World's Largest Catfish Statue

I hope the title has caught your attention because you are in for a real treat!  But you'll have to wait for that surprise because we have other adventures that need to be addressed. 

Yesterday I mentioned that we were staying at the Nome Schoolhouse and that I'd try to share some of the charm that this B&B has to offer. 

I'll be frank....it's old.  It was built in 1916 and the floors, ceiling and walls on the interior are basically the original.  So, the wooden floors are planks, and they make noise as you walk up and down the stairs, as well as in the bedroom, but I'm fairly certain I'm starting to make some creaking noises myself, and I'm not nearly as old! 

When you walk inside to the landing, there is a photo on the left that shows just what the building looked like prior to its renovation. 

 

It closed in 1970 and sat derelict until 2018 when the present proprietors purchased it. 

Despite the renovation, many of the rooms stand as they would have as classrooms.  Marty and I had the M&M Room. 

It was at the front of the building and overlooked the entrance circle from the street. 

It was super large and even had a special seating area.  Note the black chalkboard in the background.

You can see another chalkboard behind the bed as well.

And how clever was it to use old Singer sewing machines as nightstands on either side of the bed?

The final touch:  A glass jar filled with M&M's for us to enjoy!

That was a win for me!

We headed down to breakfast to be sure we were seated by 9:00.  I had received a notice that breakfast was plated at 9:00 sharp.  I didn't want the principal scolding me for tardiness!

On the way down, I spotted this unfinished embroidery in the corner.  Made me chuckle. 

The breakfast room had some lovely needlepoint creations

as well as a quilt that featured the building. 

I learned that the renovated building is actually a Fiber Arts Mill.  They have 2 alpacas, 2 sheep, a Highland Cow, and some other animals that escape me, that they collect the fiber from to mill, dye and create these amazing skeins of yarn that they sell in the gift shop.

They also run various workshops throughout the year.  In fact, there was a group of women on site when we were there, getting ready to take a class on working with fiber. 

There were several quilting classes, which might explain this quilt hanging in our bathroom

and another in the dining room.

It certainly was a unique place to visit!

We headed out to begin our drive to St Cloud where I had reservations for the night.  I hadn't mentioned it before, but the scenery here is far different than what we see in our travels back home. 

Straight highways surrounded by green fields that extend as far as the eye can see.  We saw very few houses among the farmland.  And, to attest to the sparseness of people, The town of Kathryn, that I mentioned yesterday was 66, Nome was 69, and Wolverine, the next town along our travels was 138.  That's total people, not families.  The difference in dynamics was certainly eye opening. 

As we headed south, we began to see larger towns, but still expansive fields of green. We found ourselves being detoured, and I noticed a sign for Fort Abercrombie and we decided that since we were detouring anyway, it was worth stopping in to check it out. 

The first military post to stand in this area was in 1857, named after Lt. Col John J Abercrombie. 

The presence of the fort enabled new trade routes to be opened in the Red River Valley.  It was abandoned in 1877 and laid dormant until 1939 when the WPA reconstructed block houses and returned the original guardhouses to preserve the history. 

The jail had been sold to a family in 1877 and it was disassembled, moved, and reassembled by the family who lived it in for several generations.  In 1939, it was gifted back, returned to the site and reassembled as it stands today.  It does not qualify for the National Historic Houses trademark because it had been disassembled. 

The interior held 2 cells along with some interesting equipment that was used to humiliate the soldiers at that time. 

The blockhouses had a very clever feature. It was set up so that the windows on the upper level were at 45 degrees from the windows on the lower level. So, where there was an upper window, like at the top of the stairs in the photo, the one downstairs was positioned to view 45 degrees on either side of the upper window,  in a different direction. 

By positioning the windows this way, the guards had a 360 degree view of any possible attacks. 

But by the time they were constructed, there were no further uprisings to warrant their use. 

After leaving Abercrombie, we headed to Wahpeton, North Dakota.  There stands this beautiful building across from the zoo.

It houses this charming preserved carousel that had been rescued from the 1997 flood. 

Each horse has its own name, and all of them go up and down.  You can ride it for $3.00 if you choose. 

We did not. 

Our stop in Wahpeton was very last minute. While I was reading about what the town had to offer, it was brought to my attention that Wahpper stands here. 

And just what is that? you might ask.

Well it's just the largest Catfish Statue in the ENTIRE WORLD!

Right up Marty's Alley. 

You don't see something like that everyday!

Let's face it...that's pretty amusing. Regarding its claim as the world's largest...I'd have to wonder if it just might be the world's only!  I really can't say.

After a few photos, we headed out on the highway for St Cloud, which is the site of our B&B. 

It stands on the Mississippi River, and has steps down to the shore

where a paddle boat waits in anticipation of eager fishermen.

It might have been scenic, but no fish were caught. And you can't blame me!  I only whispered.  

Here's a shot from the dock across the river. 

I've been told that there are bald eagles who hang out in trees near the shore in the morning, so we just might have that treat to share tomorrow.  But, we were also told that Marty was guaranteed a fish by 3 casts, which did not pan out for him, so who really knows?

We headed to an Irish Pub in town, about a half mile away and enjoyed a delicious dinner before walking back.

Another super day....ending in Minnesota. 

Marty is scheduled to fish with Lon tomorrow, and I hear that dinner plans are a fish fry at Lon and Paula's place.  Looks like the pressure's on!

I'll keep you posted....

Gallivanting Through North Dakota

 The Ellingson festivities have come to a close and so we move onto our next adventure.  We bid farewell to the amazing family members we had bonded with, as well as to Michael and Janet who are family members from other Prison Tokyo Fire MIA's. 

And we headed southwest on the highway to make our way to Cooperstown.  Our destination was the Ronald Reagan Minuteman Missile State Historic Site. 

Just some background info:  This was known as the Oscar-Zero Missile Alert Facility. It was manned by the 321st Strategic Missile Wing and was a command center designed to monitor and control Minuteman missiles. 

What's a Minuteman Missile? you might ask.  The technical term is Minuteman nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).  It was a solid fuel nuclear missile that could be launched almost instantaneously, thereby given the name "Minuteman".   Between 1962 and 1967, the US developed and deployed 1000 operational missiles of this type.  Its rapid response and reliability resulted in the nickname "America's Ace in the Hole." 

The 60 foot missiles were held in 90 foot silos dug into the ground in various locations in North Dakota as well as a few other states, each location holding a single missile.  

The control center was responsible for 10 missiles located within a relatively short distance of the center.   

In 1982, President Ronald Reagan proposed a treaty that dramatically reduced the number of ICBM's that Russia and the United States could have, and in 1991, President Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev signed the treaty. As a result, this particular facility was selected for deactivation and the missiles associated with it were removed, the silos were detonated and filled with sand in compliance. 

It was decided to keep this building in tact and set it up as a historical visitor center so that the general public could have a glimpse into the role of the 321st Strategic Missile Wing command  who were responsible for maintaining the safe handling of these nuclear missiles. 

Our tour guide, Cat, was quite informative and first took us through the living conditions of the building.  the interior had been upgraded in the early 1980's to boost the morale of the men and women on duty.  At first, it was manned entirely by men.  They missileers worked 12 hours on/12 hours off, three days a week, then went to the air force base for three days.  They had the seventh day off.  But with so much concentrated time in one place, and with the serious responsibilities that came with manning nuclear missiles, the air force felt a pleasant environment would be better for their psyche. So steel framed beds, wooden floors and green painted walls were segued to carpeted floors, wall papered walls, and more comfortable beds. 

Here is the preserved dining area

The kitchen was stocked.  The building houses a chef who would primarily cook meals that would be placed in individual metal trays that could be quickly heated up.

Marty wanted a photo of us in the Facility Manager's bedroom that also acted as his office. 

Here you can see the upgraded bedrooms.

This was a gun detonator.  Anyone who entered with a gun was required to shoot the bullets into this device for safety reasons.  There was a lot of high security connected with this site, as you can well imagine. 

We took an elevator down to see the interior of the lower capsules. 

There was a model when we walked off the elevator so that we could get an idea of how deep we were now below the ground.  60 feet. 

In order to enter this capsule, one needed to pump a hydraulic handle 100 times for it to open.

The interior held equipment essential for running the missile controls.  The floor was actually suspended with cylinders for safety reasons should there be a nearby explosion.  The suspended floor helped to reduce impact. 

The door to the control center can only be opened from the inside.

This is where two missileers would be for 12 hour straight.

There was a bed with curtains to help as a sound barrier. 

Some amusing artwork was featured

And the decor in the corner gave the appearance of being on a tropical island. 

I thought that the tracks on the floor that enabled the chair to slide quickly from side to side were pretty clever. 

This was the main control center

In the event of the need to enable a missile, a call was made from the President to a commander who would then call the control center.  Two people in the control center each had a key for a red box that contained a second key.  

That key had to be placed in a key lock next to the status panel.  It was required to turn the key simulateneously with a second key at the second panel. This "second" key acted as a second security measure.  

This  panel showed the information for the 10 different missiles under its control. 

Marty thought it would be cool to get a photo in front of the control desk. 

With the tour complete, we made our way a few miles to November 33, the site where one of the nuclear missiles had actually been buried. 

The 35 ton lid had a device to help it to fly open quickly should a missile need to be enabled.  The local farmers were upset about the force that would result in this large piece of concrete flying out into the field and doing significant damage.  

The farmers were informed that there would be far more serious issues of concern than damage to the field should the need arise to enable the missile.  But there's no worry now, as this missile has been removed and the grounds stand as part of the historic site. 

By now it was 4:00 (It appears one can spend a LOT of time in a nuclear missile facility), and we made our way to Valley City, ND.  It is called the city of bridges, but we only had the chance to see two. 

The Hi-Bridge on our way into the town

And this cute bridge that crosses the Cheyenne River to the University grounds.

Of course, we needed a selfie.

We were hard pressed for places to eat but settle on The Bridge Bar & Grill. 

There was no bridge, so I'm kind of confused on that aspect. 

But we had a very entertaining waiter named Joshua who was super friendly, and very excited to hear that it was our 46th wedding anniversary today. (Probably because not too many people would pick a diner in which to celebrate...but pickings were slim.)  

He was so excited, that he was telling the other customers that it was our 49th anniversary, and each time I had to correct him.  And each time he would apologize and say that he couldn't understand why he kept saying 49. 

He was happy to take our photo

and to even get one with us.

How fun is that?

He surprised us with a special gift to go.

And you have to love the sentiment.

For clarification, it is 46!

Honestly, it was great fun, and we left with smiles on our face (and cheesecake to enjoy), to make our way along the scenic byway trail to our destination. 

We passed through the town of Kathryn which is named after Kathryn Mellon, daughter of Charles S Mellon, President of the Northern Pacific Railroad. 

The town was founded in 1900 by Norwegian immigrants and has a grand total of 66 residents today. 

As you might guess, it didn't take long to drive through, but there were some entertaining sites to see. 

Moving along, we passed the Wadeson Cabin State Historic Site which is a preserved 1876 log cabin that served as an early pioneer home and country store.  

It stands near the shores of the Sheyenne River

About ten miles later, we reached our destination:  The Nome Schoolhouse B&B

It was built in the early 1900's and served as a schoolhouse through the 1960's.  It has been renovated into a B&B with its own quirky decor.  But I'll have to defer to tomorrow for those details.  

It's late and after all the festivities of the past few days, I need some sleep!

Until next time...