Peace Gardens & Razorbacks

Okay cruisers, today we're in North Dakota and you'll feel nice and safe here. North Dakota ranks 47th in population and dead last in crimes.... or is that actually first. It is known as the Peace Garden State. Fargo is the largest city followed by the capital of Bismark. The International Peace Garden is a botanical garden covering over 2,300 acres on the border of North Dakota and Canada.

Teddy Roosevelt is in the picture a lot this week. He was quite the adventurous hunter and went to North Dakota to hunt bison. While there he developed a partnership to raise cattle. He returned later to live the life of a cowboy. As President, he is noted for his contributions to conservation. It's a long story, but North Dakota was able to declare Theodore Roosevelt National Park in 1978. The American Bison were large in population in the 1860s. The park is now home to more than 400 wild buffalo, an animal once on the brink of extinction.

You can discover many activities in North Dakota Here and Here. When I selected the say.... shopping category guess what I found. Scheels -the worlds largest all-sports store. Not exactly what I had in mind but it might come in handy if you're going to search hiking, biking, camping or fishing.

Let's talk festivals and fairs because North Dakota has a bunch of them like all the other states do. They have the chokecherry festivals, the county fairs, the arts festivals and music festivals. They even have a pumpkin festival in late September and they all sound fun but when we go to North Dakota, we're going to a powwow! (scroll to the bottom when you go to the link) 17 different powwows are featured throughout the year. You can tour the reservation and learn about the Indian way of life.



If you would like to learn about famous people from North Dakota like Sitting Bull, Lawrence Welk, and Roger Maris they have compiled a nice list for you HERE.

Just this week we featured the worlds largest rocking chair... and today we're featuring the world's largest holstein cow, dog and turtle! And that's just a few. North Dakota likes big sculptures. The have a whole Enchanted Highway that is loaded with over sized sculptures. Check it out!

So what do North Dakota and Arkansas have in common.... Jonny Lang... North Dakota claims him as one of their own famous residents in the link above and who is playing at the River Front Blues Fest in Arkansas.... none other than Jonny Lang! We're pulling up anchor and headed south to Arkansas.

The River Front Blues Festival that is featuring the North Dakota boy and other great artist is coming up the weekend of June 20th & 21st. Check out their site because it looks like fun.

Hot Springs, Arkansas is a hot bed of activities. From spas, to golfing. From nature hikes to antiquing. From thrilling theme parks to the Historic Hot Springs. There is something for everyone in Hot Springs. It was a popular resort destinations in about 1921 with horse racing, gambling and healing thermal water spas.

If you're looking for a thrifty vacation, Arkansas says they have 101 Free things for you to do. You'll find lots of state parks, lots of museums, and trails to discover.

I found myself wanting to go to Little Rock and discover the River Market. It looks like tons of cool shops and trendy events to go to. My kind of place. And, on July 25th, they have Willie Nelson and BB King in concert. I wish I was going.

I couldn't really find out a lot about the next festival on my list. It features arts and crafts, 3 on 3 basketball tournaments and a bbq cookoff but the thing I liked most about it was it's name, Jubilee in June. Don't you just love that word, Jubilee. It's in Mena, Arkansas if you're in the neighborhood.

The last thing I'm going to talk about Arkansas is something called the Big Dam Bridge. Don't you know that's just a kids dream come true to be able to talk about the Big Dam Bridge? And it is a big, damn bridge. Taken directly from their site "The bridge connects approximately 15 miles of scenic riverside trails in the cities of Little Rock and North Little Rock, and assists in the connection of 70,000 acres of various city, county, state and federal park land."

Fun facts for North Dakota are the state flower is the Prairie Rose, the state bird is the Western Meadowlark, and the state tree is the American Elm.

Fun fact for Arkansas are the official floral emblem is the Apple Blossom, the state tree is the Pine Tree and another state claims the Mockingbird as the state bird. Popular bird.

So, there you have North Dakota and Arkansas. All North Dakotans meet on the peace deck and all Arkansans meet on the natural deck tomorrow, Friday, June 13th to tell us what makes North Dakota and Arkansas the Taste of USA!