Still Moseying East...

Our morning in Driscoll, North Dakota began beautifully.

If it wasn't for the trains announcing their track crossings, it would have been the most idyllic spot.

For miles, these were the fields I saw outside my truck window, appearing as blur. Today, we finally found the opportunity to see up close. North Dakota grows over 500,000 acres of sunflowers each year, making it the top producer of sunflowers in the United States. Perhaps they play a role in North Dakota’s high ranking among the happiest states in the nation. After all, you can’t help but smile when you come upon the large fields scattered throughout the state even if they are beyond their glorious bloom.

It’s here that sunflower seeds originated, and it's also the ingredient for other delicacies like the North Dakota sunflower pie (I'm on the hunt). North Dakota leads the nation in sunflower production (1 billion pounds) and its uses include bird feed, confectionery seeds, sun butter and sunflower oil.

If I wasn't created as a human,

I'd want to be a sunflower,

for to me, there is nothing as cheery or as bright in the world.

This majestic bloom stands in a field

taller than those plants which surround it.

Its brilliant yellow petals are visible from great distances,

allowing happiness to begin, in wonderful anticipation.

Its face, no matter its circumstances,

is always turned toward the sun,

seeking its warmth and goodness.

Its seeds number in vast quantities,

allowing new sprouts to grow over large areas,

spreading its cheeriness easily and freely.

It is a sunflower that I'd want to be,

if, of course, I wasn't me.

Even though they were past their peak, these gorgeous flowers brought me intense JOY.

Our day's touring ended here. "In the vast plains where the buffalo used to roam, some still do in Jamestown. The world’s largest buffalo doesn’t really roam but he does tower over the plains. Visit the places that inspired the great western writer, Louis L’Amour, who was born and raised in Jamestown. Discover these and more as well as the warm hospitality of small-town America."

To learn more about the local history, we visited Frontier Village, a reconstructed pioneer town that preserves the heritage of the state's early prairie settlers. Built to bring the history of prairie pioneers to life it, features more than twenty authentic 19th- and early 20th-century buildings moved from various small towns across North Dakota.

I was especially excited to learn more about native author Louis L'Amour.

Born here in 1908, Louis spent his early childhood and formative years in Jamestown, leaving when he was fifteen. His early life, near the town's railroad tracks and local boxing matches, heavily influenced his later storytelling and adventurous spirit. If you have never read his autobiography, Education of a Wandering Man, I highly recommend it. I think I need to re-read it after being here.

As most know, I love "The World's Largest" anything. I just had to see this, the World’s Largest Buffalo. Created by sculptor Elmer Petersen in 1959, Dakota Thunder has has proven one of the Midwest’s most popular roadside attractions.