Posted in South Dakota January 02, 2017 by

13 Ways South Dakota Is America’s Black Sheep… And We Love It That Way

South Dakota is certainly a one-of-a-kind place. From wearing shorts when it’s snowing to hunting our state bird, South Dakota is pretty special. Here are 13 reasons why South Dakota just might be our country’s black sheep. (We wouldn’t have it any other way.)

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1. No other state is basically taken over once a year for a motorcycle rally.
Brian Bennett / Flickr
If you’re a motorcycle owner who hasn’t experienced Sturgis Motorcycle Rally held every year in the tiny town of Sturgis, you’ve been missing out. It’s fairly insane, yet awesome to say the least.
2. We don’t have distinctive accents.
Chris Blakeley / Flickr
In fact, we have a lack of an accent, and It’s because we enunciate and pronounce everything CORRECTLY!
3. The scene below does not scare us.
Louis / Flickr
Oh, it snowed last night? Still gotta go to work in the morning.
4. And once the weather warms up a bit, we’ll will wear shorts when there’s still snow on the ground; we don’t care.
Lisa Moffatt / Flickr
When it’s 30 degrees warmer one month than the previous months, it’s time to bring out the spring wardrobe.
5. We’ll fight over the “correct” way to prepare one of our state delicacies.
Wikimedia Commons
Is it still chislic if it’s not lamb meat served on wooden skewers?! We still haven’t come to a consensus.
6. We like our beers red.
Richard Eriksson / Flickr
We also have a fantastic craft beer scene. Check out Firehouse Brewing Company in Rapid City to try an Irish Red Ale.
7. The western side of South Dakota is VERY geographically different than the eastern.
Jerry and Pat Donaho / Flickr
Navin Rajagopalan / Flickr
Don’t get me wrong, we love East River too, but you won’t find scenery like this throughout the whole entire state.
8. We have a low population density with plenty of open spaces! And you know what? We love it that way.
Cathy / Flickr
Home to 814,000 souls, our state is not heavily populated by any means, yet we are the 17th largest geographically.
9. We hunt our state bird, which isn’t even a native species to our country.
Cowgirl Jules / Flickr
It’s safe to say that our relationship with Chinese ring-necked pheasant anything but conventional.
10. Each year, we host LifeLight, the nation’s largest free Christian music festival.
Justin Van Rheenen / Flickr
Held annually over Labor Day weekend on a Worthing farm, this massive concert is truly unlike any other.
11. We sometimes feel like we are the only state that has to constantly educate others on their misconceptions about us.
rpphotos / Flickr
Though it can become bothersome, mostly the misconceptions are quite comical. Check the list of things we have to explain to out-of-towners here.
12. Instead of running away or locking ourselves in our basements, we like to enjoy the beauty of storms.
H. Michael Miley / Flickr
There’s truly nothing like a South Dakota summer thunderstorm. (Of course, we do go inside and take proper precaution if we feel we or our loved ones are in danger!)
13. We're a popular vacation destination with unique, iconic sculptures that many people add seeing to their bucket lists.
CameliaTWU / Flickr
We’re home to Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse and forever proud of it!

Personally, I love living in such a unique and quirky state! What would you add to this list? Let us know in the comment section.