Medora, North Dakota

We drove to Williston, North Dakota, yesterday to take a look at all the oil drilling taking place there.

It’s crazy wild. Almost felt like the California gold rush of 1849 must have…

In ten years the size of the town has more than doubled from 12,000 to well over 30,000.

Changes in how oil is drilled (using a process called fracking) combined with the increase in oil prices set the scene for this boom.

We drove through amazing agricultural farms,  and as we got closer to Williston we saw more and more oil rigs pumping away. Rather surreal to see the drills set up in the middle of corn and wheat fields. On several ranches we saw lines of travel trailers, each with pickups and Suburbans. Once in Williston we saw cluster after cluster of “man camps”. Many of the larger contractors provide housing for their employees. As we drove through town, at least 3/4 of the vehicles were trucks–both semis and pickups. The pickups are covered in mud, but there must be rules about identifying company trucks because the front doors are wiped clean so you can see the company logo.

There are dozens of extended stay hotels, and most offer both accommodations and storage where you can store your stuff when you go home every third week. It’s hard to find places to stay. At a town about 30 miles away, a private home was offering a room for $80 per night. One of the extended stay hotels charges $599 per week for a double bed, and $799 for two double beds.

All of the restaurants in town were very busy. And there are many help wanted signs and billboards around the area.

Many businesses close down because they can’t compete with the high wages offered. I checked for jobs in Williston on monster and it listed over 800 jobs.

Towns around the area are struggling to get and keep employees. I saw a large sign at the K Mart in Glendive advertising for employees at $10 an hour to start with no previous employment necessary.

One of Williston’ s most famous native sons is Phil Jackson who coached the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers to many championships. They’ve named the main street after him. (Might be hard to see… It says Phil Jackson Way and is followed by a basketball.) The area infrastructure is struggling to keep up. Two lane country highways are being expanded to four lane freeways. If I was younger and had no kids, I would try to get a job up there. Starting salaries are reportedly $100,000, and to work there a few years to build a nest egg would be worth it.