Most likely Canada thistle. It extends its colonyby sending underground stems outward in all directions.

Continue digging, then repeat as needed. You can eventually win as long as you remove all greenery you see during weekly patrols.

Not thistle. Those leaves are not as flat, and spines are fewer and larger. Look at weeds in the Prickly lettuce family. If you break a leaf, is the sap white?

Thanks Jean001A and Dzitmoidonc!

I have a bunch of thistle and this definitely behaves and looks a little different. I'll load a few other pics of it and look up the Prickly Lettuce Family.

Yes, it does have white sap. Not much but what I could see definitely looked white.

Here is a cluster of them (from my experience thus far I would guess that each of these plants is on a totally different root system then the one next to it. Sooooo much highway of intersecting root below the surface.

The roots are kind of woody looking but very fragile and run horizontally just below the surface of the soil. In some areas I have had to dig down a little but they, for the most part, are pretty shallow.

I just brushed the dirt away from the roots and this is what it looks like still "attached" and in the ground.

Last pic....the leaves are very soft with just slightly jagged edges. They grow very upright and stay pretty flexible and smooth.

I do not think this flowers. I have been fighting it for at least a year (it probably got established 3 years ago before I realized what was happening) and in that time don't ever remember seeing it flower in any noticeable way.

Can I just say Thank you!!!!!

This conversation had me on a google search that lead to this:
http://www.oardc.ohio-state.edu/weedguide/singlerecord.asp?id=1050

It looks like this is PERENNIAL SOWTHISTLE
Other Names: corn sow thistle, creeping sow thistle, dindle, field milk thistle, field sow thistle, gutweed, hare's colewort, hare's lettuce, hare's palace, milk thistle, swine thistle, swinies, tree sow thistle.

I probably never noticed it flower thinking it was a neighboring dandelion.

If anyone else runs it this nightmare hopefully they can catch it quicker than I did.

Thanks again!!!! These 2 suggestions on what it was gave me the right search string. Now off to find a way to destroy it! :)

Good job w/ the search Yes, sometimes the search phrase needs a little nudge from someone else's brain cells.

And thanks for reporting back.