As some of you already knew, I spent the last week in the land of ICE Barbie aka Kristi Noem.\u00a0 In other words, I went to South Dakota.<\/p>\n
When I was first planning this trip I was excited- I hadn’t been to the Black Hills since I was approximately 10 years old.\u00a0 \u00a0But as the time got closer I started worrying a little.\u00a0 South Dakota is painted as a very red state.\u00a0 Would there be any issues with me – a woman – travelling alone?\u00a0 Would there be MAGA crap everywhere I looked?<\/p>\n
I’m happy to say that my fears were unfounded.\u00a0 The only place I saw any amount of MAGA gear was at Mt Rushmore, and even there those folks were only a fraction of the visitors.\u00a0 Everywhere I went I met lovely people out enjoying the sights just like I was.<\/p>\n
And yes I did talk to people while I was out and about.\u00a0 I always do.\u00a0 I learned that from my dad- I grew up watching him chat up waitresses, gift shop employees, and anyone else we came across while vacationing.\u00a0 \u00a0We found out about hidden gems to visit and once even got a personal tour of a copper mine from a employee that was far more in depth than the standard one the company offered.\u00a0 I didn’t get that lucky, but I did learn about a couple places to eat and a late night program out in the Badlands I would have otherwise missed.<\/p>\n
You might be saying that I didn’t get a good overall view of the state because I was only in tourist areas.\u00a0 But that’s not entirely true.\u00a0 I stopped for gas in a few smaller towns and on the way back east I didn’t take Interstate 90 across the state so I was WAY off the beaten path.\u00a0 \u00a0And I didn’t see anything frightening anywhere unless you count the “no services next 65 miles” sign.\u00a0 I saw far fewer anti abortion signs than I see in Iowa and I even saw a couple pride flags in Rapid City.<\/p>\n
I understand if, given the rhetoric of many of the state’s leaders, why you may not want to visit the Black Hills.\u00a0 But I urge you to consider it if you are looking for a road trip this year.\u00a0 You could do a lot worse.<\/p>\n
One final note if you do decide to visit- do NOT stay at the Econolodge in the town of Wall.\u00a0 Trust me on this one.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As some of you already knew, I spent the last week in the land of ICE Barbie aka Kristi Noem.\u00a0 In other words, I went to South Dakota. When I was first planning this trip I was excited- I hadn’t been to the Black Hills since I was approximately 10 years old.\u00a0 \u00a0But as the time got closer I started… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5308,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[25,19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5307","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bright-shiny-objects","category-myself"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t