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Last week, Dan Erdmann ventured to his first of many travel destinations close to home. This time around he's flocking to a location you might not think to look for recreation. He shows us more of North Dakota's great outdoors in this week's Dan's Destinations. (Dan Erdmann, KX News) Today our destination is the Audubon National Wildlife Refuge, located just off U.S. Highway 83, and it's one of North Dakota's most impressive waterfowl nesting grounds. Right now, we're going to go talk to our friend, Gary Williams, who's going to tell us what makes this refuge so special. (Gary Williams, Audubon Deputy Project Leader) Audubon's really a unique refuge in the state. It's 14,735 acres, the refuge itself. About 10,000 acres of that is open water, Lake Audubon itself. We have a lot of migratory birds in the area right now. (Dan Erdmann, KX News) And the main goal of the refuge is to provide habitat for those migratory birds. You'll see many of them along Audubon's eight-mile auto tour route that winds around the lake. You can also take in the beauty of Lake Audubon, which includes over 80 islands along the refuge. This area is home to many types of wildlife, like pheasants and white-tailed deer, but Williams says it's pretty obvious which animals dominate the refuge. (Gary Williams, Audubon Deputy Project Leader) The big attraction here, of course, is Canada geese. We have a lot of Canada geese that call the refuge home and a lot of waterfowl. (Dan Erdmann, KX News) Unlike the north side of Lake Audubon, fishing is prohibited in the waters of the refuge, but that doesn't mean there's nothing to do here. It's a great place to picnic, and even get a little exercise. (Gary Williams, Audubon Deputy Project Leader) You gotta come out and enjoy the outdoors. The refuge is a beautiful place. Lots of wildflowers blooming in the native prairie right now. We have a hiking trail down here that's probably a mile long. It's a great place just to bring the kids and hang out. (Dan Erdmann, KX News) You probably won't spend an entire day along this route, although it's definitely possible, but the best part is, that all of this is free of charge. And you can't beat a deal like that. From the Audubon National Wildlife Refuge, Dan Erdmann, KX News. And here's a look at some of Dan's expenses while traveling to his destination. As he already mentioned, a visit to the refuge is free of charge, so that means all you have to pay for is gas. And traveling from Minot, which an 80-mile round trip, using four dollar gas at twenty miles per gallon, you can expect to pay a total of around sixteen dollars. If you'd like to find out more about the Audubon Refuge, you can call 442-5474.