keep the rubber side down!