6/10/21: ND's Enchanted Highway's Quirky Sculptures!

After spending a chunk of time exploring the South Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park north of Bowman, North Dakota, Steven and I headed toward the state capital of Bismarck but via a most interesting detour on The Enchanted Highway! You wouldn't get much of an argument from us that there didn't seem to be much going on in Western North Dakota. We read that was precisely what concerned Gary Greff, a former school principal and native of Regent in the late 1980s. Regent was a small farming town about 30 miles from Interstate 94 that Greff was sure would become yet another casualty of 'progress' if a way weren't found to make Regent a destination in and of itself.

In 1989, Greff had an 'Aha! moment when he noticed a hay bale strongman built by a local farmer resulted in people pulling off the road to take pictures of the creation. With no experience welding or creating art, Greff began creating ten huge sculptures, paired with pullouts and picnic areas, and locating them every few miles along the road from Gladstone to Regent he dubbed The Enchanted Highway. All of the sculptures would face north, toward the oncoming traffic from the interstate.

As we, too, were coming from the interstate, it was impossible to miss the first one as it was the only one visible from the interstate. The approach was via a dirt road that had geese placed at regular intervals perched on poles. What a great and novel way of introducing us to what would be coming in a moment!

We couldn't wait to see the ginormous sculpture from the front as it looked pretty out of this world from the back as we got closer!

Geese in Flight earned the distinction of the world’s largest scrap metal sculpture by the Guinness Book of World Records in 2002.  That was of little wonder as the 110 ft.-high sculpture weighed 78.8 tons and was comprised of five miles of oil well tanks and pipe! 

It took six years to complete and required five cranes to lift up and put in place!

The sculpture was atop a large hill with nothing to break the fierce wind. On our short drive to the beginning of The Enchanted Highway, Steven had to grip the steering wheel with both hands to keep the car from moving from our lane.

A few miles down the highway was Deer Crossing which featured a 70 ft. tall buck jumping over a fence with 50 ft. tall doe beside him.

Designer and builder Greff used an art design technique called shadowing to mimic and accent their muscles. 

We listened to an audio recording that described the tough time Greff had transporting his work of art through the streets of Regent to bring Deer Crossing to its current location. Though he'd measured the width of Main St. in Regent, he forgot its light posts! That was a big obstacle as he had to weave his big truck with the deer in tow in and out of the light posts until he reached two that were directly across from each other. He was forced to cut off an antler and leg and then re-weld them on site. Fortunately, they looked none the worse for wear!

An added benefit of this sculpture was that this maze nearby.

The next one was The Grasshoppers. Just like at the initial geese sculpture, there was a tie-in with the entrance and the theme of the sculpture itself.

Greff said this was his most controversial sculpture as many local farmers had a bone to pick because of the devastation grasshoppers occasionally cause to their fields. Greff wanted these, however, to be "an ode to that struggle" as he was reminded of his grandfather’s recounting an infestation on his farm in the 1930s. The grasshoppers were so thick they blackened the sky and devoured all the crops and even the fence posts. 

The following winter, he had to feed his cattle thistle as they had consumed everything else. His grandfather must have been made of strong North Dakota stock as he refused to let the little insects defeat him. He wasn’t going to be discouraged as a farmer and rancher.

The grasshoppers and grains of wheat were made of many interlocking pieces and were five times the size of a car. The largest grasshopper was 60 ft. wide and 40 ft. tall.

Kiddos of all ages would have fun on the adjacent climbing structure and mini-grasshopper ride.

The sculptures were so huge they could all be clearly seen from a considerable distance away! By far the largest and most intricate so far along The Enchanted Highway was Gone Fishing which featured a 70 ft.-long rainbow trout cresting a wave. The sculpture included a 35 ft.-long salmon, catfish, bluebill, and a small-mouth bass swimming below, all fish that could be caught on some of the many lakes and fishing ponds in North Dakota. 

Atop was a fisherman casting his line into the water patiently waiting for the next bite. The fisherman was sitting in a boat that used to belong to Greff’s dad. Greff recalled that every time he looked up at his dad, he was going fishing!

This sculpture was so enormous and detailed it was hard to figure where to look and not miss part of it! It was yet again a remarkable testament to one man's creativity and determination to do everything he could to change the future of his small town.

A novel place for a birds' nest, wouldn't you agree?!

Sadly, some of the fish here had clearly seen better days as some scales had fallen to the ground and not been picked up for goodness only knows how long. I sure hope nobody got hurt when pieces fell.

At the base was a sunken ship for people to enjoy.

Pheasants on the Prairie honored the popular activity of pheasant hunting in North Dakota. The audio describing this piece said it was located "near the pheasant capital of the world along the scenic Cannonball River in the grasslands and buttes in ..." I couldn't detect the name of the town so looked online to find out what the pheasant capital of the world was. Surprise, surprise, there is NO mention of it being anywhere in North Dakota! Rather Redfield, South Dakota claims that distinction!

The rooster was 40 ft. tall! By comparison, the hen was 'only' 30 ft. tall and the chicks a 'mere' 20 ft. tall. Greff used bent oil well pipes for the skeletons and gravel-screening metal mesh for the feathers. You don't think I could possibly make this up, do you?! I was just awestruck at how realistic the pheasants and all the other animals we'd seen in the previous sculptures appeared to be, given Greff's lack of building experience before The Enchanted Highway.

You could sense how both the rooster and the hen remained alert, ready to dart into the safety of shade of the grasses or thick cattails if they sensed danger. Did you know that the pheasants can fly up to 50mph but prefer to walk when frightened or chased? That was news to me, too. Don't you love this useless trivia you learn from these posts!

The three chicks were described as feeding for seeds, berries, or possibly insects.

In almost no distance at all was Teddy Rides Again, a 51 ft. tall silhouette of the 26th President, Theodore Roosevelt, riding a rearing horse off into the horizon.  If you read the preceding post about our exploring the Roosevelt National Park also here in North Dakota, you may recall Roosevelt saying he'd never have been President if not for his experiences in this state.

Volunteer carpenters built the four horses and the stagecoach as they wanted to contribute toward the piece of art. I could not imagine riding across the state by stagecoach instead of by car

The silhouette was made of bent oil well pipes that had been welded together on site. You can imagine how frightening it must have been when a small fire started when Greff was welding the sculpture. Fortunately, it was put out quickly. 

It was a very lifelike rendering of a horse and rider but, if I hadn't known it was supposed to depict Roosevelt, I would never have guessed as the rider looked rather cartoonish in my opinion.

We finally reached Greff's first installation on The Enchanted Highway, The Tin Family, the last stop before reaching Greff’s hometown of Regent, 1.5 miles further south. Based on what farmers and ranchers of North Dakota were good at - welding, a part of the state heritage - Greff and more than three dozen farmers welded the first three pieces of gigantic folk art to create The Tin Family, the initial structure of the Enchanted Highway. 

As you might guess, the world’s largest tin family emphasized the importance of family and the heritage and culture of North Dakota. As the entire sculpture was surrounded by the all-American white-picket-fence and the father figure was holding onto a pitchfork, I couldn't help but be reminded of the similar American Gothic painting by Grant Wood!

The family all should have played basketball what with the 45ft.-tall father, the 43 ft.-tall mother, and the 23 ft.-tall son! They were crafted from fuel, oil well, and stock tanks.

Greff revealed he hopes one day the family will also comprise a daughter and some pets. Notice the son holding his hand over his heart in a very patriotic, rah rah gesture. 

By 2006, Greff had completed a total of seven mammoth sculptures for the 32-mile stretch of road. We noticed that all had been thematically related to western North Dakota’s cultural and historical roots. 

As we arrived in the 'Friendly City,' I would have been delighted to support Regent by buying some trinkets, ice cream, or whatever but the only place in town that appeared to be open was the local gas station so we filled up the tank.

It was so sad after the hype and hope that Greff and his collaborators had to entice people to come to Regent as the 'town' seemed deader than a doornail with just 131 souls living there as of 2019. I stood in the middle of the road for several minutes and I was in no danger of getting hit as traffic was negligible. 

Though I read that Greff continually builds prototypes and mock-ups for future sculptures, his sole funding comes from cash donations at each of the sculpture stops on the highway. Revenue was supposed to be generated at The Enchanted Highway gift shop in Regent but there was no gift shop as of ten days ago. There were plans, apparently, to open an RV park, dinner theater, cafe, and motel in the town to fully accommodate visitors. Sadly, none of that has come to pass. The Enchanted Highway was still a tremendous homage to one man's dream and we had thoroughly enjoyed every minute we drove along it although it had taken us a fair bit out of our way to the state capital.

Next post: As you surely guessed, Bismarck, one more of the state capitals to 'cross off' of our list!

Posted on June 23rd, 2021, from Youngstown, Ohio, although we've seen not one single thing yet in the city as we spent most of the day in the little-known Cuyahoga Valley National Park, south of Cleveland, Steven's old stomping ground. Hearing of the dangerous, new Delta Covid-19 variant, I hope you've all been vaccinated and you and your loved ones are safe and enjoying the beginning of summer.