The Top 10 on KMOT-TV North Dakota's NBC News Leader

The Top 10 | Video

Cliff Naylor

1/8/2010

2009 has come and gone, which means it`s about time to look back at the best Off the Beaten Path stories of last year.

As always, Cliff Naylor`s Top-10 list is worth reviewing.

Thousands of farmers and rural residents have driven by the 10th best Off the Beaten Path story of 2009 the past 35-years, but they were never allowed to set foot inside this top secret installation. But this year the public was given access to The Ronald Reagan Minuteman missile site and now anyone can go 60 feet underground to tour this nuclear missile launch site.

Coming in at number nine are the boulder billboards along Highway 85. Bob Bergeron`s art work is etched in stone and is usually viewed from a distance by people who are traveling at 65-miles-an-hour.

Jim Buske`s eye for detail earned him 8th place in my top ten list. He builds small scale replicas of field equipment that was used by farmers in the 1960s and 70s.

Juneberries are native to North Dakota and are a fruit some residents say they can`t get enough of. Lunds Landing is the only place in the state that guarantees a year round remedy for folks who crave the berry with a short growing season and because of that this story is included in my year end honor roll.

"The Wizard of Oz" marked its 70th anniversary last year, but Justin Ell has been celebrating the classic Hollywood production every day since he was three years old. His collection of over a thousand pieces of Oz memorabilia puts him in 6th place.

At number five is The Main Street Diner in Velva. The mother/daughter cooking combo of Joanne Markle and Shelly Pross have been serving up great food for the folks in Velva for over 30-years.

Bead Unique is making a fashion statement in the jewelry industry and also made this year`s Off the Beaten Path Top-10. Michele and Danielle Feist spend days and sometimes months designing bracelets, necklaces, earrings and rings that are one-of-a-kind.

North Dakota is known all over the world for growing crops like wheat and sunflowers, but coffee beans aren`t a commodity that is typically linked to the state. That may change if Mo Jo Roast`s popularity continues to percolate. This little roastery on the prairie provides high quality Mo Jo for coffee connoisseurs all over the world and is ranked as the third best story of 2009.

You can still savor the flavor of an old fashioned 50`s drive-in by cruising to the Bobbisox restaurant in Tioga. The small town fast food joint that takes customers on a joy ride down memory lane is this year`s runner-up.

And the top Off the Beaten Path story goes to the friendliest cow in North Dakota.

"Yeah, he`s pretty friendly." Alden Kemple owns the state`s unofficial good will ambassador which is a unique Holstein that greets everyone who sees it.

Alden Kempel, "We just call him `Hi`, I normally don`t name anything, but in his case we just call him `hi`."

And I named the Hi Cow the number-one Off the Beaten Path story of the year.

Alden has had a few offers to buy the "hi" cow, but he`s hanging on to his prize steer.

In 2010 Cliff begins his 15th year of bringing us feature stories on unique and interesting people and places in rural North Dakota.

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