Enchanted Highway: How We Spent Dad's First Retired Father’s Day

Dad and I spent the first week of Dad’s retirement traveling to the 2024 North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in Medora. Father’s Day marked the beginning of his second week of retirement. It started off with a visit to Theodore Roosevelt National Park South Unit and a round of mini-golf at Little Bully Pulpit in Medora before beginning our journey back to Chicago on I-94 to pick up Mik and start his 30th birthday trip.

There was so much more of North Dakota we wanted to explore, but we settled on checking out the Enchanted Highway as it was right along the route. The Enchanted Highway is a series of large metal sculptures leading to the town of Regent. Not part of the Enchanted Highway, but as we continued on I-94 we also stopped at the largest Holstein cow, sandhill crane, and buffalo.

The first sculpture, Geese in Flight, is actually visible from I-94 as it is right at Exit 72. This sculpture holds the Guinness World Record for Largest Scrap Metal Sculpture.

Along the road as you approach the parking area for the sculpture, there are Geese sculptures.

Next was Deer Crossing.

At this stop we noticed The Maze of Enchantment. We later found many of the sculptures had an associated activity for children (of all ages).

Then there were Grasshoppers.

And a ride on a grasshopper.

As we were pulling out of the parking lot for the Grasshoppers we also happened to catch a glimpse of the North Dakota state bird, a Western Meadowlark.

Our next stop was Dad’s favorite, Fisherman’s Dream.

At this stop there was a boat run aground that you could climb aboard.

Our next encounter was Pheasants on the Prairie. As we drove to the next stop, we even saw an actual Ring Necked Pheasant crossing the road.

Then there was my favorite, Teddy Roosevelt Rides Again.

Here there was a stagecoach you could climb up into.

Just before arriving in Regent was Tin Family.

The journey ends in Regent at a Gift Shop and Wirly Gigs.

The clerk in the gift shop told us to check out the next sculpture at the end of the road, Sir Albert slaying a Dragon. For more details about the Enchanted Highway, visit the Enchanted Highway website.

After getting back on I-94, our next stop was in New Salem, ND to see Salem Sue, which is the World's Largest Holstein Cow.

Next stop was the World's Largest Sandhill Crane in Steele, ND.

Last stop sightseeing in North Dakota was the World's Largest Buffalo in Jamestown, which was built the same year Dad was born.

Whirla Whip, Stanley, ND

I have been hoping for a chance to get a Whirla Whip every summer since Grandma Kjos died in 2017, but we never manage to plan the trip to scatter her ashes. I had already given up on this summer being the summer. While it is another year we are not scattering her ashes, on our way to Medora for the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, we squeezed in a 6 hour detour to Stanley for a Whirla Whip at Dakota Drug.

I got vanilla ice cream with root beer hard candy.

Dad got vanilla ice cream with maraschino cherry and cheesecake mixed in.

While in Stanley, we also stopped at the Fairview Cemetery to visit some gravesites of Mom’s relatives. I remembered the location of the gravesites of my great-grandparents. It took some searching, but we eventually located the gravesite of our homesteading relative, Mary Kate Anderson.

30th Birthday Road Trip: Day 14 - Clifton Hill, Niagara Falls, Ontario

We spent the last evening of our road trip going to Clifton Hill. I mainly selected it as it looked fun to see Niagara Falls from the Skywheel, but the fun pass was a good deal that included a few other things that looked interesting, especially mini golf.

30th Birthday Road Trip: Day 14 - 32. Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural NHS

Originally, we didn't plan to get to Buffalo, but we ended up with extra time. Now we just have to do New York City someday to complete the North Atlantic region of National Park units. Ranger Dan post here.

30th Birthday Road Trip: Day 14 - 31. Women's Rights NHP

Ranger Dan post here.