Fargo, North Dakota

In this article:

1. The airport
2. The gifts
3. Celebrity Walk of Fame
4. The Mural Walk

Hector International Airport

When planning my trip to see the Detroit Lakes trolls, I decided to fly into Fargo. The population in Fargo as of 2024 was 136,285. It’s the largest city in the state, so that means the airport is sized proportionally. In fact, the airport has a total of nine gates. I think the smallest airport I’ve visited was an airport in Peru, but it didn’t accommodate traditional sized planes. Bismarck would probably be the smallest traditional airport with a four gate airport.

I arrived at an odd time. My flight’s departure was three hours away. It felt like a ghost town. In fact, when I went upstairs to the gates, TSA had shut down. I had to sit in baggage claim for an hour and a half.

Eventually I made it through security (super fast once opened), and I was able to explore the terminal. The design felt clean and sharp. Bathrooms appeared cleaner than the average airport bathroom, but the play area had no play.

I’m not sure if kids climb all over the seating as “play”, but if they wanted an activity, running from one end of the terminal to the other would occupy about two minutes of their time.

After this description, you might think I didn’t like the airport. On the contrary, I found it completely charming. I sat in a leather chair and felt like the chair wrapped itself around me as I wrote for my blog.

The Gifts

Confession time: When visiting the Visitors Center today I let the workers know North Dakota was my 50th state. While that is true, I visited North Dakota about 4.5 years ago for the first time. At that point, it was my 50th (before I turned 50).

This troll hunt took less time than anticipated, so I started researching things to do in Fargo. Fargo lies in eastern North Dakota. After I exhausted the activities in Minnesota (troll country), I started researching fun things to do in North Dakota.

It must be pretty common that people save North Dakota to visit as the last of all 50 states. In fact, when you tell the Visitors Center this tidbit about yourself, they roll out the red carpet for you. You get a certificate, a shirt, and a special picture with their sign. Because I knew this AND North Dakota had been my 50th state, I took in the bounty. The Visitors Center even keeps statistics. 40 people claimed North Dakota was last on their list from Sunday to Monday. That seems to be a large number, and finally I made it to the club!

Celebrity Walk of Fame

While you might want to visit Hollywood for their Walk of Fame, North Dakota prides itself on one of their own. Originally in downtown, the concrete blocks have been moved to the Fargo-Moorhead Visitors Center. Many of them have begun to deteriorate, but here’s the complete list of celebrities:

I walked the path and took photos of some of the names. I stood in some footprints and compared several handprints too. The path is a bit quirky, but that’s what makes it fun! My two favorites besides Barney are Louis Armstrong and Art Linkletter.

One last thing you can find at the Visitors Center is the original “Eager Beaver” wood chipper from the movie Fargo. I’ve not seen the movie, but maybe you have. There’s a replica outside and the original inside. I see a foot. What happened in the movie?

The Murals

I told the ladies at the Visitors Center I loved outdoor excursions. I did visit their Viking ship (located in Minnesota, just across the border), and I went on a mural hunt. I’d likely not feel comfortable doing this in a bigger town, or at night, but I made the best of it and completed the list. Here’s the brochure:

The parking garages allow free, secure parking for the first two hours. Street parking is also free (for 90 minutes). I walked comfortably to all the murals in the center cluster. Then I drove to the four by Main Street, and I finished the tour by driving to 12th street. Some murals hid within alleys and others proudly displayed themselves on the sides of buildings. Many would have made for a better picture with two people. I enjoyed seeing all of them up close. Here they are in the order I saw them:

Fargo will be mentioned again in my future blog because one of the Dambo portals clings to the side of a building. However, I saw a few other interesting items. I thought I’d share them prior to that article…