Let me start by saying this: I did think through what it would take to spend multiple days traveling and interviewing. I imagined the exhaustiion of spending hours in the car, getting out to meet various new people and talk with them for an unspecified amount of time, eating on the road, sleeping on couches and writing in between it all.

I learned very quickly this week that my imagination had no idea what it was getting into.

Lesson #1: The 2-year-old always wins.

Hadley is…charming. She has quickly swept every person we’ve met off his or her feet, which is helpful in making everyone comfortable and excited to talk to us.

Hadley is also a terror. We’ve spoiled her rotten with books and movies and toys so that she will be content to ride in the car. The problem is, sometimes we have to take those things away so she can, you know, sleep or something. She talks in this whiny voice that makes me want to tear my hair out. Kendra looks at me like she’s thinking, “Back away from my daughter.”

She’s adorable and selfish and whiny and all of this is part of her charm. It’s nothing to cry about. Actually, Kendra and I tend to laugh because we know, in the end, she’s an amazing little girl who, we’ve realized, needs time away from us almost as often as we crave time away from her. On more than one occasion, she told us we weren’t allowed to play with her. Ha, fine by me.

Lesson #2: I am introverted.

I’ve know that forever, but nothing drives home the point like spending six hours a day talking with strangers. It’s exhausting.

Lession #3: I don’t care because I love it.

North Dakotans really are some of the sweetest people I’ve ever encountered. We’ve stopped in Underwood, ND where we witnessed a friend walk down the street and literally know everyone who passed. We got ice cream from Sodas and Things, a knick-knack souvenir-type store with one of the last original soda fountains in the state. We sat on bar stools and it was awesome.

We spent yesterday in and around Watford City, ND. A family showed us around their ranch, secretly fed Hadley M&Ms (becoming her best friends) and made us wish we could stay longer. Another rancher took us up this winding hillside to see an old abandoned farmstead. Most of the buildings had collapsed. We’ve seen some of the most beautiful landscapes. I have to keep reminding myself that we are, in fact, still in North Dakota.

Lesson #4: The 2-year-old ALWAYS wins.

No matter how loud you turn up your music, you’ll still end the day with one of the Dora the Explorer songs stuck in your head.

Lesson #5: I will never have enough energy.

It’s going to take a lot of effort to sit down and write after a long day of interviews. I will do my best to blog about each town as soon after we visited as possible, but the more we visit, the more difficult it will be to keep up. So expect blogs like this, where we write about our reactions and about any unexpected things, and the mini town profiles will come soon.

With that said, we are having a blast. As often as Hadley makes us crazy, she makes us laugh more. And as a 26-year-old who plans to live in Underwood forever said, “It’s all about the people.”

T

P.S. What do you think of our logo? My good friend Justin Boetel, a graphic design student at the Art Institute in Minneapolis, made it for us. We love it.

Essence, Hadley, North Dakota, Small towns, Underwood, Watford City North Dakota Project, Personal