NORTH DAKOTA’S CRAFTY MARKETING PLOY
Growing up, my family took Griswold family–style vacations each summer. On the last day of school, Dad loaded up the family Truckster, crammed us kids into an overpacked backseat, pulled out of our driveway in rural Connecticut, and set off for multi-week road trips across the United States. Admittedly, my memories of these childhood pilgrimages are hazy, muddled with visions of musty motel rooms, hours spent watching the pavement roll by, and educational park ranger talks that felt an awful lot like being in school. I had a modest, middle-class upbringing, and as a child I didn’t appreciate these extended family vacations, which were an incredible luxury that my blue-collar parents saved for doggedly throughout the year.
By the time I reached adulthood, I had visited 45 states. Though some would view this as an accomplishment, for some reason my mind was always a little “meh” about it. One day,
