I went to Fargo and I don't need to go back ...

As I approached the North Dakota border, the skies opened up and I got thoroughly drenched. Rolling into North Dakota, I immediately picked up a strange, off putting smell in the air - almost like a mix of agribusiness fertilizer and industrial oils. Having gotten a later start than hoped for, I didn’t pull into Fargo until about 4:30 and thus missed out on some of the most compelling attractions (a Scandinavian music performance at the local library and a funky modern art museum). Not feeling quite up to a corn maze in my wet state, I rode then walked around NDSU’s campus, then went to the Fargo visitor’s center to see the biggest tourist draw in the city: the wood chipper from the tv show Fargo.

Some pretty flowers at NDSU

This one kinda reminds me of Sorin Hall at Notre Dame

NDSU's campus had a lot of this yellow brick with red roof and trim - they were neat, but the campus as a whole was not the most interesting or beautiful I've seen

A fraudulent replica of the wood chipper from Fargo - the real one is kept inside the visitor center 

My best serial killer face

Fargo has tried to start a "walk of fame" outside their visitor center - of the names I recognized, just about all were country singers

In case you forgot that North Dakota is a big Bison place. Note, I did not see any living bison in my time there.

For dinner, I treated myself to Pounds - a trendy local favorite with fantastic burgers. 

Everything at Pounds was good, from the bbq burger to the side salad to the local Irish red

While I had originally planned to camp outside of Fargo (as Couchsurfing had let me down), I was not only wet but also cold (from the AC) after my meal at Pounds. Not wanting to drive 30 minutes to the middle of nowhere to set up a campsite in the rain, I bit the bullet and booked a cheap hotel, using the free breakfast as further justification.  With my accommodations solidified, I did some more exploring downtown and around the river.  

Fargo has a sculpture of the 10 Commandments up near City Hall

An ode to the plow

Obligatory city sign photo 

This looked cooler in person

Fargo's big on the public art thing

A cool little concert venue at the center of town ... Where no concert was occurring on a Friday night

Fargo had a trendy, kinda hipster vibe

Art Alley is an alley where graffiti is legal

Not all artists adhered to the no profanity rule, but at least they did so tastefully

Before heading to the hotel, I grabbed a night cap at Taco Bell.  

Taco Bell Fargo was very run of the mill

Ambiance: As you can see from the photo, there really wasn't much decor or atmosphere. I went in with the intent of picking up an order to eat at the hotel, and this dining room did nothing to change that. Wasn't particularly unclean, but wasn't particularly clean either.

Staff: Walk up kiosk, no interactions.

Food: Left something to be desired, below average.

The hotel breakfast the next morning was a tad disappointing - waffles were the extent of hot items. I left in the pouring rain and made my way back to the visitors center to see the real wood chipper and procure a North Dakota patch (the one memento I get in each state - planning to make a jacket with a patch from every state at the end of this thing).  

The real wood chipper - leg and all

As I crossed over the river into the sister city of Morehead, MN, the rain lightened up and and I stopped at the Dairy Queen where the Dilly Bar was invented. 

This has gotta be the world's biggest Dilly Bar

At DQ, I met a group of folks in town for an Eastern Star convention. They told me Eastern Star is an offshoot of the Free Masons. They were quite friendly and kind enough to buy me a Dilly Bar (cherry of course). After getting Dilly Bar's, they were headed back home to Minneapolis for a dog show charity fundraiser.

The drive from Fargo to Minneapolis was mostly flat, eternally flanked by corn and soy, windy (had to keep a near constant lean), and wet. 

With Regards to the Title of This Post  

I’ve had great things to say about most places I’ve been, and as you read above, there were some definitely cool things about Fargo, like Art Alley and the concert stage at the center of the city. While I’m not opposed to returning to Fargo (on a better weather day), the difficulty in reaching it, the bad weather, the weird smell, the devolution into strip malls and highways on the west side of town, and general lack of natural beauty/topography and things to do, really didn’t leave me with a pressing desire to go back. Maybe the rest of the state is a hidden gem, but in the lead up to this trip, people had only ever mentioned Fargo when I brought up North Dakota. I'd say Fargo is worth stopping in if you're nearby or passing through, but not a place worth traveling a great distance to for its own sake. 

Not Every Stop Can Be the Coolest Place You’ve Ever Been,  

K-Train