  But he kept looking for a way to return. He followed his
town's struggles from afar, getting updates from his father and
subscribing to the local weekly newspaper. He had read about
plans to lure businesses to Watford City, but the results were
discouraging. "It was sad to see," Sanford said. "They were
trying to get things to happen ... but you couldn't force people
to live here. There had to be a draw. There had to be a reason."
Watford City now has a reason: billions of dollars of oil in the
shale beneath the ground.  This town suddenly finds itself at
the epicenter of the Bakken oil boom. A tidal wave of oil money
has erased the dusty, forlorn crossroads that once stood here
and replaced it with a bustling community. As Watford City marks
its 100th anniversary this year, it stands astride a county
where more than 8 million barrels of oil -- nearly 300,000 a day
-- were pumped out of the shale in February. McKenzie County is
the top oil producer in the state.   "I don't know how else to
say it, but it's