For Doubting B. Thomas: Busiest McDonald's, Wal-Mart, and Gas Station in the World

From Williston, the heart of the Bakken, Motley Fool reports:

This summer I visited the Williston Basin twice and had a chance to see first hand the massive boom that was going on there.  I fueled at the busiest gas station in the world.  I ate at the busiest McDonald's in the world.  I bought a T-shirt at the busiest Wal-mart in the world.  All this in the town of Williston with a population of under 100,000 permanent residents. As far away as Devils Lake, we watched heavy truck traffic on the newly repaired U.S. Highway 19 as we hooked Walleye over flooded railroad tracks.

Devils Lake is pretty much 250 miles due east of Williston. 

But that's not why I posted this note. Rather, this:

Among those who follow the energy industry, the Bakken Oil Shale might seem like old news. But for everybody else, it is still only on the periphery of their investing consciousness.  This is good for those who want to establish positions in some of the wonderful companies associated with the Williston Basin oil shale plays as many stocks are not pricing in relatively easy-to-predict future free cash flows. 

That is so true: once one gets east of Minot, the likelihood of finding someone who has heard of the Bakken drops off precipitously. For investors, the "easy money" has been made in the Bakken.

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However, having said that, in the big scheme of things, investments in Bakken-centric equities are no doubt trivial compared to the immensity of the market. As Motley Fool says: for everybody else, the Bakken is still only on the periphery of their investing consciousness. My hunch is that a sizable percentage of folks living in Fargo, North Dakota, could not fully explain the Bakken, much less any one in New York City.

Go to the link to see what Motley Fool has to say.