I didn't make that determination, either. Those of you who know me would know that I would put it at number 1, but when the list makers are the people on the Today Show, number 6 is just fine with me.
The Today Show recently launched a new series called "America the Beautiful" in which they spend 10 weeks featuring the top 10 most beautiful places in America. The series is visited every Thursday morning and this week happened to feature our one and only NORTH DAKOTA!! I couldn't believe it!
The full article, called "Amber waves of grain: Discover America's Farms", devotes the majority of it's space to the farms and wheat production of North Dakota. Did you know that ND is the No.1 in the nation in the production of durum wheat and spring wheat (in addition to several other crops)? Or how about the fact that ND exports wheat to over 100 countries world-wide, the greatest buyer being Italy itself, the pasta capital of the world? The pasta that Italy is renowned for is made from North Dakotan Durum wheat! The article also features area farm tours and festivals dedicated to our heritage and culture. Kansas is also mentioned, however North Dakota receives the most attention. (As it should be.) You should really read up.
Along with the article, you can watch the actual segment that was shown on the Today Show by clicking here. It is about 7 minutes long and features a couple of farmers from North Dakota, and one from South Dakota. The clip talks about America's beautiful farms and was filmed primarily in Stark County, ND, which is just west of Bismarck. It's pretty cool to watch.
Another section that aired later in the day on the Today Show took a correspondent to the North Dakota State Fair. She took $50 to see how much fun could be had. This is a shorter clip (only 3:41) and fun to watch. You can view it by clicking here.
Or, instead of clicking on my links, you can view this story at the Today Show's Homepage under the Topics section.
I should mention that so far places listed have been:
#10: Niagara Falls
#9: Charleston, S.C.
#8: Arlington, V.A.
#7: Can't find it for the life of me
and the great
#6: North Dakota!
A poll asking where else the Today Show should visit includes:
Grand Teton National Park, WY
Golden Gate Bridge in San Fransisco, CA
Maui, HI
and the Grand Canyon, AZ
If you take as much pride in our beautiful country as I do, then you will also enjoy these 2 picture slide shows that I found as well. They of course cannot capture the extensive splendor that America has to offer. However, they do showcase some truly majestic places. It makes me so proud to be an American.
The first one is a beautiful collection of 23 photos that the Today show put together for their series. Click here to go to the first slide show.
The second one is a 6 page collection of photographs that viewers sent in, two of which are from North Dakota. One is on the front page and one is a few pages back. This show is a bit more extensive, but includes some very beautiful pictures. Click here for the second slide show.
I really hope that you take the time to look through some of these things. So often we take our state and our country for granted. We don't realize the blessings that God has given us by providing us with not only a safe, clean, spacious state, but also a relatively safe, progressive, and free nation. There are so many beautiful places in America that we can appreciate and so many qualities that we have to be thankful for. God truly has blessed America.
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