One of the advantages of traveling with a home on wheels is that you can spend time in pretty remote places that have relatively few amenities – and have a place to sleep, shower and eat close by!
The International Peace Garden certainly fits into the category of remote places to visit. If you go to the middle of North Dakota (which only has about 800,000 people in the entire state) – and then head directly North to the Canadian Border – that is where the International Peace Garden is located.
Remote? Check.
Absolutely worth visiting? Check.
The International Peace Garden was established in 1932 as a symbol of the peaceful relationship between the United State and Canada. The 3.65 square mile park cultivates over 150,000 flowers each year in carefully manicured gardens and flowerbeds.
This was not our first visit to the International Peace Gardens – but our third. We went twice on day trips when we lived in Grand Forks, North Dakota – but had never spent the night.
We took Aurora with us as we toured the outside grounds …. and if you are thirsty – there is no reason to wait for your water dish back at the camper when there is a perfectly good stream near by.
In addition to magnificent flower beds – there is also a memorial to 9/11 and a bell tower that rings every 15 minutes or so. Aurora did an experiment – and barking at the tower did not change the frequency of the bell ringing – but we certainly tried every 15 minutes!
We also had an opportunity to tour a relatively new part of the park – a collection of over 1000 succulent plants that had been donated to the garden by a native North Dakotan who had personally collected all of them.
It was overwhelming!
After a few purchases in the gift shop – we did a drive on the Canadian side of the park to ensure we had an opportunity to see everything.
We also went to the North American Game Warden Museum at the park. This museum was set up to recognize the important work Game Wardens do in law enforcement across the United States and Canada. It also was a memorial to the Game Wardens who have lost their lives in the line of duty.
We have an infamous bit of family lore about museums. When we first moved to Starkville, Mississippi in 2001 we took a summer trip with our Coleman pop-up camper to the southern part of the state. Noel found a “Coke Museum” in the Vicksburg area that was essentially a collection of vintage coke bottles in a couple of rooms of a house.
The family was not impressed.
While the Game Warden museum wasn’t quite the Vicksburg Coke museum – it was close. The museum missed the opportunity to really tell a story about game wardens and what they do. I would put it solidly in second place on the list of museums we probably will not return to in the future.
However – why not try these things if you have a chance? After all – new experiences are why we travel!
It was time to hit the road and head to the Mellow Moose Campground in Minot, North Dakota for the night.
What can I say – it was under construction and trains came by every 90 minutes or so all night – and blew their whistles right by the campground.
Noel and Aurora crossed it off our “let’s stay there again” campground list.
What can I say? We had electricity, water, sewage and train whistles.
All part of the RV experience!
Kirk’s Travelogue 