120 miles of so past the Badlands, the Black Hills, and flat prairies, a golf course suddenly emerged. More plains and then color sprung up on both sides of us just pass the Missouri River. Here we witnessed more haystacks, but amidst rolling green hills and rows and rows of stunningly vivid sunflowers.
Not far from here, we came across an unexpected 1880 ghost town off exit 183, which was featured in the award-winning movie Dances with Wolves. Close to sunset when we arrived, the Texan running the local store, allowed us to explore despite the fact that it would be hard to see and he really wasn’t allowed to let us in after 7….with Paul being a Texan, we had some bargaining power, so much so that we stayed for a few hours exploring the old town, original art, excerpts from the text used to prep the actors and the props they used on the set.
The Texan connection also helped facilitate the much needed petrol, which while expensive, was a godsend given we were pretty close to empty and not a hotel was in sight. We eventually found West Motel in Kadoka, population 736.
Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.
She is also the CEO and founder of Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.
