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Posted by on Sep 24, 2013 in Blog, Personal, Travel | 30 comments

Fargo

 

fargo

 

Tell someone you’re spending a week in Fargo, and a blank stare is likely to be chaperoned by a single word.

Why?

I had no idea what to expect on this, my first trip to Fargo, North Dakota.  Well, I thought I knew what to expect — which turned out to be completely wrong.

Here’s my trip report.

 

What I knew about Fargo was pretty much limited to the wonderful 1996 movie of the same name, written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, a.k.a. the Coen Brothers.  Oddly enough, practically none of Fargo was actually filmed here, nor anywhere nearby.  In fact, just about every scene was shot a few hundred miles away, in Brainerd (Minnesota) and the suburbs around Minneapolis.  The Coen Brothers know this territory well since they were born and raised in St. Louis Park, just outside the Twin Cities.

When I asked a local resident why they decided to call the movie “Fargo,” he told me, “because it sounds a helluva lot better than Brainerd.”

As it turns out, Fargo is about as cool a place as I’ve been in quite some time.  I’m staying right smack in the middle of downtown, which you can see is a thriving metropolis.

fargo3

 

Actually, I’m being cruel at Fargo’s expense.  When I said this is a cool place, I really meant it.  And by cool, I’m not just talking about the sub-zero temperatures.

In fact, Fargo is nicer, cleaner, and far more cosmopolitan than I was expecting.  The homeless people say “thank you.”  I even met two Atheists and someone who actually claims he voted for President Obama.  Naturally, this meeting of the twisted minds took place in a bar, located on Broadway — the street you see prominently in the photos above.  They even hosted an ESPN College GameDay right here in downtown Fargo on the day before I arrived — pretty amazing when considering those full-scale productions usually pull up on campuses like Alabama, Michigan, USC, and so forth.

Fargo is the proud home of North Dakota State University, one of the few college sports teams I’ve never lost money on since I don’t recall ever betting on one of their games.  The official team mascot is the Bison, which I understand is a giant animal that looks kinda’ like a buffalo.

Sacred as the bison symbol is on campus, several local restaurants serve bison steak and burgers on their menus.  With apologies to my liberal friends, I could get plenty used to dining on fresh bison meat every night.  Or maybe it’s buffalo.  I wouldn’t know the difference.  I figure a bison must be a male buffalo or something like that.  I’m too lazy to look it up.

Fargo also has about as great a selection of microbrews as I’ve ever seen for a city of its size.  All the bars here serve beers I’ve never heard of, that are most delicious.  So far, my personal award of excellence goes to JL Beers here in downtown Fargo.  The selection is limited to just a few options — cold beer (about 30 varieties on tap), bison burgers, and fresh-cut fries.  A diet killer for sure — but heaven on earth.

Fargo is an interesting place.  First, it’s located right on the North Dakota-Minnesota state line.  I could walk from my hotel three blocks across the Red River and be in Minnesota, a town called Moorehead.  Its name is certainly a temptation, but I’m guessing the local scene wouldn’t be as advertised.

The Red River floods here quite a bit.  Many residents have lost their homes when the water rises.  One wouldn’t think of this area as a flood zone.  But nearby Minnesota is named “the land of 10,000 lakes” for a reason.

But what sold me on Fargo isn’t the city.  It’s the people.

These are proud people — good people who have built their lives in an area with no real natural beauty nor advantages of geography.  They settled upon the plains and formed communities, ultimately bonding together in a kindred spirit of struggle and ultimately of triumph for having created something special from nothing.  There’s a unique bond that exists in places like this that isn’t readily apparent in other cities — such as Las Vegas where I live, or the metropolises on both coasts.

We who tend to think of ourselves as enlightened have a tendency to make fun of places like Fargo.  It’s often called “flyover territory” by all the jet-setting commuters sitting in first-class who often have bigger bank accounts and far more personal problems than the kinds of people who reside in Fargo.  On the surface, we may think it’s us who has something to teach them when alas, it is they who can teach us a lot more.  Like, about the more important things in life.

Like how to brew great beer and make a tasty bison burger.

fargo1

TAG: Fargo North Dakota Things to Do
TAG: Nolan Dalla writings

READ: My North Dakota stories

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30 Comments

  1. I was hoping this was about a different FARGO, but sounds like a neat place! I’m with you on the bison, and it’s good for you too – very high in Omega-3!

  2. A couple of things. *Absolutely* *none* of “Fargo” was filmed in Fargo. Some was filmed in the places you mention, some also in NE Minneapolis (namely, the scenes that are supposed to take place in Fargo), and some near the Canadian border near Pembina (namely, the snowy scenes late in the movie.)

    Second, it’s spelled “Moorhead”.

    The area does have one advantage of geography (and only one.) The Red River (of the North) Valley sits in the remains of a glacial lake from the last ice age which created extremely flat land and fertile soil, making it one of the best places to grow things in the world. It would be better if the climate were milder. The flatness of the Red River Valley is one of the reasons the flooding is such an issue. The regions of Minnesota that are replete with lakes have very little geographical similarity to the Red River Valley.

    “Buffalo” is a generic word referring to a wide variety of wild oxen, including different species native to Asia, Europe, and North America. The animal of this type native to North America is the “bison” (Latin name, I shit you not, bison bison.) Referring to that particular animal as a buffalo will mark you as an outsider. Also, the animal is pronounced “BY – sun”, the NDSU team name is pronounced “BY – zon”. Go figure.

    It’s true that there are worse places to be than Fargo, but it doesn’t meet my threshold for “cool”. The best description I could give for it is, “It’s a good place to raise kids.”

    If you’re looking for something “cultural” to do, walk across the 1st Ave. N bridge and look to your left. You will find the “Heritage Hjemkomst Interpretive Center”, where you can see a replica of a viking long boat that has actually sailed across the Atlantic Ocean.

    The more you know… .

    • I agree! calling bison a buffalo is a misnomer. it would be as accurate as calling a cow or an antelope a buffalo. I blame early french explorers (allegedly how buffalo NY also got its name).

  3. You don’t know cold until you spend a winter in North Dakota (Grand Forks AFB) working outdoors on B-52’s. one day it was actually 40 below (Celsius or Farenheit – look it up) with a 40 mile per hour wind. It was literally off the wind chill chart!

    • Still gets that way in MN and ND and were hunkerin down for what seems like a doozie this coming winter.

    • I have lived in Fargo for years. Most of my life. I would have to agree with you on the SUPER cold. I remember being in a hospital for a sports injury that was supposed to be same day. Due to the extreme cold and high winds the entire state was shut down for a couple of days and I had to stay the night. I think the temp was near -40 and the “windchill” was greater than -75.

  4. No place like home!

    • Greg, is that you? 🙂

  5. I grew up and lived in Fargo\Moorhead most of my life. It is a great place to live and raise a family. I now live in MO but still have family in Fargo. This time of year can be cool but gets very hot in the summer time. Summer there is only a couple months. Best time to be there is late July to mid August. When you talk about places that have 4 seasons, Fargo definitely has that. However, it is joked about that the 4 seasons are winter, winter, winter and road construction. LOL

    Glad you were able to enjoy the Bison burgers. The are good. Bison meat is lean meat so is better for you then beef.

    You mention that you don’t know the difference between Bison and Buffalo. American Buffalo are actually Bison but a lot of people refer to them as Buffalo. Buffalo are found in Asia and Africa commonly none as Water Buffalo or Cape Buffalo. Buffalo are larger, they don’t have a hump, and their horns are longer.

    Thank you for the great write up on Fargo.

    Tracy

  6. Actually, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. There is something stunningly beautiful by the flatness, the colors as the sun is rising, or setting with the huge sky, the brilliant colors; the Northern lights dancing on a summer night. Even the stark beauty of a winter’s day – or night. You from Las Vegas which I feel has absolutely no natural beauty may not feel the natural beauty here, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t here.

  7. I’m glad you enjoyed our city! As someone who has built a website around showing people that there’s more to Fargo than snow and one particular black comedy, I especially appreciate your post. The next time you visit, take a 10 minute drive out of town at sunset — there’s something quietly beautiful about North Dakota’s ocean of sky.

  8. It’s often called “fly over territory” by all the jet-setting commuters sitting in first-class who often have bigger bank accounts and far more personal problems than the kinds of people who reside in Fargo.

    True that it’s called ‘fly over territory’ but you must not have gotten around town that much. There are more millionaires than you could shake a stick at. Red River Valley farm land makes those dolla bills.

  9. thanks for the great write-up! as a fifth gen North Dakota girl, (I grew up 20 miles s. of Fargo) if you want true beauty, watch a thunderstorm from 20 miles away as it moves towards you from the west! nothing like so flat you can see the curve of the earth…..

  10. I’m surprised no one has mentioned the Fargo Marathon! Sure, it’s not as grand as some other well known marathons but I think we’re going in the right direction! We went from 2,400 participants in 2005 to 24,000 last year! I’ve heard some people say the flat land of the valley is a nice change of pace. Check it out! http://www.fargomarathon.com/history.htm

  11. You talk about people having bigger bank accounts elsewhere…Fargo has the most millionaires per capita. Perhaps it is difficult to tell, we are a little more modest here, so the millionaires won’t be driving Bentleys

    • I really liked what you had to say about Fargo. Usually when I tell someone I live in Fargo they say “Fargo, as in the movie Fargo? Have you seen a wood chipper?!” Somehow I’m always amused by peoples reactions and the fact that we dont talk like what ever that accent was in the movie. But it is like you said, it’s quite opposite of what people think. Maybe we enjoy ND because we have way too many bars per capita lol (no seriously we do!).
      Even though it’s true ND does have a lot of millionaires (even before the oil boom)the people here are modest about their money and at most maybe spend it on their house. Mostly though it’s the large farms that have money who help supply sugar etc. Even those farmers live in modest houses usually but spend the money on equipment for their farm and ways to keep crops safe from bugs and weather. There are area’s of Fargo that do have million dollar houses and there are a lot of current Audi A6’s driving around. It’s just kinda silly to most people to buy unnecessary things and to spend more than whats necessary on an item or house. People here are frugal with their money even if they really dont need to be, to a degree. It’s how most people are raised here and it fallows them through life.
      I currently live in Fargo but was born and raised in a smaller town an hr south of fargo. I love ND and wont ever forget where I come from, even after I move away.

  12. Debate me if you will, but if you’re North Dakotan you say “By-zun” when referring to either the animal or the team.

    • by-zun suck

      from your local fargo neighbor

  13. I also am proud to say I was born and raised in Fargo and all my children were born there.

  14. Most of the movie Fargo /took place/ in Brainerd and the Twin Cities suburbs, but none of it was filmed in Brainerd. The Brainerd scenes were filmed in Bemidji, MN. Both Bemidji and Brainerd are famous for having Paul Bunyan statues, but the one in Bemidji (the one shown in the film) is just a statue. The one in Brainerd is animatronic and verbally greets children when they enter the amusement park he lives in.

  15. as a 4th generation Red River Valley native I grew up just an hour NW of Fargo . Fargo is the go to place for us for most everything . my daughters are now freshman at NDSU and are taking in their new community a little culture at a time and it might take them their full 4 years to get even a taste of what there is to offer. the community is so diverse. Fargo boasts that the multicultural offerings are a great draw for visitors and businesses alike. Yes the cold is a detourent for some but you can’t beat a ND snowfall with no wind and it blanketing everything in a beautiful layer of fresh white snow the blizzards lead to snow days and tune with the family from school and work. Thanks for visiting our biggest little city in ND. come back soon!

  16. Figured I would add that my favorite part of this area are the flatlands sunrise/sunset. Absolutely breath taking!!

  17. Fargo…what a place!! My wife and I lived in Fargo for 7 years, I graduated college, we survived a flood, we had two children, and discovered most certainly one of the best places in the world to live. What makes Fargo so great you ask?…the people!! Fargo has retail (so do other cities), Fargo has entertainment (so do other cities), Fargo has education (so do other cities, Fargo has technology (so do other cities), but the one thing that Fargo has that no other cities have…the people. The people of Fargo are unmatched. We have lived in North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota. We have lived in small town, big city, and major metropolitan. Never have we been part of a community that has come close to that of Fargo. Although my family’s direction has taken us from Fargo, it remains special to us. If destiny would bless us with the opportunity to again relocate to Fargo, it would be music to our ears.

  18. We are a military family.. traveled all over the world and have not found a place that has people as friendly as North Dakota! Raised in ND and miss the people everyday… especially when dealing with rude and crude people who only care about themselves. In ND I know if anything happens people will be there to help… I have yet to find that at other locations. People don’t even know there neighbors in the STL area, in ND you have to know them so you can check in on each other. No place like home….

  19. Just so you know, the worst of the floods was, in significant part, caused by the fact that the Red River of the North flows north. All the melting in and around Fargo had nowhere to go because not so much further north, the river was ice.

    The day I left Fargo in early 1985, never to return as a resident, the headline on the front page of the Forum was “-100, Keeps Out the Riff Raff.” We’d had our car started by a local service station the day before and left it running overnight so I’d be able to get to the airport for my morning flight out. I’ve been back many times since then and am always happy to be there. It keeps getting better.

  20. But in Fargo you would have had a real intellectual education and IQ along with no debt.

  21. Check out Wolftree Magazine, which is out of Fargo, ND!

  22. I like this this article, but FYI:
    *Moorhead
    Couldn’t stop myself. After all, this is my birthplace.

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  1. In a North Dakota State of Mind | Nolan Dalla - […] narrative on what it’s like to stay in Downtown Fargo for a whole week.  Read “FARGO” […]

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