What’s The Furthest You’ve Traveled Hitchhiking In ND?

Well, years ago I tried hitchhiking ONCE...

Yes, I got lazy when I was around 16 years old, living in San Diego, walking home from a Charger football game. I pleaded with my mom and stepdad for a ride, which was about 6 miles away, they told me however that I was on my own as far as getting home. I was probably just 3 miles away when I got tired and hungry - there went my thumb up in the sky.

Ten minutes or so went by until I saw a black van make a U-turn

"Hop in", the man with the glasses said. I didn't even think about the dangers. About 4 minutes in, he turned his head to look at me and asked me a question that I can't repeat in this article. I felt my heart racing as I asked if he could drop me off at the corner ( "My best friend lives close by..." ) - he thought about it for a few seconds - which seemed like an eternity - and dropped me off in a gas station parking lot.

That is obviously WHY I haven't hitchhiked since, and I don't recommend it

However many people have, and some have traveled pretty far while doing it. In my Bromo Billboard this morning, I posed the question:

I have to tell you I was a little surprised just how many people have "thumbed" a ride

Are you a little bit curious about how the whole thumb thing started? According to slate.com  "When did sticking your thumb out become the universal gesture for hitchhiking? The 1920s. The first descriptions of hitchhiking are nearly as old as the first mass-produced automobiles"  One of our listeners said he hitchhiked to Medora ( around 129 miles one way, from Mandan )

Coming home from parties

"...Kind of, when I was a teenager in the early 80s. We mostly took rides from people we knew though, not really with strangers, but we took rides with strangers occasionally like home from a party."...that was what one woman had to say - I immediately thought that maybe people considered hitchhiking safer back in the day, but then I remembered my encounter. A few people have tried it just once with no incidents. I will say that in today's world, there are more options available than using your thumb.