This fall, I had the pleasure of visiting North and South Dakota. I had fond memories of South Dakota from 25 years ago when I drove cross country to move to California. North Dakota was a new adventure for me, and I was determined to get there this year. In honor of the upcoming 250th anniversary of the United States (the Semiquincentennial), I’m on a mission to travel to the remaining states I have yet to visit. North Dakota was number 49!
First stop was the South Dakota Festival of Books, where I spoke about Healing a Divided Nation and Why Dialogue Isn’t Enough. There were so many wonderful writers and readers at the festival! One thing I learned is that, when you go to a book festival in South Dakota, you meet multiple experts on Laura Ingalls Wilder, so I engaged more conversations about Little House on the Prairie than I have in many years!
I delivered two programs to highly engaged audiences 
Loved meeting Jade Amez, who wrote a beautiful children’s book about multicultural families and adoption. 
SD Public Radio host and fabulous writer, Lori Walsh 
Had the good fortune to share a book signing table with Dan Jorgensen and Eloisa James 
Barbara Boustead and Sandra Hume, delightful dinner companions and experts on Laura Ingalls Wilder 
Quick visit to downtown Spearfish yielded a boot purchase
Arriving at Mount Rushmroe 
Dug up this photographic evidence that my mom went to Mount Rushmore when she was young 
Crazy Horse Memorial. When I was here 25 years ago, they had just finished the nose. Now they’re working on the outstretched arm. 
Model of what the finished memorial will look like 
Free rocks!
I met up with my friend, Natalia, in Rapid City, SD, and we checked out Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Memorial before we left the state. I visited both of these sites 25 years ago. It was wonderful to see how the Crazy Horse Memorial has progressed over the past quarter century. I was struck by the enormity and optimism of this project — I admire people who put their efforts into a vision that will not be completed in their lifetime, much like our democracy. Speaking of which, Mount Rushmore gave me a lot to think about in terms of the tension between recognizing leadership of our country and carving these faces into land that’s sacred to the indigenous people of the Black Hills. A lot to reflect on, for sure.
We drove to North Dakota and stayed in Medora for a few days to visit the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. It was wonderful to see bison, prairie dogs, and breathtaking vistas. This is where Teddy Roosevelt came to mourn the death of his wife and mother. He found the land rejuvenating, as did I.
The final leg of the journey was a drive across the state, through Bismark, arriving at the final destination of Fargo, ND. Although we didn’t make it to the Enchanted Highway, we got to see a very large bird sculpture on our route. In Bismark, we stopped for lunch and visited Chief Looking’s Village, the site of a former Native American community. We witnessed plenty of agriculture, including canola fields and huge rolls of shredded wheat. Fargo seemed to be making an effort to distinguish itself from the rest of the state by adopting the same time zone as neighboring Minnesota and stocking ample queer-affirming merchandise in every downtown shop we visited.
I found North Dakota to be well worth the journey. Now that I’ve checked it off my list, I have my sights set on Alabama, the final state I have yet to visit!