Let's rangle up some cattle, yee-haw!

Perhaps the title of this post is a bit farcical, or misleading at best. Still, I am indeed as excited as a cowboy with a new pair of boots because I am NORTH DAKOTA BOUND! I received word last week that I was accepted into Young Disciples, a group of teams that evangelize and catechize in the rural parishes of North Dakota. I will be in a group of 4, traveling to a new church each week to put on vacation bible school, retreats, and help with any other educational or spiritual needs. It's going to be a great experience to prepare for seminary, meet new friends, and teach kids about the the Lord's plan of salvation and love!

I'm wondering exactly how rural these places will be. It might be a large adjustment from Penn State. Let's take a look at the population of a few states.

Here is Massachusetts. Like most of coastal New England it has a high density. Look at all that red and tan! There's always someone closeby. Now let's look at Pennsylvania -




















Pennsylvania is a little less red and a bit more green. We actually have the largest gross rural population of any state in the union. Still, the map is mostly tan, and you can obviously see the high density areas near Philly, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, and Erie. Now let's look at North Dakota.



Yep... nothing but lots and lots'a green! You can barely make out the tiny pinprick of red on the Eastern border. That's Fargo. And a few counties have less than 1 person per square mile! Hoo boy. But I welcome the change. I'm sure there will be plenty of beautiful scenery. And - wow I can't believe I just thought of this now - I'll get to see the stars! I've never lived any place that did not have horrendous light pollution.






I love the stars.