Our vacation destination is...North Dakota!

interesting architecture The http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KVLY-TV_mast in the Western Hemisphere is in Blanchard. There is not much around it, but it is only an hour's drive from Fargo. scenic drives http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Roosevelt_National_Park is on the other end of the state. It has live bison and wild horses in addition to the scenery. If you make it into Minnesota, Lake Itasca State Park has some nice hikes and you can walk across the Mississippi River.

2nding Duane's House of Pizza. You must stop there for one meal. I enjoyed http://fargoairmuseum.org/

Earlier this Spring, I spent a surprisingly enjoyable afternoon in Fargo's attractive and revitalized (but small) downtown. Trendy restaurants (I ate at this http://wurstfargo.com/), a rooftop bar in the boutique hotel (http://www.hoteldonaldson.com/, though rooms appear sold out), several interesting art galleries. Just across the river in Moorehead, Minn., is the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hjemkomst_Center, a local historical society museum that houses a replica Viking ship and stave church. I spent another afternoon walking the nature trails at the http://www.visitfergusfalls.com/pages/PrairieWetlandsLearningCenter/, an hour away in Fergus Falls, Minn., a quaint little county seat that has its own historical society museum. Congrats!

http://www.nps.gov/thro/index.htm is lovely. Do be aware that July-September is making season for bison - there are a lot of bison in the park and the last time we were there we were chased, other people we met were chased and rangers told us they had been "treed" by cranky bison in the visitor's center. Definitely adds to the adventure!

http://projects.metafilter.com/3749/9308-photographs-of-North-Dakota of different places that you might enjoy. I haven't been to ND in a long time so I don't have timely recommendations. I enjoyed Fargo. I think I'd like to see the http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/11486 and the http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2156. These people will https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/3692578 which might be worth some research and https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1805170 have a cute Victoria cottage near a river which might make a nice place to stop.

I grew up in North Dakota (Minot and Bismarck) and frankly, North Dakota has a lot of great places to visit and things to do. Have a wonderful trip! - The http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60973-d1911641-Reviews-Theodore_Roosevelt_National_Park-Medora_North_Dakota.html (aka Badlands) and the Medora area is truly amazing, and it has much to offer (lodging, restaurants, activities). It is in the far western part of the state, and the oil boom has also resulted in much higher hotel costs. - For eastern North Dakota, I can highly recommend the Pembina Gorge and the Turtle Mountains (53-mile scenic drive). The town of http://walhalland.org has great area parks (hunting, hiking, fishing, golfing) and a great B&B and restaurant: http://www.sanctuary-guesthouse.com. - The http://www.ndtourism.com/bottineau/boating/lake-metigoshe-state-park is a lovely area. - I've heard really good things about the http://cdplodge.com in far southeastern North Dakota (really near Minnesota and South Dakota) - Be sure to find a picturesque area to watch the sunsets. They usually rock in late August. - The gems of North Dakota are outside the big cities (outside Fargo, Grand Forks, etc). You can look for some of the off-the-beaten path resources on the http://www.ndtourism.com.

Oh how lovely! You really must consider Medora and perhaps stay in Dickinson. This is the real wild west, and still has active cowboys and roundups. There are endless trails because of the national park, and ranches that will set you up for trail rides. If you don't ride, you can instead rent bicycles. Dickinson and Medora do have quirky museums including the cowboy hall of fame, dinosaurs, and Ukranian culture. If your timing is right, there is a rodeo and stock car racing in Dickinson in late August. Perhaps review this website: http://visitdickinson.com/ Outside of the Medora area, the C'mon Inn hotels are fun, but very family-centered with a large pool and all rooms overlooking the pool. Very well priced and comfortable but unlikley to feel romantic. http://www.cmoninn.com/

On the kitschy side, there's a small chain calledhttp://spacealiens.com/ with locations in Fargo and Bismarck. I can't remember which one we went to, but it had an astronaut suit, Weekly World News updates on the walls, and a giant (velvet?) painting on the ceiling. And very cheesy names for the food, which was pretty much what you'd expect. Caveat: that was at least a decade ago. Fun! http://www.fortmandan.com/ is probably further west than you're looking, but it's a very nice Lewis and Clark spot with walks. Theodore Roosevelt National Park is indeed really gorgeous and the bison are very cool to look at, but be warned that they will sometimes gore out your headlights. (Having camped there during rutting season, I would not recommend camping there during rutting season. Favorite ranger advice: "If they start charging you, just run into your tent-- they will think you've become a rock!")

In Fargo, you need to have Duane's House of Pizza once. Every time someone posts about Fargo or North Dakota, I am legally obligated to recommend it. One thing to note: North Dakota is BIG -- if you're driving from Chicago to Fargo, driving from Fargo to Dickinson is another 6 hours straight through, Painted Canyon and Medora a little further. If you want to do Fargo and Bismarck and the http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/11486 and Medora, there's several days extra driving involved. You're better off picking one region and hitting everything within a couple hours. Quirky museums: http://www.rogermarismuseum.com/ in Fargo is in a hallway of the mall, near the pet store. The State Historical Society on the Capitol grounds in Bismarck is a good overview of the state's history. The Capitol building itself is, I believe, the tallest building between Minneapolis and Seattle. Someone mentioned the KTHI tower, the tallest man-made thing anywhere; it's fun, but there's no 'interpretive center', it's just a huge tower in the middle of a field. http://www.ndtourism.com/deals?AID=896 historical site, 1/2 hour south of Fargo, is a cool museum. Fort Union out west is too -- Fort Union is having a http://www.nps.gov/fous/planyourvisit/event-details.htm?eventID=332516-206081 that weekend. Too bad it's not a full Rendezvous, those are fun (think Renaissance Festival, but for French fur trappers and native American tribes) That's all I got for now, will add more if I think of anything.