I may have been a little harsh yesterday. My immediate surroundings look like airport lands because I'm by the airport. 

I woke up after not setting an alarm, did some yoga for my back (is this what happens when you reach 30?), showered gloriously, and did my best to look perfectly North Dakotan, which involves not trimming my beard, donning a cap, loosing the glasses, and wearing plaid. Let me know if I pulled it off. 

I spent the rest of the morning running some errands and editing pictures. In the afternoon I went for a psychogeographic drive around Fargo, determined to confirm yesterday's snap judgment. Well, that didn't happen.

Turns out it's actually kind of charming, with many tree-lined residential streets closer to the downtown core, where I spotted some hip-looking restaurants and coffee shops - though likely none within my non-existant budget. I passed by many beautiful churches (North Dakota not only has the highest number of churches per capita in the U.S., it also has the highest attendance rate of any state.) On my way back I stumbled onto the NDSU campus, where the football team was doing drills. The campus flows into agricultural and industrial lands, and as the sun was setting I found myself convinced that this could be a nice place to live - simple and quaint and quiet, with a few too many "JESUS CHRIST IS YOUR LORD AND SAVIOR" billboards.

Fargo borders Minnesota and the city of Moorhead along the red river to the east, and as you go west, those airport communities spring up, with big box stores and endless parking lots - where I've unknowingly confined myself for the next nine night. But beyond are fields and water towers and grain silos, and beyond those still is the tower that I'm here for. I'll be going tomorrow, in the afternoon light, waiting for the sun to set and the beacons to glow.

Marco Chimienti
22.11.17

P.S. I was going to upload more video from the drive, but I overestimated the hotel's wifi, and even uploading photos is an arduous process. I'll try again later.

P.P.S. My fucking GoPro decided to focus on my stone-chipped windshield about half way through the time lapse, in case you were questioning the pleasant sharpness of said windshield, and the subtle blur of everything else.