GRAND FORKS sits eighty miles north of I-94, right next to Minnesota, a mere 75 miles south of the Canadian border. Even before its foundation a century ago, fur traders had used the area to rest and barter during their travels between Winnipeg and Minneapolis. It's a small, friendly, outdoorsy city, with nineteen parks and several tree-lined avenues of fine homes. Furious construction has rebuilt the downtown area, ravaged in the 1997 floodwaters. But the disaster shook investors' confidence and most of the new buildings lie empty, save for their "for lease" signs posted across the windows.

The most interesting distractions can be found on the redbrick main campus of the University of North Dakota . The North Dakota Museum of Art (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat & Sun 1-5pm; donations) offers an eclectic assortment of contemporary art and top touring exhibits. Fascinating tours of the John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences , one of the largest civilian pilot-training schools in the world, take in flight simulators, the air-traffic control room and an altitude chamber.