The Enchanted Highway

The Enchanted Highway is a collection of scrap metal sculptures beginning at exit 72 on I-94 near Gladstone, North Dakota and runs 32 miles south to the town of Regent, North Dakota. It includes the world’s largest metal sculpture titled Geese in Flight.  It is 110 feet tall, 154 wide and weighs 157,659 pounds.

I had driven by the Geese on the north side of the interstate several times on my trips west.  In 2017 I decided to pull off and really take a look.  Those geese stand up on a hill against the sky and cannot be missed!

The sculptor is a man from Regent named Gary Greff.  He’d been away for 20 years when he returned to teach school.  He wanted to do something to the town that was losing population and save the town.

Gary was inspired by the movie Field of Dreams and the phrase, “Build it and they will come.”  Local farmers leased their land and taught Gary how to weld.  All the sculptures face north so people driving south see them.  It has been 30+ years and Gary is still making new sculptures.

After seeing the geese, I drove south to see the rest of the sculptures.  The next sculpture is Deer Crossing.  There is a 75-foot-tall buck and a 50-foot-tall doe going over a fence.  Next comes Grasshoppers.  The largest is    60-feet long.  There are several other smaller grasshoppers, including one that is a spring toy kids can sit and play on.

Fisherman’s Dream is next.  It is a combination of a 70-foot-tall trout, many fish, large water waves, and part of a boat that looks like one used on the ocean or at least larger waters than are in North Dakota. Further south comes Pheasants on the Prairie.  The rooster is 40-feet high and the hen is 35 feet tall. There are also two “little” chicks.

Teddy Roosevelt Rides Again is next in a large 51-foot “wire” sculpture with a stagecoach and horses below him. The first sculpture Gary built comes next, The Tin Family.  Dad is 45-feet tall, Mom is 44-feet tall, and Sonny is 30-feet tall.  Last is the whirligigs, all of which turn and twirl.  There is a gift shop and motel in Regent.

If you’re ever along this part of I-94 take a little side trip and enjoy this man’s ingenuity, creativity, perseverance, and beautiful sculptures.