July 25 – We left NY and arrived in Wabash, Indiana around 11pm. The man behind the counter at the hotel was not wearing a mask, though there was a table in front of the counter for social distancing. At one point my friend asked the clerk if a car show advertised in the lobby would be taking place this year, and the man replied by saying he wasn’t sure, but that he thought everyone was going a little too far with all of the coronavirus precautions. We made a stop at Cuyahoga National Park in Ohio on our way to Indiana and I would estimate about 50% of the people we saw there were wearing masks.
July 26 – Drove from Wabash to Ledges State Park in Iowa. Along the way, masks were required at certain gas stations and stores (especially in Illinois), but not everywhere. At one point we stopped at a Love’s/Chester’s Chicken in Iowa for gas and food and masks were not required. I would estimate much less than half of the people there, maybe 25-30%, were wearing a mask. When we arrived at our campsite no one wore a mask and a park ranger we spoke to also didn’t have one on. In Iowa, the governor declined to issue a statewide order, but individual jurisdictions were able to issue them if they felt the need to.
July 27 – July 30 – Drove from Ledges to Badlands National Park in South Dakota. Once we got into South Dakota hardly anyone wore a mask and social distancing wasn’t really a thing. Even at the famous Wall Drug store (sort of like a giant shopping mall), which was packed with people, only about 10-15% of the people there were wearing masks and there was no social distancing. In fact, none of the stores or restaurants we stopped at while in South Dakota required masks (hardly anyone wore them), and there was very little signage instructing people to maintain a certain distance. The same was true at Custer State Park, Wall Community Golf Course, and Devils Tower National Monument in WY. No one at the three campgrounds we stayed at in SD, employee or guest, wore a mask. At more touristy locations like Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Memorial/Museum about 30-40% of the visitors wore masks, though it was not mandatory in any building or location.
July 31 – Spent most of the day in Montana visiting the Yellowtail Dam and the Little Bighorn Battlefield Memorial. The ranger we spoke to at the dam pulled up her mask as soon as we entered the building. At the battlefield memorial, I heard someone say “social distancing” as soon as I stepped out of the car, though I’m not sure of the context. There were traffic cones blocking every other space in the parking lot and plenty of signs instructing people to wear masks and maintain proper distance from one another, so I’d imagine the person I overheard was talking about that. We didn’t wear masks and we weren’t paranoid about walking by other people. Even though Montana is a lot like Wyoming and South Dakota as far as population and its overall rural nature, the Democrat governor there took a much different approach to combating the coronavirus, and it was clear to see how it permeated out through daily life in the state. Later in the day we drove to North Tongue River Campground in Bighorn National Forest in Wyoming. The camp hosts, who were probably in their 70s, did not wear masks and were not afraid to get within a couple of feet when speaking to us.
August 1 – 3 – Spent the first two days at Yellowstone National Park and the last day at Grand Teton National Park (both in Wyoming). I’d estimate between 30-35% of the visitors we saw at these parks were wearing masks, even if they were on a strenuous hike in 90-plus degree weather – which was bizarre. A hospital employee from Indiana we met and hiked with for a bit on the Jenny Lake Trail at Grand Teton also couldn’t believe people were doing multi-mile hikes while wearing a mask on their face. The gift shops and other stores in the parks required people to wear a mask, and in some cases were limiting how many people could enter the buildings, but they were not required at any of the outdoor attractions or areas. Outside of the parks, hardly anyone in Wyoming wore a mask and social distancing wasn’t really a thing. On August 3rd we spent the night at a campground in Dubois, WY. While there, we ate at a crowded restaurant where there were only a few people wearing masks. The people in the kitchen were wearing them, but that was pretty much the case in all the states we visited when it came to people handling food. No one we encountered at the campsite, including the very pregnant host, was wearing a mask. SD and WY were both awesome states. Very beautiful natural features and the people there live free.
August 4 – Drove from Wyoming to Peaceful Valley, Colorado. As soon as we entered the state there were signs telling people masks were mandatory in all public areas. When we arrived at our campsite, Ranger Rick informed us there was a fire ban in effect in Colorado (which included cigarettes), regardless of how green and lush the campground appeared to be; it was also raining a bit. Though I only spent a day there, the state seemed like a bit of a dump and way too into rules… a lot like NY in that regard.
August 5 – Drove from Colorado to a La Quinta Inn in Omaha, Nebraska. The men behind the counter at the hotel were wearing masks, but it was not mandatory and we didn’t wear them. I went to play nine holes at a nearby golf course and no one at the giant park facility had a mask on. I played with a couple of really nice guys (probably in their 20s) who didn’t seem too concerned about the Wuhan Red Death. We shook hands and spoke to each other within a few feet throughout the round. It was also quite nice to see a ton of kids outside playing organized baseball and participating in various outdoor activities. Later that night we ate at a restaurant next to the hotel where none of the patrons wore masks and only the employees in the kitchen had them on. It was really nice to see a waitress carry food over to our table without a mask.
August 6 – Drove from Omaha to Indiana Dunes National Park. Masks and social distancing weren’t really a thing in Nebraska and Iowa, and thankfully we did not have to stop again in the leftist hell pit known as Illinois. When we got into Indiana we didn’t really interact with anyone, but the people I saw at the campground were not wearing masks.
August 7 – Drove home from Indiana. As we entered Ohio, Pennsylvania, and eventually NY, I could almost feel the liberty being sucked out of the atmosphere. There were many signs along the interstate highway reminding people about the deadly Wuhan virus, and all of the precautions people there were expected to take – namely to wear a mask and wash your hands. Thankfully, we didn’t have to tell anyone to buzz off at one of Mayor de Blasio’s new coronavirus checkpoints when we entered the city as we were not stopped. We didn’t even see one of the checkpoints actually, though this could have been because it was raining quite a bit that day.
Overall, COVID was treated differently around the country depending on what state we were in. The states with Democratic governors (Pennsylvania, Illinois, Montana and Colorado) had many more restrictions and requirements in place, and it was common to see people wearing masks no matter where you were. The opposite was true in states with Republican governors (Indiana, Iowa, South Dakota, Wyoming and Nebraska), where there were little to no restrictions in place, and it was quite uncommon to see a person with a mask on. I remarked to my friend while we were hiking up to the overlook at the Grand Prismatic Spring at Yellowstone that at more touristy locations you could basically assume what a person’s political affiliation is based on whether or not they wore a mask, especially if they were hiking… As I have laid out clearly in this timeline, COVID has been made political from the start. It can even be considered an “election year virus” as this is what the Democrats will be running on in November. It was nice to see people living normally and businesses thriving outside of NY, and in a lot of ways it sucked having to come back.