The roads are treacherous, and the weather has dipped down into the negatives but that’s not stopping tourists from flocking to Bozeman.
“My mother was having a nervous breakdown about me coming here and driving but of course, I had booked this trip before I knew there was going to be a big storm,” said Nikki Schenfeld, a tourism reporter from Honolulu, Hawaii.
Schenfeld touched down in Bozeman on Thursday and went straight to Goodwill to stock up on winter clothes for her visit.
“This weather has been an awakening,” said Schenfeld. “It’s an 80-degree difference in 12 hours for me.”
She said the cold weather is jarring, but the thought of getting behind the wheel is downright terrifying.
“When I saw there was going to be a winter storm, it concerned me because I haven’t driven on icy roads in about 12 years,” said Schenfeld.
Much like Bozeman, Honolulu has seen an overwhelming influx of tourists over the years. Schenfeld said she knows how frustrating it can be when tourists don’t do their research ahead of time.
“It’s like they leave their heads at home,” said Schenfeld. “Living in such an overpopulated tourist town, I wish people would just ask locals for advice.”
That’s why she took to Facebook hoping to seek advice from residents.
“I just asked ‘Hey I have a rental car, it’s all-wheel drive, with studded tires, but is that even good? Should I just Uber everywhere? How icy are the roads? Do you guys use salt? And I know you’re just opening yourself up to a can of worms when you ask questions on social media these days,” said Schenfeld.
But she was pleasantly surprised with the response she got.
“Everyone was super nice and helpful. A lot of the responses I got were ‘thank you for asking because it shows you care about our safety and your own’ and that's huge," she said.
Schenfeld tallied up the replies on whether she should keep her rental car or just Uber.
She kept the rental and is getting around just fine. She said she feels grateful for the people of Bozeman and their help.
“I encourage people who gave me advice, to reach out to me if they ever come to Hawaii,” said Schenfeld. “So you guys can have an awesome trip and not do anything illegal or silly and end up on one of those ridiculous social media pages.”
