Tails From North Dakota

Who would have thought the heart of America was in North Dakota? When my friend, Anthony Fallahi, went to North Dakota on business, I learned that's where the heart of America is. His story sent chills up my spine. I knew that I wanted more than just my lunching friends to hear it. I asked if I could post his story on my blog:

Tails From North Dakota

I should preface by saying that I have been here since Monday, doing individual consults during the day for Catholic Health and driving 2-4 hours each night to get to my next destination. Clear skies and dry roads accompanied me every day, albeit with below freezing temps - all drives were relatively smooth. The weather turned nasty yesterday however, first with freezing rain, then heavy snow. I had heard that weather forecasts had called for some storming but hey… I’m a Utah man. We are built for this stuff, or so I thought. North Dakota is a nearly perfectly flat state, offering no protection from the elements. As I made my way from Carrington to the Bismarck airport the wind continued to pick up, peaking at 50 mph, quickly turning a snowfall into a full blizzard. By about the half-way point I was white-knuckling along at about 10mph, eyes focused on the left ridge of the road which served as my only point of reference. After driving through a thick cloud off a snowdrift, I emerged with absolutely no idea where I was in relation to the road – literally 0 visibility. At one point I got out of the little rented Nissan Sentra to try and gather my bearings and immediately experienced a cold, biting wind that I have never come close to feeling before. Five seconds later I was back in my car, thoroughly drenched, freezing, and completely snow blind. I was concerned that I may have drifted into the wrong lane so I inched forward and veered to the right. Quickly I found myself stuck in the ditch along the side of the road. I figured at this point that my best bet was to stay put and wait it out. Matters got worse though, after idling for about 90 minutes, when the car ran out of gas and the heater started blowing cold air. A little concerned by the prospect of a very cold, long evening I called for emergency assistance, hoping to at least spend the night in a Sheriff’s station. Crews were completely swamped and dispatch informed me that all roads had been closed, and the best thing I could do was bundle up and wait… This was about the point that I knew this was going to make a funny story some day, but not this day.

After a while a semi-truck driver stopped and picked me up. He had already picked up one stranded driver and would pick up another after me before we reached the best spot to hunker down for the duration, which was a town of about 60 people called Hurdsfield. The 10 mile drive back into town in that semi was absolutely terrifying. All agreed it was the worst storm they had ever seen. I tried to coin the phrase ‘Storm to end all Storms’ but it didn’t get much traction. Fortunately, everybody pretty much knows everybody else in North Dakota, and one of the wayfarers in the truck was able to call ahead and arrange for the owner of the local grocery store to open it up for us to use the bathroom, get some food, etc.. The extremely kind grocer offered his home to us for the night. He and his wife were absolutely amazing, without a doubt some of the most kind and gracious I have ever met. He dropped us off at his home and then proceeded to look for other stuck travelers in his truck. By the end of the night, we had acquired an Army Ranger who’s unit had been called into duty in Bismarck to help with the storm, a trucker and his wife, a college student on his way home for spring break, and the local Sheriff, who had gotten stuck three times before finally giving up. It was pretty hilarious when his phone would ring and he would answer: ‘Sheriff’s department.’ Followed by something like, ‘I understand ma’am, unfortunately I am also stuck, and there is nothing I can do.

Ironically, this whole experience led to the best home cooked meal and most comfortable night that I spent in North Dakota. The storm broke around 1am, and this morning we were able to get some gas into my rental, pull it off the shoulder, and thaw it out without too much trouble. On my drive into Bismarck I counted 41 stranded cars on the shoulder of the main interstate – it looked kind of like a sci-fi movie. My flights appear to be on-time today and I should be home safely this evening. In all, I feel like I have now earned my road-warrior stripes, and am full of gratitude for the kindness of strangers, and the grace of God. What a memory.

An article about the storm

I love this story. This is what we are all about. So nice to hear that there are living angels in America who are watching over us. Too bad the news highlights crime and violence. Thanks Anthony for letting me highlight your heartwarming story.