06/22/2024
Back in the Great Recession (in reality - depression) I took my semi -truck to Williston, North Dakota - hauling water and oil in the Bakken Oil Fields. At the time the population of ND was around one million. Outside the metropolis of Williston it is not unusual to drive 10 to 15 miles without seeing a building. Occasionally one finds an isolated farm. Scattered among active farms are the remnants of the first settlers of the state. This is a photo i took of a farmhouse located just off a well site we were working. Thinking about the challenges these people faced in the early years is unreal. Miles of nothing. Even today, growing a crop is a toss of the dice. Unrelenting wind in the winter with unpredictable rainfall in the summer. The only trees are windrows planted to stop the wind and erosion. In it's day, this place was probably a palace with log construction from logs that were probably sourced miles away. Want to turn up the thermostat in the winter because you are a little chilly? Good luck! No trees, no wood for fuel. And to think they were sitting on one of the largest sources of petroleum in the US and had no idea!
