Most people think that North Dakota is a barren wasteland, continually buried under a thick blanket of snow and ice. Though this is mostly true, there is a two week window where it is habitable which doesn’t get that much publicity. Speaking of publicity, North Dakota’s current advertising strategy is a picture of an empty interstate, fields on either side, with the caption “North Dakota: The Morning Commute”. Since I only saw these ON THE INTERSTATE that was pictured, I think it was a great way to drive the point home: “Nothing here! Our state is totally empty!”
Which is strange, because it’s not ENTIRELY true, and you’d think the state tourism board would want to capitalize on these exceptions. Here they are, the best three things to do in North Dakota:
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Misguided Travel Guides, Road Trip |
When forced to think about North Dakota (sadly, most people will not do so willingly), they mostly mention how cold it is. Little do they know that summertime threats besides frost bite lurk in the ravines of the badlands. Fiercest and most mysterious of these is the legendary Prairie Shark:
Or possibly some kind of root. Still, SCARY STUFF!
The only defense against the Prairie Shark is to run away quickly. Luckily, that left me energized to deal with our other brushes with death:
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Road Trip, Times I Have Almost Died |
Do you know how hard it is to even get a cellphone signal in Montana and Western North Dakota? The only person who complained about my lack of updates was my mother, who I think checks this blog as an assurance that I’m still alive. She urged me when she was finally able to get a call through that my “friends would think something horrible has happened” if I didn’t write soon. Clearly she worries more than all of you. Or has less faith in my instincts of self-preservation. And so, in honor of my mother, I will catalogue the Times I Have Almost Died over the past few blog-less days.
Posted in Road Trip, Times I Have Almost Died |