Crowdsourcing the Local Experience

Some might argue that the internet should be cast aside when you’re out exploring the world. Talk to locals they say, get a sense of what’s going on where you are and leave the internet behind. Striking up a conversation with a stranger can often tell you a lot about the place or the traveler. Heck, we wouldn’t have learned that the Ponderosa Campground was the best bet from an elderly man with crazy eyebrows sitting outside the closed Visitors Center in Cody, Wyoming or that the local pastimes of Iowa were “farming and drinking beer” if we hadn’t shared a table with two twenty somethings from Des Moines.

But on this trip, we’ve also embraced the internet and its random chatting abilities. Whether it be via twitter or the WonderMap, we’ve asked for a lot of help for along the way. And while, we wholeheartedly approve of getting to know the locals, we just don’t think you need to drop virtual interaction from the equation.

The virtual and real world advice collided yesterday when we stopped for a lemonade in Sioux City and met up with Thomas Ritchie of SD Explorer and Online Director of the Sioux City Journal. He found us on twitter and sent Peter a message offering to meet us in Sioux City and share his knowledge of local history with us. We took him up on the offer.

Thomas painted a picture for us of Sioux City’s history from its roots as little Chicago to its modern day plight. (A fine for indoor furniture used outdoors is one the current issues pressing the city council.) Some notable historical facts on Sioux City include it’s place in history as the only place where a member of Lewis and Clark’s expedition team died and the fact that it had a fully functioning red light district until the mid 1990s. We learned that local celebrities include Ann Landers, Beaver Cleaver, and the guy who puts someone’s hand into a blender in Children of the Corn. We also learned a bit more about Iowan pastimes, including the annual bike ride through Iowa or Ragbrai (Register’s Annual Grand Bike Ride Across Iowa), that we might run into along our route across the state. A moving party of bicyclers and those who like to follow, Ragbrai exudes the Midwest spirit where locals open their yards for the night for impromptu parties, camping, and dining al fresco. He tells us there’s good food to be had at Ragbrai, including the legendary Mr. Pork Chop, who serves the pork chop on a stick and who’s dinner call can be heard for miles. (It’s really unbelievable, check out a video clip of him here.) We lamented that our route would probably take us elsewhere, but that didn’t leave Thomas without ideas. He reminded us that he had pointed out a few spots on the WonderMap, including the tiny town of Monroe, Wisconsin. He had barely uttered the phrase “beer and cheese” for the three of us to begin plotting out an alternate route. And we’ve awakened this morning to find ourselves headed to Monroe. Route altered, fond memories made, and the reaffirmation that we love twitter for travel.