Who would have thought a dark comedy in which one of the characters is murdered and thrown into a wood chipper would be a good billboard for tourism? But apparently it worked and we found ourselves pulling into Fargo, ND.
We didn’t know what to expect and Fargo was one of two cities on our trip that we had an intense curiosity about.
The other, Moose Jaw in Saskatchewan, turned out to be the place for oil-changes-cum-temporary-prison-hood. It was the third mechanic who finally agreed to change our oil right away. We stopped in at the Ford Fast Lane, which contrary to its name, was slow as all get out. I losttrack of time and considered hiking alongside the highway to Manitoba (since the road signs imply that it’s legal), but I think it was a 90 minute oil change.
Otherwise, Moose Jaw was a disappointment, despite its cool name. There wasn’t much to the town and it was too painful to take pictures.
Fargo, on the other hand, was what we were hoping Moose Jaw would be like (whereas Moose Jaw was what we feared Fargo would be like). The town was absolutely adorable, especially the older parts where the homes were built with an attention to architectural detail. Kids were playing with sprinklers on their front lawns; it was just so quaint.
We stopped into a restaurant and I simply gave in to the urge to try to hear the accent made famous by the movie named after the town.
I asked the waitress what’s the farthest one of her customers ever came from.
“Nooo, ya, I supppooose the fahrthest sooomeone came from was up in Canada, ya kno?”
Success!
WEST BY NORTHWEST 