As you may have heard, the new Scheels store in Fargo opened its doors on July 1st. I was down there for a freelance telecast just two days prior to the opening, but didn’t get a chance to get down to the store until last week. It’s quite impressive! Here’s a quick tour:

This store has just about everything…lots of different beverages are on sale right when you walk in, and there’s a little food/drink area in the back of the store on the main level.

There are various displays of different US Presidents all over the store, and you’ll notice the aircraft hanging in the background (minus its engine…that’s fake). There are also numerous benches located around the store, some next to the Presidential displays, where you can have a seat and just have a look around.

Before you can get on the escalators going upstairs, you will pass the ferris wheel in the center of the store. You can have your picture taken on the wheel and put on a t-shirt for a fee.

Upstairs there’s a shooting gallery you can play for fifty cents, and other shooting games etc. near the gun department. I also saw a couple of AR-15 rifles there I’d have loved to bring home, but those may have to wait a while. There were also a ton of LCD flat screens playing DVDs in many departments.

This Scheels is the corporate headquarters now, which explains the size of it. In addition to having more selection than before, they have gone the whole outfitter route like Cabella’s has, in addition to having even a souvenir / home decor section. For things like bikes and that sort of thing, they don’t have a selection that’s any more impressive than any other Scheels store I’ve visited. That’s not to say that they’re lacking, though. And the gun section, to which our crew made a beeline, is pretty large.

Now it’ll be interesting to see what they do with the Bismarck Scheels, once they move into the current Target store location.

Yep, Fargo’s doing it too…but they’ve got painted Bison instead of painted ponies. I saw this one at the Downtown Street Fair, which opened today (Thursday). There was a cooler one over by the F-M Community Theater, but I didn’t have the time to snap a photo of that one.

Obviously the only retaliatory response is to begin planning on the Catch a Painted Moose campaign; while not necessarily bigger than a bison, it would certainly be on par — and cooler.

I imagine these were chosen over ponies because of NDSU’s mascot, the Bison. One has to chuckle at the though of Grand Forks following suit. Can you imagine the outrage over a “Catch a Painted Sioux” campaign? Ouch.

This photo was taken on the bridge between Fargo and Moorhead, on Main Street. If you remember the old bridge, it was downright spooky. The new one is very nice and was well overdue. It’s also got a wide pedestrian area and the nice lit architecture shown in this photo.

There’s something similar planned for the new Liberty Memorial Bridge between Bismarck and Mandan. I can’t remember exactly how it’s going to look, though. My friend Alex did the architectural drawings for it, and I got some footage of it while videotaping the dedication ceremony, but I’m not sure where I put the pictures.

Because our bridge is a memorial to veterans, there will either be a monument in the middle, or one on either end. I’m fighting a migraine this morning, so I’m unable to think back far enough to remember.

In any case, it was neat to spend some time hanging out on the bridge in Fargo; it’s not just a walkway across the river, it’s a wide open area. There will be something similar on our bridge, and we’ve got a much nicer view than the muddy ol’ Red River.

Last week I was able to treat my wife to a birthday vacation at the Hotel Donaldon in downtown Fargo. For those of you who are not aware of this place, it’s definitely a must-see!

The hotel was originally built in the late 1800s and served as the lodge for the International Order of Odd Fellows. It was purchased in 2000 by Karen Burgum and renovated with outstanding style. If the name Burgum is familiar to you, Karen was married to Doug Burgum, the Great Plains Software (and now Microsoft) guy.

The entire building is decorated with work from North Dakota artists. There’s a lounge and a fancy restaurant downstairs, and the hotel begins on the second floor. From the entry to the halls to each individual room are works of art ranging from sculpture to photography to paintings to pottery…well, you get the picture. When you check into your room there’s a metal picture frame that opens into a book describing all the artwork and artists featured in the building, their bios, and where their work may be found. There are CDs on the nightstand next to the bed and the Bose music system, and if you like any of the artists you hear, you may keep the CDs for a $15 charge. This could save some legwork, considering some of the artists aren’t exactly someone whose work you’ll find at Sam Goody.

This is the Oddfellows Reading Room, a commons area on the third floor, which has music piped in 24/7 and a small library of local-interest books featuring North Dakota and its people. It overlooks the street through the archway seen here. There’s a similar room on the second floor where the front desk is located and breakfast and wine/cheese are served.

Every room here is different. We chose room 17 because we had been told how cool it is…and we were not disappointed! This room consists of three levels. On the first level is the bar, the sofa, and the first flat screen TV. On the next level is the jacuzzi tub (more on that in a moment) and the bathroom with heated tile floor. On the third level is the king-size feather bed, closet, music system, and the second flat screen TV.

The tub is the hook for this room. Not only is it large and deep, but it fills from the ceiling! That’s not all that make it special. It’s like having one big square tub sitting in another big square tub. Once the tub overflows, the outer one fills up, and that’s where the jacuzzi jets are fed from. So once you get this thing full and up & running, you’re sitting in an overflowing fountain for the duration of your bath. Talk about cool! And the pad it’s on is like a pool deck surface, perfect for your wife to put romantic candles on.

We didn’t take their pictures, but the staff of the Hotel Donaldson are the greatest. We toured this hotel when seeking a honeymoon destination last year, and they were very kind, accomodating, and professional. Now that we’ve stayed here as actual paying guests, we can attest that their professionalism is an everyday part of staying at the Hotel Donaldson. I’m sure it must be cool to work in such a place, because all the staff we met seemed very happy to be there and were very conversational.

Our room was so cool we didn’t even have a chance to go out and spend time in the hot tub on the roof, the workout room, or the dining downstairs. Maybe next time!

We had a great time at the Hotel Donaldson. I’d recommend it to anyone. The prices are what you’d expect for such a fancy place but not out of line; our room cost about $220 per night once you figure in the taxes and stuff. But my wife is worth it, and it’s her birthday! If you’re looking for something special to do for your sweetie, you may consider taking her to Fargo for a day or two. I’d suggest Suite #17!

You can find out more about the Hotel Donaldson on their website or by paying them a visit the next time you’re in Fargo