The Battle for the Highway

Dave Wilson, a trucker driving through Western North Dakota saw something one night that inspired this description.

The Battle for the Highway

by Dave Wilson

It was a cold dark lonely night.

Distant light sources beamed straight up, like sentries on guard with shiny lances against the frigid air-filled with crystals of ice.

Like tiny paratroopers, the ice crystals gently floated down to cover the barren roadway.

The occasional passing of vehicles patrolling the road caused the ice crystals to assemble information in the center of the lanes.

As the rising sun began its march across the perimeter of the sky, the crystals solidified their position by donning an armor of ice.

The sun triumphantly turned the wind into an ally and together they mounted a continuous assault that decimated the ranks of the foreboding foe.

By midmorning, the ice had reluctantly retreated and once again the road regained its barren solitude with the exception of an occasional patrol destined for the warmth and security of the
nearest habitat.

Dave Wilson is a truck driver who lives in Mandan and frequently drives through the North Dakota Badlands near his home turf of the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation where we first met nearly 15 years ago. He’s had a varied professional career, even doing some grant writing, but this is his first venture into creative writing. Encourage him!

Mike Kopp

Love to tell stories -- romantic, nostalgic stories of our explorations in the Northern Plains. 15 years a television reporter/anchor, 12 years radio news director, 3 years newspaper editor, 6 years documentary producer -- a lifetime of communication.