What in the world would ever bring you to the North Dakota prairie lands? How about the world’s largest metal sculptures? Seven massive scultptures placed out in pastures of rolling hills in the middle of nowhere was enough to get my attention.
So I went.
A 7 hour drive from my parent’s home in South Dakota is Regent North Dakota – the town where the Enchanted Highway originates. The sculptures were started in 1993 out of scrap metal and items common to local farms and ranches. The subject matter of these sculptures is taken from rural North Dakota life.
Artist Gary Greff built the sculptures, and maintains the project which is located off I-94 in the southwestern part of North Dakota.
Geese In Flight
The sun burst is made or over 300 lengths of well pipe and there is more that 4.4 miles of welds holding everything together. The geese and hills are made from oil well tanks. More that $9,000 in paint was used to complete the sculpture. The sculpture is 110 feet tall and 154 feet long and weighs 78.8 tons (157,661 pounds). A large goose has a wing span of 32 feet and is 20 feet long.
Pheasants on the Prairie
The site contains four pheasants sculptures. The rooster stands 40 feet tall is 70 feet long and weighs 13,000 pounds.
Grasshopper
The largest grasshopper is 40 feet tall and 50 feet long. The grasshoppers were made from four oil field tanks.
Deer Crossing
The metal used to create the deer originated from seven rusty oil well tanks. The buck stands 70 feet tall and is 60 feet long. The doe stands 50 feet tall and is 50 feet long.
Tin Family
The “Worlds Largest Tin Family” was the first site to decorate the Enchanted Highway. The Tin Man stands 45 feet tall and has 16 telephone poles anchoring him to the ground. His cap measures 6 feet in circumference and is 5 feet tall. The Tin Lady stands 44 feet tall and 12 telephone poles hold her up. Her hair is made of barb wire and here ear rings are augers.
Theodore Roosevelt Rides Again
This site depicts a silhouette of Theodore Roosevelt on his horse and a stage coach. The silhoutte is made from 1 3/4 inch well pipe. Teddy stands 51 feet tall and weighs 9,000 pounds.
Sherry Ott is a refugee from corporate IT who is now a long term traveler, blogger, and photographer. She’s a co-founder of Briefcasetobackpack.com, a website offering career break travel inspiration and advice.
Additionally, she runs an around the world travel blog writing about her travel and expat adventures at Ottsworld.com.com.
