Fargo, North Dakota

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Whenever I think of Fargo, I think of the movie (which has, coincidentally, been on TV all week) - I’m not recommending it. And, I haven’t seen it this time around and I don’t remember if it was a good (“good”) movie or not – I only remember two things: the accents of the people and the wood chipper. I saw it on TV (so, edited) but IMDb says it’s rated R, and from what I can remember of the wood chipper scene, that’s a good rating...and apparently, (again, according to my memory) they weren’t strict with their editing... Blecht.

The Wood Chipper is on display at the Fargo-Moorhead Visitors Center. Roadsideamerica.com says,

"While the wood chipper's time on-screen was brief, its use as a body-disposal device made for a disturbingly memorable scene."

True.

I couldn't view the wood chipper (which, I know - movie prop, not covered in blood (or at least not real blood), but still grosses me out), so we walked around the Fargo Walk of Fame, also at the Visitor’s Center. Started by a local business man, Mike Stevens, the Walk includes a variety or random celebrities - from Toby Keith to Bill Gates, George Bush to Burt & Ernie, Aerosmith to Art Linkletter, and many many more! (I’d list them all, but you should go see for yourself!)

We stayed at a nice campground (Lindenwood Campground in Moorhead-Fargo) right along the river, and conveniently beside the Interstate. Its surprisingly quiet, though - there's a noise wall and lots of trees, so the whole scene is very serene.

The campground has alot of recreational things to do - fishing, biking, a playground. According to their website (http://www.fargoparks.com/facility_camp.html) you can rent surrey bikes, fun cycles, tandem bikes and handicap bikes at their Information Center. I saw people circling on their surrey bikes and it looks like so much fun!!

Instead, we settled in at our site beside the river and watched the guy across from us trying to fish. I thought he was living in his tent and trying to survive by fishing with his pole, string and safety pin, but Peter went to meet him, and apparently, he was just there for one day, but hadn't brought any food, thinking he'd just eat the fish he caught ... He looked like he lived there..

Imagine the scene: he baited his hook, tossed it in the water, propped his fishing pole up with some twigs, and went about... 20 feet away, laid down on a blanket, hands behind his head, feet crossed, staring at the sky. .. very relaxed...but if he caught something, he'd never get to it in time to reel it in.

Ok - so, he caught something, but didn't know what to do and was running around with a fish on a line - Peter had to go help him.. I don't know what happened next.

Other things (besides the surrey bike) I would put on my "to-do" list for next time in Fargo, will include the Air Museum & Rocket and the Space Alien Bar & Grill...not the wood chipper.. Not ever... not even next time.

Tomorrow (oh, well, in blog time, Wednesday), we’re meeting Richard, Shannan and the boys in Minneapolis! YAY!

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