Kansas + South Dakota Getaway
It'd been a couple months since we ventured out of good old Minot, ND, so a trip south was more than welcome! The thing about Minot is that there is next to nothing nearby: Bismarck is nearly two hours away, but it's basically a slightly larger version of Minot; Fargo provides a few more adventurous options, but it's a four hour drive; and Winnipeg is fantastic in the summers, but it requires a skip across the Canadian boarder and a five and a half hour drive.
Austin's good friend from high school was getting married, so we jumped at the opportunity to visit Kansas City and meet up with all his old friends. Plus, I love any excuse to buy a new outfit and feel like a million bucks! Speaking of which, I got my romper from Showpo, which is an online clothing company based out of Australia. I was a bit scared to order, especially since you have to pay for shipping if you want to return it (basically double the cost of the romper), so I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best. Luckily, it fit perfectly and was just as gorgeous as the pictures! The only hiccup was that they didn't "clean up" the romper after sewing it, which resulted in me spending an hour cutting off small loose strings. But the end result was well worth it!
Our friends in Kansas also introduced us to the world of PUBG, that is, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds. Basically, you jump from a plane onto an island and have to collect weapons and kill everyone else while also staying in the zone, which narrows as the game progresses. It starts with 100 players jumping out of the plane, and only one will survive. Now when it comes to video games, I excel in Super Mario 64 or Mario Kart, but games where you run and shoot? Heck no. Luckily they were patient as I learned to run and look around simultaneously, while constantly yelling questions like "How do I shoot again?" and "Can I just stay in one place and wait for everyone else to kill each other?"
Once Austin and I got the hang of it, we were hooked. We may or may not have purchased an Xbox on our drive back up to North Dakota at the end of this vacation... But hey, we love it! It's actually a great way for him to keep in contact with his friends from back home while playing the game as a team.
When it was time to head back to Minot, we took the long way. First stop, the Badlands (for which I honestly had extremely low expectations). They were beautiful! I am a nature girl through and through, and this was basically a mini version of the Grand Canyon (which I've never been to, but that's what Austin said...). We stood dangerously close to cliffs, hiked up huge rock formations, and peed a little every time I saw a "Danger, Rattlesnakes!" sign.
Our next stop was Mount Rushmore, and my expectations were high for this one, especially after watching Nicholas Cage get up close and personal in National Treasure 2. For some odd reason, I was under the impression that I, too, would be able to climb onto our founding father's heads. Needless to say, I was sorely disappointed. Sure, they were cool and I liked seeing the history of how they carved the heads. I loved learning about that room the sculptor build behind Lincoln's head, but was once again let down upon discovering it was not accessible to the public. Plus, in the back of my mind, I was just constantly thinking about how it was all built on stolen Native American Land (insert Adam Ruins Everything clip here). All in all, it was very "meh".
And with that, our vacation came to a close. Now the countdown begins for our next getaway in November: Our honeymoon!