A Fortnight on the Dakota Prairie

Greetings from Bismarck! It's always great exploring a new place, especially when you come with no expectations and are pleasantly surprised by what you find. What I'm finding here are a bunch of great people and a whole new appreciation for the grasslands. It's definitely cold, but not as much as Bozeman was last week, and the pristine rolling hills are a great metaphor for how I want my heart and mind: Open, expansive, and full of diversity, complexity hidden in the simplicity, and uniqueness. Unfortunately, most of the prairie is now over-exploited for oil, farming, and grazing, leaving only tiny refuges of the original character of the landscape.

Since arriving, I have mostly been in the office getting to know how the area is managed on paper and in meetings, though yesterday Dan (my tourguide/mentor) took me out to do a winter bird survey and check out Fort Mandan, where Lewis & Clark holed up for the winter on their way through. Starting with this weekend the rest of my time here will be about immersion into the cultures and landscapes of this place. I can't wait.