As a professional full-time travel blogger, I get a lot of inquiries from my readers looking for travel tips and advice. Most of them refer to me as a “travel goddess” or “the female Rick Steves” and they typically end with something like “why don’t you have a show on the Travel Channel yet?”
But I didn’t always have the words “travel expert” on my resume in large, bold, italic, underlined letters. You may not realize this, but during our year-long honeymoon, Jeremy and I actually made a LOT of silly mistakes. How naive we were! How accident-prone and clumsy! Obviously that’s all in our past and definitely not just indicitave of who we truly are at our very cores.
So now that we’ve grown into mature post-honeymooners, I wanted to write a tongue-in-cheek post featuring a few of our favorite terrible travel tips. Some of these are based on our own misguided decisions, and others are inspired from beloved friends, travel companions, and family members that we’ve had the misfortune of traveling with. Please don’t try any of these at home!
![[INDIGENOUS PEOPLES] On the last day of our trip to Montana, our hosts @glaciermt plied us with wine and invited us to share ways that Montana surprised us. As I reflected, I realized that my trip to Montana was eye-opening in a way I never expected.
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I was anticipating beautiful vistas and jagged mountains and rolling hills and bison and ranches and connecting with the great outdoors. (I maybe wasn't expecting the enormous variety of huckleberry foods available on any given menu in Montana - a pleasant surprise!)
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What I wasn't expecting was to be hit squarely between the eyes with the realization that I am sorely and shamefully underinformed about Indigenous Peoples in my own country. Montana has several large reservations, including the Crow Nation and the Blackfeet Nation, which we drove right through on our road trip. And I was like, wait... why don't I know ANYTHING about these communities? Why do I keep catching myself thinking of First Americans in the past tense rather than the current tense?
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I mean, I like to think of myself as a fairly aware and conscientious traveler. When I visit a new country, I do research on its history and its Indigenous peoples. I can list off several Indigenous communities and languages still thriving in various parts of South America; I can tell you about my homestay with a Sámi family in Arctic Norway. So why do I have such a blind spot when it comes to my own country?
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Like, I couldn't tell you a single thing about the Indigenous communities in my own backyard. I don't even know if we have reservations here in California. I honestly don't. Actually, I just googled it. We have 109 tribal communities in California. (I couldn't name a single one of them.) California actually has the highest Native American population in the country. (I had NO idea. Did you?)
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Well, my ignorance is going to change. I'm currently compiling resources to educate myself further on Native Americans, past & present. I'd love any educational recommendations you all have, or Tribal tourism experiences!
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It's hard to admit my own ignorance, but I'd wager a few y'all may not have stopped to think about it either. So ...have you? (No judgment!)](http://scontent-sea1-1.cdninstagram.com/vp/a0f35beeab5e5539a40955f2319d8a12/5E3E693E/t51.2885-15/sh0.08/e35/c0.135.1080.1080a/s640x640/70468237_390308615226544_6446725078598077981_n.jpg?_nc_ht=scontent-sea1-1.cdninstagram.com&_nc_cat=104 "[INDIGENOUS PEOPLES] On the last day of our trip to Montana, our hosts @glaciermt plied us with wine and invited us to share ways that Montana surprised us. As I reflected, I realized that my trip to Montana was eye-opening in a way I never expected.
.
I was anticipating beautiful vistas and jagged mountains and rolling hills and bison and ranches and connecting with the great outdoors. (I maybe wasn't expecting the enormous variety of huckleberry foods available on any given menu in Montana - a pleasant surprise!)
.
What I wasn't expecting was to be hit squarely between the eyes with the realization that I am sorely and shamefully underinformed about Indigenous Peoples in my own country. Montana has several large reservations, including the Crow Nation and the Blackfeet Nation, which we drove right through on our road trip. And I was like, wait... why don't I know ANYTHING about these communities? Why do I keep catching myself thinking of First Americans in the past tense rather than the current tense?
.
I mean, I like to think of myself as a fairly aware and conscientious traveler. When I visit a new country, I do research on its history and its Indigenous peoples. I can list off several Indigenous communities and languages still thriving in various parts of South America; I can tell you about my homestay with a Sámi family in Arctic Norway. So why do I have such a blind spot when it comes to my own country?
.
Like, I couldn't tell you a single thing about the Indigenous communities in my own backyard. I don't even know if we have reservations here in California. I honestly don't. Actually, I just googled it. We have 109 tribal communities in California. (I couldn't name a single one of them.) California actually has the highest Native American population in the country. (I had NO idea. Did you?)
.
Well, my ignorance is going to change. I'm currently compiling resources to educate myself further on Native Americans, past & present. I'd love any educational recommendations you all have, or Tribal tourism experiences!
.
It's hard to admit my own ignorance, but I'd wager a few y'all may not have stopped to think about it either. So ...have you? (No judgment!)")
