It was fortunate that we didn’t plan on staying in Bismarck for more than a day or so. Though it is the capitol of North Dakota, there wasn’t really much to do there. As we continued our journey to Fargo we made an ever so slight detour to stop in Jamestown, home of the World’s Largest Buffalo. So now I can tell you all about Bismarck and Jamestown North Dakota!
World’s Largest Buffalo
To fill you in on Bismarck and Jamestown North Dakota I’ll start with Bismarck.
Bismarck, which was founded in 1872. It was not called Bismarck at that time though. It was originally called Edwinton to honor Edwin L. Johnson because he was a proponent of a transcontinental railway that would transport people from coast to coast. It was only a year later that the name was changed to Bismarck in honor or German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck. The purpose of honoring the Chancellor was the hope that it would attract German investment in the Northern Pacific Railway.
Today the town’s population of more than 73,000 includes a large number of people of German descent.
Prior to statehood the Dakota Territory was one enormous area. When admitted to the Union on November 2, 1889 the area was divided into North and South Dakota as the 39th and 40th states.
North Dakota is best known for its Badlands which are now part of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. But since this is also a food blog, I thought you’d be interested in learning that North Dakota is known for an odd dish called Lutefisk. There’s no food that is more argued about than lutefisk amongst North Dakotans.
Lutefisk is prepared using dried fillet of whitefish that is soaked in lye! It’s then reconstituted in water and either baked or boiled. Tasty? I really couldn’t tell you. But if you’re ever in North Dakota and you find it on a menu be sure to let me know!!!
While we’re on food facts – the state is the leading producer of sunflowers, honey, wheat, beef and soybeans. In fact North Dakota farmers grow enough wheat annually to produce 12.6 BILLION loaves of bread, enough beef to make 113 million hamburgers and enough soybeans to create 483 billion crayons!
Pioneer State Library Park includes the capitol building (tall one) of North Dakota in Bismarck
But other than driving passed the capitol campus, all we did is drive along the many farms in the Bismarck area.
From Bismarck we continued our trek across North Dakota. As we were driving we kept seeing signs for Jamestown, home of the World’s Largest Buffalo. We almost never stop at any attractions while traveling in Ladybug, but this was right on our route, so we had to stop. We headed down Louis L’amour Lane to the end and found plenty of RV friendly parking.
Jamestown Barber Shop
Old West Shopping Mall in Jamestown ND
Steve and I were very glad that we took this detour. What a fun and unexpected stop!
Jamestown Trading Post
I’d pay a reward for that guy every time!
The World’s Largest Buffalo Monument is so enormous that it’s visible from the highway. This giant has been watching over Jamestown from the Frontier Village since 1959 but had no name for 50 years. In 2010 there was a contest to name the World’s Largest Buffalo. There were over 3,500 entries, but the one submitted by Michael Shirek of Devil’s Lake, ND was the winner. And he is now and forever known as Dakota Thunder.
A closer look at the world’s largest buffalo. Technically it is a bison!
The monument was created by sculptor Elmer Petersen. It is made from unite, a form of concrete, that was sprayed over a wire mesh framed from steel beaming and a reinforcing rod. It stands 26 feet tall and weighs 60 tons!
For perspective, I’m standing under the world’s largest buffalo
Just to put things in perspective, the heaviest wild bull ever recorded weighed 2,800 pounds. There was one bison that was even larger that lived in captivity, and he weighed in 3,801 pounds. Bison can stand 6 feet tall to their hump. Dakota Thunder weighs just about the same as 5 average sized African Elephants or 30 average sized automobiles!
How fast can you run?
Happy to see bison everywhere we go!
The monument was really cool, but it’s the real bison that stole my heart several states ago. And at the back of the National Buffalo Museum in Frontier Village we got to watch Jamestown’s buffalo herd grazing the prairie grasses. That same herd once was home to a rare white buffalo named White Cloud and her son, Dakota Miracle. Sadly White Cloud passed away in 2016 and is now on display in the Museum.
The National Buffalo Museum in Jamestown ND
There were even gorgeous horse roaming with the bison in Jamestown North Dakota
White buffalo are so rare that there are only one in 10 million born. Those rare animals are considered sacred by Native American tradition. They deem them a sign of peace, unity, earth stewardship and abundance.
Wow, you really needed a local guide for Bismarck. Sorry that you got the impression that you did. There are lots of things to do in Bismarck. The Missouri River runs through Bismarck. So many people will boat or pontoon out the the sand bars which are wonderful beaches to play summer games, grill, swim in shallow areas. There are multiple parks along the river with plenty of shade trees to walk, picnic, play volleyball in the summer, rollerblade, bicycle or walk. There are other parks throughout the city as well. There is the Raging Rivers WaterPark as well as multiple golf courses. The is the indoor golf driving range. Lake Sacakewea is about an hour north where there are great State camp sites. General Sibley Park is a great little pretty campground about five minutes south of the city. Cross Ranch State park is a beautiful state park about 90 minutes north of Bismarck. There is Fort Lincoln and its camping area south of Bismarck and hiking trails. There is the old Fort there as well as the lodges built into the earth that Native Americans lived. We have had great family reunions at all these places. There are lots of great restaurants in Bismarck with unique foods, large movie theater. If you want Norwegian food, stop into Kroll’s diner. There is the Gateway to Science Museum, the Lewis and Clark Interpretative Center. You can take a boat ride from Keelboat Park up to the Chief Looking’s village. The Sacakewea Statue is gorgeous. There is the State Capital and the Governor’s Mansion. Both Bismarck and Mandan have awesome firework shows for the 4th of July. I’m so sorry that the highlight of your trip was the Buffalo Statue and Buffalo in Jamestown. Perhaps if you continue writing a travel blog, you might consider doing a bit more research to be fair to all the people that come together to build these family oriented recreation havens that North Dakotans are so lucky to have. Summers in North Dakota are one of America’s best kept secrets. I am really thankful you mentioned the sunflower, soybean and grain crops. South of Bismarck, in the german towns, look for authentic apple strudel. For reference, the North Dakota State Parks and Tourism website give lots of information on things to do in ND.
Thank you so much for opening my eyes to all that Bismarck has to offer! I promise that if/when we do return we will check out your many wonderful suggestions!!! We did thoroughly enjoy our other stops in North Dakota such as Teddy Roosevelt National Park and Fargo.