Noah's Ark

While these Theodore Roosevelt ungulates are enjoying the new spring grasses, the rest of the state of North Dakota is not so high and dry.




Everyone has heard of the Fargo flooding, but did you know that the rest of the state is underwater too? As I was driving yesterday, all day I'd see little pockets of former farmland-turned-ocean like this one - its waves slowly creeping to the road and lapping at its eroding edges.


At one point, it didn't just stop at the edges, instead I-94 became a shallow water funland.



I decided, since I've been kicking myself ever since I drove by two weeks ago, that I would exit and check out the Red River in Fargo. I was surprised to see that the Maple River, which I cross before entering Fargo, was HIGHER than when I last crossed - instead of being less than a foot away from the steel tresses of a neighboring bridge, it was half-way up them! The flooding from THAT river in the roadside ditches went on for miles.

I got off the freeway when I started to see makeshift dirt dikes again. To actually see the river this time I had to drive two blocks into one of the most affected neighborhoods. The street closest to the river had a giant pile of dirt right down the middle. On one side, the houses appeared to be fine, except for the sandbag piles protecting their lower two feet.



...but on the other side...



I was having flashbacks to the year we had 3.5 feet of water in our basement thanks to the Great Brown Deer Flood of '97.

I walked a little farther and found a closed Gooseberry Park. I didn't see any boats, any animals marching two by two, and for that matter, any people, the whole time I was back in this neighborhood. Seems they've given up for now, silently poised for the second crest of the Red River coming this week and waiting for those storm clouds to finally clear up!