The motto "Discover the spirit" is displayed on every North Dakota license plate, and there are indeed a lot of folks taking it to heart. With the oil boon in full swing, the state is busy. Where once there were only sunflowers, the land is now dotted with oil rigs. Every other vehicle on the highway is emblazoned with oil company logos, like NASCAR would look if the cars were limited to just one sponsor apiece. And they raced trucks.

This newfound success is fueling change. People don't drive as friendly as they used to. Once struggling farmers are now raking in oil proceeds. Land is falling to development with swanky gated communities popping up for the neuvo rich, apartment/condo anthills to house the worker bees. And with it a plethora of fast food franchises, a scourge on America's embattled landscape.

North Dakota is still flat, cold (the coldest of the lower 48) and even for the added visuals of an oil boon, arguably among the most boring state to drive across in any season. But to its credit, the boon has afforded the State revenue to build and maintain the most modern rest areas to be found on I-94. For that a traveler can be thankful.

Like any boon, North Dakota's oil rush will thrive, then fade. At its height the richest of the rich won't be satisfied with their success, nor the working poor with their scraps. After the bust - every boon is followed by one - the good times will never seem as good as they did, nor the bust as bad, and except for some water quality issues (best scenario), North Dakota's oil rush will be but a memory. A memory triggered by the state's great rest areas, the real legacy of North Dakota's oil boon. Discover the spirit.



g. Gordon lindy
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