In the morning we left Crookston for a brief visit of the Malmberg Prairie, one of the few virgin prairies left that have never been plowed.

A short drive later we were in Grand Forks, North Dakota, the site of a major flood in April 1997 where the Red River crested at 48.8 feet, flooding 95% of the city and causing an evacuation of all of the city. An obelisk shows the high water mark.

Lunch was at the fabulous Dakota Harvest Bakers and consisted of super delicious tomato-vodka soup, roast beef sandwich and black cherry pie. Pepsi made a lot of new friends.

Next stop was Rugby, the midpoint of North America and site of the Prairie Village Museum.

 

 

The western part of North Dakota has a construction frenzy as the result of an oil boom. Workers are living in trailers everywhere and pickup trucks are plentiful. Hotels cater to extended stay guests and even ghost towns like Ross are alive again.

It was difficult to find a place to stay, so we drove on and found a free municipal campground in Culbertson, Montana.