Sky High

Linda Burton posting from Bismarck, North Dakota – “Everything’s high in Bismarck,” was the answer I got. “Just wait till you see the price of orange juice when you go to the store.” I’d anticipated summer tourist room rates in Honolulu and Juneau, but Bismarck rates were a surprise. I was too tired last night to look elsewhere; I only removed from the car the items that would get us through the night. My room was sparkling clean and modern, tastefully furnished, overlooking a pretty rock garden and a row of trees between the building and the street. But it was not much bigger than its double bed; there was no work space for my computer; how could I live in such a tight space for two weeks? The manager brought a table and a chair and an extension cord; I thanked him yet began an online search for a bigger place, at a better rate. I found no better deal, but I found the answer to my question “Why so high?” It’s Williston, North Dakota, some 200 miles northwest of here. Williston is called Kuwait on the Prairie now, where 100 new oil wells are drilled every day by some 150 oil companies that have come here since 2006. Sister, there’s an oil boom going on. » read more