Another GUEST Blog

6-22-12 busy  brain
Ann had so much to see on her 11 day trip, she has requested more time to post all her travel stories ~Judy

Summer Road-Trippin’ – Part Two

Day Five: 600 mile Sunday drive from Minot to Bozeman. Leaving a day early was a blessing as we would get into Bozeman by 8 pm. We drove all day and what a great day for a drive. So why travel the back roads of ND? Well it does stand between us and Bozeman and after chatting with some locals outside the Peace Garden, I had to see the Oil Boom. We skipped driving on I90 and took highway 2.

 We started seeing oil derricks in Stanely and by the time we got to Willliston, not only oil derricks but mini-refineries and trucks and more trucks. Mile after mile, oil derricks and trucks  everywhere. 

We stopped off for a break at the local grocery store in Williston and overheard many people talking about where they were from and what brought them to Williston. One word, JOBS and if you are a truck driver, instant job. The influx of workers was growing faster than the town can manage, thus housing is a big issue.

 There are camps and camps of RV’s, campers, trailers everywhere. I was told that some were  living in their cars. All I could think about was “does the city have enough water/sewer/utilities to support the new arrivals”? That reminded me of a question that was posed to us in a public policy class, how do you ensure a city has the infrastructure for a rush of people?(the people in this case were the Jews). Sorry for the downer. 

I’ll leave with some random pic of ND. On to Bozeman for three days. I will tell you that I loved Bozeman and I got a little something something for myself. Gotta run.

Chat Later, That Girl
Ann Marie