Elle Beyer, left, and her sister, Mila

Spanning across the U.S.-Canada border like a floral handshake, the International Peace Garden is a botanical haven rooted in friendship and bursting with natural beauty.

“The most unique thing about it is that it’s in two countries at the same time. It’s a garden dedicated to peace between those two countries,” says Johannes Olwage, International Peace Garden curator of living collections.

Darci Redmann

Whether two legs or four, the big kids and the little ones, everyone is welcome at Grandma and Grandpa’s house. The same can be said for Hondo’s Hideaway restaurant on the Jamestown Reservoir.

“I wanted to keep (the ambiance) more of what you’re maybe used to if you visited Grandma and Grandpa’s house, a little bit of a homey feel,” says Lucas Dockter, Hondo’s Hideaway owner and chief grunt worker. “It pairs well with the food we serve. It’s stuff you would find at Grandma’s house or what you grew up with.”

Residents gather for coffee and laughter at the Mott Health Care Center.

Like a warm hug, laughter echos through the dining room as a group of ladies gathers for coffee, gleefully cajoling cookies from the kitchen staff inside the Mott Health Care Center (MHCC).

The scene is the culmination of a mighty community effort.

“Perseverance is never giving up and never losing hope” was once scripted onto a wall of the physical therapy room in the center. That seems appropriate.

mare

Syndi Musland Miske was practically born with boots on. Growing up in rural North Dakota, she spent her free time riding horse, practicing barrels in the arena near her family’s farm and ranch and riding to the Do Drop Inn in Merricourt for malted milkshakes.

A cardiac rehab nurse, Miske and her husband, Darin, now live on a ranch in Wibaux, Mont., served by Goldenwest Electric Cooperative, just 40 miles away from Theodore Roosevelt National Park (TRNP). It’s a dream come true for the cowgirl who dreamed of riding her horse in the Badlands.

school kids

At the small, rural school in Anamoose, a young girl runs to the cafeteria door with a giant smile and tiny brown seed in hand. She politely asks for a plastic bag to take her trophy home – a pepper seed she found during lunch – so she could plant it and grow peppers.

Miranda Reider, assistant cook and the school’s “bread master,” happily obliges, explaining this is a common occurrence at the Anamoose-Drake Elementary School.