Rich in Land, Sparse in Population

As we have driven across the top tier of states, I've been struck by the quiet, open landscapes.  My curiosity prompted me to look at some of the data about the states.  Michigan has more than 9 million people, Minnesota has 5.3 million.  In contrast North Dakota has fewer than seven hundred thousand and Montana has just over one million.  No wonder those landscapes look so open.

I am curious to meet some of the residents long enough to talk with them to see how this isolated environment suits them and how they suit their environment.  The one thing our drive confirmed yesterday is that a sudden economic and population boom is not necessarily a good thing.

We drove through Williston ND - very slowly.  They are reconstructing every stretch of road, especially US 2, in order to support the massive increase in truck traffic for hauling heavy equipment.  The boom in Williston is an oil boom that includes fracking, oil pumping, gas pumping, storage, and some clean-up (I hope).  You can see the atmosphere change as you approach.  There is so much work going on that the dust has been flung into the air and a haze of dust hangs over the area for miles.  There is a lot of noise, a lot of traffic, a lot of temporary (ugly) housing.  I know it is my tree-hugger imagination, but I kept thinking of that scene in the Two Towers when Saruman tells his Orcs to destroy the trees and whatever else they need to build his army.  I am sure that Williston was not green and bucolic before the boom, but I am equally sure that is was not as ugly as what we saw.  I wonder where the "happy" medium is between economic security and preserving and sustaining our environment.

We were very glad to leave Williston behind - until US 2 disappeared before our very eyes.  It seems that a section of the road is going to be rebuilt and perhaps expanded, but there were no signs and no warning.  Suddenly the paved, two-lane road, became a dirt road and we thought we had taken a wrong turn.  We came to a poorly marked stop and waited with several other vehicles until the one-lane traffic cleared and we were allowed to proceed.  Again, all of this with no signs or markers except a few orange cones and some large equipment digging, smoothing, and tarring.  I have to wonder about any municipality that would just rip out the whole road with no detour plan or clear signage about the project ahead.

Once we were through that unpleasant stretch, we drove and drove on smooth, two-lane road through flat grasslands, cattle ranches, and rolling hills that became increasingly rocky.  We saw mountains in the distance on our last 50 miles.  I think we'll see more terrain changes today and maybe even get a nature trail walk in too.  Here are some photos of the changes we have seen on our drive.

 Change of scenery into Wisconsin.

 Ashland WI - Lake Superior.

See that little orange sign that says End Road Work?  That was just not true!

 Geographical center of North America in North Dakota.

 Old church in very rural setting in North Dakota.

This is what the roads looked like for miles and miles in Montana and North Dakota.