Day 14: July 10, 2025 – Jamestown, North Dakota to Oakdale, Wisconsin
We’re deep in that in-between space: not quite on vacation anymore, not quite back to real life. There’s a quiet kind of gratitude tucked into these tired miles, along with a little wishful thinking about future trips. Home is just over the horizon—we’re ready, but in the meantime, we’re still rolling.
Today’s drive included a stop in Fargo, ND. Known for its bone-chilling winters, warm hospitality, and unmistakable Midwestern accent (“You betcha!”), Fargo is also a hub for agricultural research, tech startups, and manufacturing. It’s home to cultural gems like the Plains Art Museum and Bonanzaville (how I wished we had time to visit!). But for those of us who came of age in the ’90s, Fargo holds pop culture fame for something else entirely: a woodchipper.
Yes—THAT woodchipper! The actual movie prop from Fargo resides in the Fargo-Moorhead Visitors Center, complete with fake leg, pile of wood, and Marge Gunderson-style trapper hats for tourists to wear in photos. There’s even a replica outside the center. It’s a quirky and fun roadside attraction—even if the film wasn’t actually shot in Fargo. Still, totally worth it.
Continuing east, our next stop was in Alexandria, MN, a nod to the area’s Scandinavian roots. There we met Big Ole—a 28-foot-tall Viking who stands proudly as a symbol of Alexandria’s Norse heritage. Originally built for the 1964–65 World’s Fair, he found a home in Alexandria shortly afterward. Over the years, Big Ole has had quite the saga: he’s been burned, toppled by wind, and crushed by a snow-laden roof. These days, he stands safely in a lakeside park near Lake Agnes. It was a fun and unexpected stop on a beautiful Minnesota afternoon.
Tonight, we landed at a KOA Journey in Oakdale, WI. Though we would’ve loved a walk after a long stretch on the road, the mosquitoes were relentless. Instead, Marlie, Rob and I coaxed Alyssa down from her bunk for a few rounds of Rack-O before bed. It was our last night at a campground before reaching home. One final stop at a Harvest Host tomorrow… then it’s back to Connecticut.
End of Day Stats:
Mileage: 620 miles
Rubber Ducks Deployed: 2 (one for the bison, one for Big Ole!)
Movie Memorabilia Visited: priceless
Rounds of Rack-O: 6
Cue: In the Meantime by Spacehog—dreamy, weird, and oddly comforting. The perfect soundtrack for this glazed-donut, post-trip haze.
Wandering, But Not Lost 