My friend Elissa lives in a VERY small town, outside another small town, in North Dakota.
On the way to visit her, I drove through miles, and miles, and miles, and miles of countryside. Lots of it very flat and windblown. At one point I drove past a field where about 200 deer were grazing - scavenging leftover corn and beans through the snow. Yes, 200 is a conservative estimate.
So, I drove down the lloonngg winding hilly road (with no shoulders) into the little town which consists of about 20 houses, a church and a bar.
This was Thursday evening at about 6:30 and in front of the bar were about 20 pickup trucks. No other vehicles. Only pickup trucks.
This is the bar's front door ::
On Saturday, in the mid-afternoon, this was the front of the bar ::
And this was across the street ::
Midwestern, small-town winter at its finest.