The RusticGypsies

09/03/2026

✊

Journalist. Advocate. Activist.

Rest in peace, Gloria Steinem.

09/01/2026

👏👏👏🖤🥾

91-year-old Dale “Grey Beard” Sanders completed the Appalachian Trail today at 11:44 a.m., reclaiming his title as the oldest person to ever thru-hike the 2,190-mile trail.

Finishing the trail in 359 days, Sanders closed out a journey that officially began on September 6, 2025. However, his history with the Appalachian Trail’s age record stretches back several years: this attempt was a carefully planned campaign to reclaim the record he once held before encouraging his friend to take it from him four years ago.

For the full story, head to The Trek, or the link in our bio.

📸: Grey Beard Team USA Appalachian Trail
✍️: Katie Jackson | hiking & gear reviews

08/25/2026

You can finally rest those butterfly wings🖤🦋

08/20/2026

I’m glad we have a choice.

Not simply a choice between two names on a ballot, but a choice in what those names represent…different ideas, different priorities, and different visions for what we want and need to see in the county.

Having a choice gives everyone the opportunity to vote for the direction they believe is best for the place they call home.

And I’m especially proud to have a friend willing to step up, put herself out there, and give our community that choice. 🖤

Hey there, history makers!
We did it - the first ever Independent candidate to appear on a ballot in McDonald County for Presiding Commissioner* will be me, Jonica Bridenstine.

We have a long way to go (and a short time to get there) - to do what they say can't be done we're going to need to work together to make it happen.

If you are not yet registered to vote in McDonald County you have until October 7th (link in my bio)

This is our time to shoot our shot, to shake up the establishment, to take on "the man", so let's make it count, friends and neighbors...

The only way past is through, so let's blaze that trail -
See you out there!

(*updated for accuracy)

08/20/2026

08/13/2026

I’m not against tourism…I encourage it.

Come here. See what we get to see every day. Enjoy our rivers, our small towns and our local businesses. Learn the stories of this place. Love it. Respect it. Cherish it. Create memories here, tell people about it and come back again.

That’s the kind of tourism I want to see.

But I also believe there’s a difference between inviting people to experience what makes our home special and changing our home in an effort to attract more people.

We don’t have to choose one or the other.

We can encourage tourism while still protecting the character of our communities and the things that make them special.

We can welcome visitors while still listening to the people who actually live here.

And we can share the beauty of this place without changing the things that made people want to come here in the first place.

Come visit. Enjoy it. Respect it. Love it. And please, come back. 🖤

But at the end of the day, the people who call this place home should still recognize it as home.