Final Days of Summer, North Dakota

Autumn leaves - time to farewell North Dakota
Inside St Mary's Catholic Church, Hague, ND

Altar Detail

Avalyn at St Mary's Old Cemetery

Iron Cross Grave Marker

This is the 3rd time we have driven away from North Dakota at the end of a summer of enjoyable RV adventures, and the 3rd time I have felt quite nostalgic as we drive the last few miles. When we first arrive the fields are bright green (or yellow (canola/sunflowers) or blue (flax)), but by the time we leave, the sunflowers' bright yellow faces are all but gone and most of the other crops are harvested. The rippling golden wheat fields are all mown down like crew cuts. Green grasses have lost their vibrancy of summer and many trees are starting to show fall colors.

Our friends Avalyn & Wes were fishing down near the South Dakota border, so we called in and spent our last 2 North Dakota nights in a campsite near them. Murray and Wes went out fishing and between the two of them caught the combined bag limit of 10 walleye. Nice too. While they were fishing, Avalyn and I drove to the nearby city of Linton (pop. approx 1000) for lunch, then drove 23 miles south to visit the historic St Mary's Catholic Church and iron cross cemetery in Hague. The church was built in 1929 after the earlier one burnt down. It was very beautiful inside. The cemetery was open for business from 1885 to 1914. The iron crosses were created by the German-Russian pioneers that settled in the area. The German influence is still very evident in the language, business names and local restaurant fare. We had an interesting day which ended with a tasty fish fry for dinner.