FEATURED PLACES: North Dakota's Enchanted Highway

By Stuart Mahoney

Photo 200073604 / Enchanted Highway © Thomas Williams | Dreamstime.com

Like everyone here at Everything Road Trip, I enjoy a good road trip. But even I have to admit that sometimes the scenery can get dull, which can make the trip less fun. Yes it can be pretty neat seeing some farms with cows in them, but if that is all you're looking at for hours straight, it can get a bit old.

Thankfully there are people out there from time to time who will take it upon the themselves to go out there and make something unique and memorable for people to look at while they drive. One of these people is Gary Greff.

Gary Greff and His Enchanted Highway

Gary Greff is an artist who specializes in scrap metal sculptures. In the late 1980's, Greff saw a decline in the economy of his hometown of Regent, North Dakota, and decided to do something about it. Being over 30 miles from I-94, Regent wasn't a place many wanted to visit, and Greff wanted make the town thrive again. An idea that would bring in people from places all around to Regent.

He wanted to build a series of massive scrap metal sculptures along the road that leads to Regent from I-94. 

The idea was that if the sculptures were awesome enough, people would get off the freeway and drive down to Regent in order to see all the sculptures, and then hopefully spend a lot of money while they were there. And thus the Enchanted Highway was born

So in 1989, Greff started working on his miles-long art project, which is still ongoing to this day.

Traveling Along the Enchanted Highway

When travelers get off at Exit 72 along I-94 in Gladstone, North Dakota, they are greeted by a massive scrap metal sculpture of some flying geese. Head south from there, and you will officially be on the Enchanted Highway!

There are currently seven sculptures for you to enjoy as you drive along the highway to Regent. There is an eighth one under construction in the town of Regent itself.

When you travel along the Enchanted Highway from north to south, you will encounter these statues in the following order: 

1. Geese in Flight
2. Deer Crossing
3. Grasshoppers
4. Fisherman's Dream
5. Pheasants on the Prairie 
6. Teddy Roosevelt Rides Again
7. Tin Family

All of these sculptures have road and parking access to them, although I gather from reading through Google reviews that not all of them (if any) have any form of public restrooms, so keep that in mind if you plan your own road trip down the Enchanted Highway. 

When you are done looking at the seven sculptures, you will have arrived at the town of Regent. There you can find an Enchanted Castle that you can spend the night in.

The Enchanted Castle of Regent, North Dakota

Now that you have finished your road trip down the Enchanted Highway, you might be thinking it is time to find a place to stay for the night, particularly if it is also a place of enchantment. Well, as it turns out, Gary Greff is also the owner of The Enchanted Castle, a medieval-themed hotel, as well as the Excalibur Steakhouse, a similarly themed medieval restaurant. As mentioned above, Greff is in the process of building an eighth scrap metal sculpture, located next to the Enchanted Castle. Appropriately, when finished, the sculpture will feature a knight defending the castle from a literal fire-breathing dragon! It is planned to breathe fire every hour, on the hour, to make it easier for people to check out the pyrotechnics. 

Conclusion

The Enchanted Highway is a must-see for anyone who likes seeing unique things in their roadside scenery, so if you happen to be going on a road trip through Southwestern North Dakota, you should try to make time to check out the Enchanted Highway. 

BEFORE YOU GO: Do You Need New Tires?

When you are preparing to drive somewhere, how often do you check your tires before you leave?

If you're like me, virtually never. Frankly I don't think about tires at all unless a mechanic is telling me straight up I need to get tires...

...or worse yet, while I am stranded on the side of the to road, trying to change my tire to while cars are speeding by me in the rain.

Don't Let This Happen to You!

Every year, hundreds of motorists are severely hurt or killed while trying to change a tire on the side of the road. It is important to do whatever you can to prevent being stuck roadside. 

While it is impossible to guarantee you won't have a flat tire while on your road trip, if you are regularly checking for tire wear, you can greatly increase your odds of not being stuck on the side of the road with a flat.

Checking for Tire Damage

The easiest way to check for tire damage is to actually walk around your car and look at the tires once in a while. This may seem to obvious, but many people, (myself included), don't really think about their cars to much until it is too late.

When you look for tire damage, you should take a close look at each tire individually. Look for spots where the rubber has holes or is peeling away from the frame. Also look for anything stuck in the tires, like nails, spikes, metal shards, road debris, etc.

While you are at it, you should check your tires for tread wear.

The Lincoln Method

"What in the world is there Lincoln Method?" 

This is probably what you are thinking right now. You are probably wondering what this has to do with tire wear. 

It has to do with our friend Abraham Lincoln on the penny:

See, the idea is that you're going to use the penny to figure out how much tread you have left. 

(For the record, I got this idea for checking for tread from the folks at Firestone. Thanks, Firestone!)

The idea is that you're going to take the penny and put good ol' Honest Abe head-first into your tire's read in several different parts of the tire and see if you can see Lincoln's head or not. If you can see Lincoln's full head, then you need to get a new tire.

You should put Lincoln's head in each major tread that goes the full length around the tire, as pictured below. This will help you determine not only if your tires is wearing out, but also if it is wearing evenly.

Checking your tire's wear in several different locations will help you figure out if your tire is wearing unevenly.

And that's it! With this cheap simple method you can figure out if you need tires without wasting time sitting at the shop!

Be Safe and Have Fun!

As always, we here at Everything Road Trip are here to help you have a fun and enjoyable trip. Be sure to check those tires and be safe!