Summer is almost here, time to start planning a few family getaways. This year as a family, we have decided to stay close to home and take advantage of the local sites in North Dakota and Minnesota. I recently read two books called Dakota Day Trips and More Dakota Day Trips by Cliff Naylor and Monica Hannan.  I recommend these books to anyone that enjoys travel and learning more about interesting local sites.

If you are traveling toward the Wahpeton area, you might want to check out a couple of sites that seem rather intriguing. We have all heard about the large Paul Bunyun near Bemidji, Minnesota and the Salem Sue, the large Holstein cow by Salem, ND. But have you seen the larger-than-life catfish perched next to the Red River in Wahpeton? This is a great site for fishing enthusiasts who want to take their picture next to Wahpper, which seems a fitting name for a whopper-size fish. This 40-foot, 5,000-pound fish symbolizes the high number of catfish in the Red River along with paying tribute to the other types of fish.

I had never heard of the Circus Cemetery near Wahpeton, but the story caught my attention. In 1897 there was a tragic accident at a Ringling Brothers circus tent. Two employees of the circus were killed when lightning struck the center pole of the tent. The pole snapped and caused the tent to collapse, killing the two employees working underneath the tent. Their fellow workers decided to hire a sculptor to create a monument in memory of the employees. They paid $500 to have a sculpture made of the snapped circus pole tent. To this day, when the circus comes to Wahpeton, employees stop by the memorial to pay their respects.

For more information about activities to do in the Fargo-Moorhead area, check out the Directory of Fargo-Moorhead website.