North Dakota - Day 6 (Enchanted Highway, Washburn, Bismark/Mandan)

Day 6 - We left our hotel in Dickinson and headed south to Regent, the start/finish of the Enchanted Highway.. The Enchanted Highway is a 32 mile stretch of highway between Interstate 94 and Regent, ND that showcases 9 handmade metal sculptures. We decided to start in Regent (most people finish here) so we could finish on I-94. 

Once in Regent, we visited the gift shop, played the Whirly Gigs and checked out the Enchanted Castle with the Knight & Dragon.

Whirly Gigs

This metal tree is just outside of the gift shop. Very nice - very sharp!

Enchanted Castle, Knight & Dragon

World's Largest Tin Family

We didn't know what to expect, other than "large metal sculptures along the side of the road". We were very surprised (in a good way) with the stops. All of the stops had large parking lots and most had picnic shelters. While at the first stop, we came across the groundkeeper and chatted with him for a few minutes. Regent takes pride in their artwork and it shows.

Teddy Rides Again

We took our time at each stop. We walked around, took pictures, hunted for a few letterboxes and enjoyed the beauty of the day in a quiet setting. There were other tourists - most stopped and took a quick picture and moved on.

We set up the tripod and camera timer and laughed our way through these pictures.

Missed the timing on this first picture, ha!

Pheasants on the Prairie

Fisherman's Dream

Grasshoppers

This fence reminded me of Forky (from Toy Story) as well as the (evil) Sporks from Veggie Tales (Lord of the Beans).

Deer Crossing

There was a fun metal maze at this stop.

As we approached Interstate 94, we could see the final sculpture in the distance (group of "dots" in the sky, to the right of the road).

Geese in Flight

It was bright!

Back on I-94, we headed east to our next stop, New Salem. 

New Salem is home to Salem Sue, the World's Largest Holstein Cow. She stands 38 feet tall and is 50 feet long. On a good day, you can see her from 5 miles away!

From New Salem, we headed north(east) to Washburn. While driving Hwy 48, we came across this sign...

As soon as I read the sign (out loud), Matt turned on his blinker and we flipped around! This was totally our kind of stop. 

So, this stop had us curious...how many "centers of North America" are there?? The answer - depends on who you ask! There are at least 3. Sadly, we missed out on seeing the 3rd one (ironically, that probably would've been the most fun one to visit!). Watch this video from CBS on the controversial topic (lol).

Back on the road, we continued on to Washburn, where we visited the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center. This center was really nicely done - so many artifacts, videos and information signage. The center helped explain so many questions that I never knew I had, ha! 

We were running short on time and still wanted to see Fort Mandan before they closed for the night, so we didn't spend as much time as we would've liked to at the Center. We left and drove a few miles up river (Missouri) to the Fort. We walked through the Visitor Center and then to the Fort. Fort Mandan is the location where Lewis & Clark wintered during the winter of 1804-1805. This is also the location where Sacagawea joined their expedition. 

There is a statue of Seaman, Meriwether Lewis' dog, at Fort Mandan.

We drove the 45 minutes from Washburn to Mandan to get to our hotel for the night.

Matt: We had dinner at Texas Roadhouse and the food was taking a little longer to come out than expected. We had a great waitress and I expected her to swing by our table and apologize for the wait. So, I had a planned response, should she do that; "It's no problem, time isn't an issue and we're really enjoying each others company." I never had the opportunity to use the line, but the truth is I was thinking it -- this whole trip up to this point I've fallen more and more in love with Becki. I've enjoyed this trip and her company more than words can truly express. Becki's my favorite adventure buddy!! 

Day 6 Favorites

Matt: Enchanted Highway (finding letterboxes, laughing during stagecoach selfie)

Becki: Enchanted Highway