Day 51, August 10
55 miles, Umatilla, OR
Today we once again left town and ventured into what looked like a desert. As we rode west into the countryside, we were met with a slight cooling breeze in the early morning. The early departures usually makes for cooler temperatures and mild winds. As we wound our way southwest, we entered the Columbia River landscape. The wind immediately picked up but we were thankful it stayed fairly calm all day. We have been warned of the big gusts that can come the Gorge from the Ocean. A 30mph headwind could end up holding us to 30 miles of travel in this area. At this leg of the journey, we are following Lewis and Clark’s westward and return journey routes. As soon as we passed Hat Rock State Park, both paths are identical. We have a couple more days before we should start to see green in the gorge area. Tomorrow, we will cross over into Washington for the next day and a half and then cross back into Oregon due to the availability of supplies. It is still pretty remote were we are traveling and tomorrow night we will make camp west of Roosevelt at the Corps of Engineering site on the river and have to carry food and water for a couple of meals.

Day 52, August 11
Delay, Umatilla, OR
Delayed and waiting for other riders to join us.

Day 53, August 12
50 miles, Roosevelt, WA
Today we rode through a burn area in Roosevelt, Washington. Thousands of acres of fire were just put out last week when the town was ordered evacuated. The fire is technically 95% contained so there are still fire crews in the area and the ground seems to be giving off heat especially in the ashen area. The diner where we are has burned ground just 50 feet away. The devastating impact of a fire storm is really taken serious out here and the wind in the Columbia River zone can make it even worse. Another layer of respect for the landscape occurs when we see how vulnerable one can be in this rugged landscape. The days here are hot and very dry and again a red flag warning day is issued. That means fire precaution is high and lightening strikes can occur and ignite a whole valley. Where are camp is is pretty safe as there is nothing more to burn and the river is to our south.

Day 54, August 13
48 miles, Horse Thief State Park, (Dallesport), WA
Leaving the burn area brought us to other burn areas as we made our way west down the Columbia River. The elevation is dropping and the air is getting damper but we are still in a desert climate. This does not however, mean that we don’t still have to climb. The dryness has led to another Red Flag Fire Alert day in this area. The temperature climbed to 100 today and we try to stay hydrated. The goal in this situation is to put on as much mileage before noon as possible. Throughout the day we are seeing more and more deciduous trees and vineyards. The area is getting greener. The wind started to pick up today and it is now actually blowing constantly at 15-18mph form the west down the Columbia River Gorge. Usually at night it dies down but we are looking at the situation to stay consistent all night and actually start to climb to 30mph by noon with headwind gusts of up to 40mph. We are only 90 miles from Portland but our day could be significantly shortened due to the weather. The Gorge we viewed from the Washington side is quite dramatic and the rock formations and points make this area look like the Grand Canyon almost. We might try to make 20 miles tomorrow before any other winds build.

Day 55, August 14
Wind Advisory Delay, Horse Thief State Park, (Dallesport), WA
Today we were forced to stay in camp another day due to the high wind advisory. All night the winds have been blowing a constant 20mph from the west and today they are building. The gusts are 30-40mph and the dryness can create dust storms. The temperature has dropped but the constant wind make travel impossible. The Gorge has moments when the conditions are right, the winds pickup speed as they travel inland down this long tunnel of rock from the Ocean.
Seeing the area at this site where Lewis and Clark camped makes me think about how many delays they must have experience. Paddling up stream at this point is like pushing against a tide. The river narrows down in a spot not far from here and that creates a rapids of white water. The Native people also gathered here and there are traditional campsites throughout the region. There are also fishing zones where scaffolding was set up to harvest the salmon. Not far from our site, ancient petroglyphs align along a short walk along a small rock wall. These are recognized as ancient messages from the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla, Yakima, and Nez Perce people and are considered sacred and ceremonial areas.

Day 56, August 15
53 miles, Ainsworth State Park, Oregon
Riding out of last night’s camp we finally escaped the high wind speeds. This morning we only had to deal with an 8 or 10mph headwind. Climbing out of the valley where we camped took us over the top of a small rise into a completely different ecosystem. It seemed as if trees and dense forests suddenly appeared throughout the valley. The sky looked like it had more clouds and weather and we could smell the pines. The hillsides were suddenly more densely covered with forests and the further we rode in the morning the foliage and secondary undergrowth got thicker and thicker. We haven’t seen this much green in a 1000 miles. Some of the fir trees look to be over a hundred feet tall. The Columbia River had steady white caps blowing a headwind but we didn’t seem to notice much because the views were so magnificent. Glacial rock formations jutted up along the banks and it appeared that trees sprouted off of every surface. The Gorge is incredibly beautiful and we are still following the Lewis and Clark path at this point to and from the Ocean. On their return trip they were able to make 70miles a day on the water and it’s no wonder due to the strong currents and prevailing winds. We wound through the River’s edge all morning on the Washington side and eventually crossed at the ‘Bridge of the Gods’ to the Oregon side. Travel for the day had been without any significant climbs as we descend towards the Ocean. Up until this day, I couldn’t tell if the Ocean was ever going to appear but today more than ever it seems closer. At this point, we are only about 30 miles east of Portland.

Day 57, August 16
54 miles, Portland, OR
Leaving the Park this morning brought us down old highway 30 and some of the most breath taking scenery we have seen on our trip! Multnomah Falls and other spectacular falls line the route as we ascend through the pass. Our view of the Columbia River Gorge opens up also into a vast expanse. The forest is dense and it still seems so dramatic of a change from the arid land only a few miles away. As we move westward we enter into the Portland area and out to the west end of the town for the night. Tomorrow we make our move towards the coast following the Columbia River to the Ocean.

Day 58, August 17
59 miles, Clatskanie, OR
Climbing out of Portland, we followed the Columbia River westward towards the coast. The landscape Lewis and Clark followed here looks almost like the Midwest. The foliage is dense deciduous trees with pines interspersed. We are only about 40 miles from Astoria and I am anticipating the Ocean climate. Earlier in the day, we could see Mt. St. Helens to the east of us. The mountain is actually a volcano that erupted violently in 1980 and lost 15% of its height. It still is active and it defies the ordinary,- I can’t believe the eruption was so dramatic as it killed everything in a 230 square mile area. It seems a bit close for comfort as it passively stands as the most prominent mountain on the horizon.

Day 59, August 18
55 miles, Cape Disappointment, Washington
Our last camp today is at the land’s end. We reached Cape Disappointment where Lewis and Clark reached the Pacific Ocean and ended where their epic journey was complete. They explored the Louisiana Purchase and actually moved outside of the US and crossed into Spanish territory when they traveled through the Pacific Northwest. Jefferson tacitly conversed with Spain and framed this as an exploratory mapping mission so as to not arouse expansionist suspicions. The Corps of Discovery wintered at Fort Clatsop on the Oregon side and actually boiled seawater at Seaside to obtain salt for currying their Winter preserves and to prepare for the journey home. Their winter was cold and rainy. Our stay at the moment is unseasonably dry and its is a cloudless and sunny day. Today is a perfect day to end our journey across country! We will set our final marker in the area and take the GPS coordinates for the final time to mark our Journey of Reconciliation with the landscape and history of the Corps of Discovery.

We would like to thank my wife Amy Pollack for her loving help to make all of this possible and to support Julia and myself in this endeavor!, and thanks to the Illinois riders, Adrian Down and Quincy Stewart,- the Montana riders, Anders Pollack, Mark Cleveland, and Pat Cleveland,- and the Washington riders, Matt Harlin and Gretchen Johnson.
This journey will be followed by a concluding exhibition of paintings, information graphics, and experimental sound works in Chicago, Illinois at a date in the near future.

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Day 37, July 27
rest day, Missoula, MT
Today was a rest day in Missoula.

Day 38, July 28
rest day, Missoula, MT
Today, we visited the Adventure Cycling headquarters in Missoula.

In 1976, I saw an article from a 1973 National Geographic magazine featuring a story about Greg Siple and 3 others who cycled from Alaska to Missoula, MT. This inspired me to write the magazine and ask for his address. They sent it to me and I wrote him a letter asking him about touring and cycling equipment. He wrote me a hand written letter that explained the details and organized a Bike BiCentennial bicycle ride across the U.S. and later went on to start the Adventure Cycling organization. This non profit organization is a national clearinghouse for cycling maps and information on bicycle touring across the U.S.

As we were passing through Missoula, we stopped by the office and I shared my story and also showed them a copy of the letter I kept all these years. The staff called Greg over and I showed him the letter as well and we got the royal treatment and tour of the headquarters! It was really fun to meet him and share our project with the group and also our story of how his kind gesture so many years ago inspired me to a life long passion for cycling. We also gave Greg one of the survey medals we have been marking spaces with across country. It was also really great to participate in the tradition of having our photographs taken alongside our bicycles to go into the cross country archive of cyclists from around the world who are cycling across the U.S. Thanks to the vision of Greg Siple and the Adventure Cycling organization he started, planning our route and journey was so much easier. Thank you!

Day 39, July 29
rest day, Missoula, MT
Today we scouted out our route through Idaho and also visited a hot springs in the Lolo National forest. When we take off tomorrow we will enter the national forest and then pass through the Nez Perce Reservation.

Day 40, July 30
35 miles, Lolo Hot Springs, MT
Today was a quick day and we started in the cool temperatures of the morning! The view is amazing as we follow the trail the Nez Perce took to their buffalo hunting grounds east of the Bitterroot Mountains. They were hospitable to Lewis and Clark and the corps when they passed through the area. In just 70 years they were being forced onto a smaller reservation when their original land was deemed valuable for gold mining. The description of friendly to hostile occurred fairly quickly after the landscape was seen as valuable. Their escape route to Montana was repeatedly being attacked and Chief Joseph was effectively moving east and trying to put aggression behind him. It seems as though he was able to work with the other tribes and even Americans in the area but Washington and the army was adamant to put an end to his independence. The bureaucratic decisions tragically created more violence and trauma to the native people in Idaho and Montana. At a location not far from the hot springs is the site of Ft. Fizzle. Appropriately named as an action by a volunteer militia fizzled out here when the Nez Perce were able to walk around barricades erected to halt their escape east. We put a survey marker not far from this location.

Day 41, July 31
30 miles, Lochsa, ID
It must have been 40 degrees last night. This morning it was incredibly cold and we were wearing arm warmers, long sleeve shirt over a shirt, wool sweater, wool gloves, and a neck scarf when we left. It seemed to stay cool all morning and I actually looked forward to climbing Lolo Pass to warm up. Again, we are reminded of Chief Joseph’s plight as we follow the route over the pass. This is some of the most incredible country we have passed through as we enter the Clearwater National Forest in Idaho just over the pass. When Chief Joseph was described as being hostile his response was basically, ‘why would I be hostile,- I have my horses and this great country’. There is no reason to be hostile in this landscape and I can’t imagine conducting any military maneuvers in this area as it is filled with dense forest, mountains and streams. About all that could happen here is to camp and fish,- which is basically what the Nez Perce did in this region. The views (without the roads) are easy to imagine looking like what they might have looked like 200 years ago. Tomorrow, we will also camp in the National Forest but the elevation is a bit lower in Idaho.

Day 42, August 1
40 miles, Wilderness Gateway, Clearwater-Nez Perce National Forest, ID
This area is one of the most beautiful places I have ever ridden through. Keeping our days a little shorter in mileage as we go through the passes makes them less grueling and gives us time to really photograph the area. The landscape keeps getting more and more remote and we haven’t seen any towns or any signs of commercial activity. The route follows the Lochsa River as it meanders through the mountain gaps. The National Forests are even quieter than the National Parks as they don’t usually have any amenities or water. Today, we are blessed with a water spigot and don’t have to filter our water from the river. As the temperature climbed to the upper 90’s we found our campsite along the river and jumped in to cool off in the shallow pools. Usually the mountain trout streams are really cold but the shallows warmed up nicely. Lewis and Clark described this area so vividly and the peace medals that Jefferson gave the Corps to hand out to the Native people were taken very seriously. Within seventy years however, the conquest of Native lands was fully underway. Lolo Pass today is remembered with sadness by the Nez Perce people and the route through the area, though it is part of Lewis and Clark’s return journey, is now also recognized by the National Park Service as the Nez Perce Historic Trail. It follows their retreat all the way to Yellowstone Park and north to just short of the Canadian Border in Montana.

Day 43, August 2
55 miles Kamiah, ID
We started the day wearing wool gloves and wool jacket and ended with 105 degrees outside! We are descending and leaving the higher elevations but in the mean time going through some of the most dramatic and rugged wilderness we have seen in over 1000 miles. The Lochsa River running through Idaho keeps on getting more and more dramatic as we wind our way through the canyon lands. The rapids are very quick and clear. Occasionally we see trout fishing going on and this area and it seems like it would be the best in the U.S.! We continue to follow the Nez Perce historic trail and today we entered the Reservation. We continue to see historic signs of General Howard’s campaign against the tribe in 1877. We reached a site where a village was burned, horses stolen and gardens destroyed. The Idaho Historic Society was responsible for marking these areas and I noticed that the wording of the signs has changed significantly as this last marker referred to Howard’s work as a fiasco. Nothing was accomplished by his efforts accept for destruction of property as the Nez Perce continued to avoid subjugation and adamantly stated their intention was to avoid conflict, preserve their religion, and way of life.

Day 44, August 3
Rest day, Kamiah, ID
Kamiah is location of the National Park site, Heart of the Monster. This is the site of the Nez Perce creation story. It is said that a Monster was swallowing all the animals in the landscape. In the story, the trickster Coyote persuaded the Monster to swallow him as well. Coyote then cut himself out of the belly and freed all of the animals. Upon emerging, he cut up the remains of the Monster and dispersed it across the land creating the Indian people. Fox then asked Coyote about the empty space immediately around the remains and why it had no people. As Coyote washed the blood from his hands, the drops of blood that fell formed the Nez Perce people. This is their sacred site and the mound is said to be the heart and liver of the the Monster’s remains.

Day 45, August 4
45 miles, Winchester, ID
This morning we climbed 2000′ out of Kamiah. That took us some time and it was nice to have cool weather finally to do that. This valley is holding a haze that is due to all the forest fires in Washington and Oregon. I never think about this usually but the dryness, wind, and heat are big factors in determining how we are going to travel each day. We are always at the mercy of the environment when we are on bicycles and I usually never think about these issues when I’m at home. The landscape looks like a high plains again but this time it has the added volcanic layer. The wheat fields are rolling ad the pines stands almost remind me of Sweden (if the fields were greener). We are still on the Nez Perce Reservation and we will be on it for another day. We are still following Lewis and Clark and the Nez Perce Trail and are reminded of it in unexpected places. We see signs posted that indicate campsites and and it is hard to believe that they stayed in some of these areas. The landscape they chose seems so exposed today and it must have been incredibly hot in the summer and freezing in the winter. Even today I don’t know how some people could get around in the Winter snows here, especially when I see the rolling gravel roads marked with signs posted,- ‘not maintained in the Winter’. Nearing Winchester the pines are getting thicker again and an unexpected lake popped up and the temperature stayed in the 70’s today! Nice.
Day 46, August 5

53 miles, Lewiston, ID
Most of the morning was spent on a descent of about 2000′. At first, I thought it was a cloud bank when I approached the valley but then I saw an amazingly open and expansive view thousands of feet up. It felt like we were flying in an airplane. The valley is covered with golden colored wheat and parched vegetation. From a distance, everything looks yellow. As we made our way down the intensely covered switch backs, the road leveled out. We stopped at the Nez Perce National Historic Park. The amount of area the tribe called home covers four states,- Idaho, Washington, Oregon, and Montana. Seeing the map of the area and knowing the connection to the Big Hole area of Montana brings us closer to the history because of our own slow trek across the landscape. We too have experienced the physicality of the landscape as we struggle over the passes and keep our eye out for water sources. Though we enjoy modern conveniences I feel there is a glimpse of understanding of how one can be tied to the land. Everyday, we monitor the temperature, look at the direction of the wind and also watch the sky for rain. Any one of these conditions can drastically change our plans and the outcome of our day.

Day 47, August 6
33 miles, Pomeroy, WA
Our movement west along the Snake River took us into once again through another strange barren and beautiful landscape. The high ridges and hills are covered in dry wheat and range grass and both look golden in color. From a distance, it looks like an endless sand dune incapable of sustaining anything. Once inside the landscape, I can feel more apart of the space and it becomes more intimate. The coulees give rise to small oases of pine trees and what looks like elms. The area is very arid and doesn’t reveal any sense of the proximity of the Pacific Ocean (to my untrained eye.) The climb to Alpowa Summit isn’t even marked on the map because it is less than 3000′. We ended up making a 2000′ ascent nevertheless,- which is still a challenge on a bicycle. The temperature stayed in the upper 60’s most of the morning and I think they topped out around 75 degrees today. Our route is following the return route of Lewis and Clark and more specifically, the ‘Forgotten Trail’. This trail bisects the town of Pomeroy and moves southwest towards Walla Walla as it stretches from the Columbia River to the confluence of the Snake and Clearwater Rivers by present day Lewiston, Idaho. It was an overland shortcut that the Native people shared with Lewis and Clark. This time saving course is something that is often overlooked in the general history of the expedition but it sped up their return after a long wet Winter on the coast of Oregon. Again, the plaques commemorating the Corps of Discovery along the way make note of the friendliness of the Nez Perce people. How much the Native people were key to the success of the journey is so amazing and yet it seems to escape the awareness of the popular imagination about the Corps of Discovery.

Day 48, August 7
36 miles, Dayton, WA
As we moved west this morning we were following rolling wheat fields and the Snake River. It looks pretty low and the drought makes everyone wary of forest fires. The risk at this time is pretty high.The landscape is very dry and the ground looks parched. We are moving along the boundary of what is referred to as the ‘Scablands’. About 14,000 years ago during the end of the last Ice Age, the inland lake around Missoula, Montana was damed up by glacier ice and it catastrophically gave way. The release of water was estimated to be half the amount of the volume of Lake Michigan. This flood created a series of coulees and land formations resembling Monument Valley in Arizona through the area in southeastern Washington. The torrent flowed westerly along the Columbia River Gorge. It is possible that Native Americans witnessed this event or possibly even were swept away by the water. Today, the land is covered in soft rolling hills and buttes that are dry in appearance and to a visitor, defy the notion of water being there. The flood left a topsoil that is over six feet deep and has created a rich agricultural region. I am told that the landscape is green in the early winter when the wheat is just planted and in the Spring. Now, however, everything is a golden color and it seems a bit odd to see farmland on the buttes above our heads when we are in town.

Day 49, August 8
30 mile, Walla Walla, WA
A shorter day today, nevertheless we experience some headwinds going into the valley. A nice view again of the empty rolling wheat fields that we have been traversing for several days. I saw a cut back that revealed what looked like 10′ of topsoil. It is hard to believe this because of the dryness of the environment as this makes it seem as though this would be a desert. The rises are still significant but the hills seems to be more rounded a smooth compared to the east and revealing of the ancient flood. We keep getting warned of the high winds as we enter the Columbia River Gorge area. As we move southwest of Walla Walla, in a day we will enter the Columbis River landscape at Umatilla.

Day 50, August 9
Rest day, Walla Walla, WA

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Day 30, July 20
80 miles Livingston, MT
Today was a nice start and no wind. It’s amazing how much wind plays a factor in travel in the west. This must have affected people over a hundred years ago as well as movement under human power is what we share. A trip for us can double or be halved in time due to wind direction. We have begun to look at distance as a relationship to time instead of mileage. We are following the Bozeman trail now through central Montana at this point. This was a 19th century shortcut to the Oregon Trail and the western gold fields of Montana. This trail also ended up cutting across Sioux hunting grounds and the resulting bloodshed seemed inevitable. Red Cloud led a 6 year campaign to stop this invasion and eventually the U.S. shut the trail down in 1868. Moving further west, we approach higher elevations and are shadowed by the Absaroka Mountain Range as we pull into Livingston.

Day 31, July 21
23miles, Bozeman, MT
Today we crossed Bozeman Pass. This is the route that Sacajawea used to lead William Clark over the pass and on the return trip from the Pacific Ocean in 1806. He later joined Captain Lewis after exploring the Yellowstone River and joining him at the Missouri River to return east. This was an old buffalo trail that Sacajawea led the Corps of Discovery through and probably should be named after her. Bozeman was a later arrival and this route was initially intended to be a short cut to the Oregon Trail and a trail from Ft. Laramie, Wyoming to Virginia City, Montana to the western gold fields. This route however traversed traditional hunting lands of the Teton Sioux and trespassing violations lead to Red Cloud’s wars. For six years attacks and violent losses of native and settlers led to the closing of this trail by the U.S. Government in 1868. We set a survey market at the pass to mark this as another space of remapping a territory of healing and tolerance.

Day 32, July 22
70 miles, Whitehall, MT
Our morning run went quick and the weather was overcast and cool. Our destination was set for Three Forks but we arrived early so we decided to push on to Whitehall. At Three Forks, three rivers join to form the Missouri River to the northeast. The one fork to the southwest that was named by the Corps of Discovery after President Jefferson was the route we followed towards Whitehall. The Jefferson river here cuts through deep canyons walls and is very dramatic and windy. In this area, the Corps went searching for Sacajawea’s tribe but ended up camping along the banks not far from LeHood. All throughout this route we have had to watch for falling rock. The views here are incredible. The area is remote and seems to be in a huge valley surrounded by a rim of mountains. While moving through the mountain corridor, we happened to notice a massive eagle’s nest with two huge birds sitting right above us. By extending this day, we will make our higher elevation days shorter and easier when we have to do a lot of climbing. 

Day 33, July 23
53 miles, Dillon, MT
Today was a rainy start and all morning it was overcast and threatening to rain. The cool conditions however was wonderful. The landscape and mountains have so many faces with the changing weather. Sometimes the area looks as though we are in New Mexico and when cloud cover moves in I could swear we were in Alaska. As we move south along the Jefferson River we are following Lewis and Clark’s return scouting trip. They were searching for the Shoshones around the location of Beaver Rock on the route we traveled through today. Their mission was to trade for horses in order to travel overland in the winter. Sacajawea was kidnapped by the Shoshone and she knew this territory as she guided the Corps of Discovery along some of the buffalo trails. We moved quickly through this area today and got one day ahead of schedule. This will help us tomorrow as we have to cross two passes over 6000′. The day after tomorrow we cross the Continental Divide and move back and forth between Idaho and Montana.

Day 34, July 24
48miles, Jackson, MT
Right now we are in Grizzly Bear country. Last night was 40 degrees which made for a very cool night of camping. Beaver Creek flowed not far from our site and we got to bed early. All of the rivers and streams we pass look like excellent trout streams and they are very clear. Today we got a little later start and waited for it to warm up a bit. We had to climb 2 passes on our route and the second one was 7400′. That required the big effort. The going is pretty slow but the vistas are amazing. Spending a couple of hours on an uphill climb yields a quick descent of minutes to go 10 miles. I am also extra careful on these and they make me nervous carrying all our weight. It is easy to get going up to 40mph without much effort but I like to go not more than 17. It is a bit disheartening to descend 1500′ however knowing we have to repeat that climb later in the day. The landscape is very remote and epic here. The spaces are vast and distant. This is not an intimate space with trees or rock outcropping but massive distant open expanses. When Nasa talks about the Martian surface with canyons several miles deep,- this is the space that could comes to mind. When I start on a descent it almost feels like the view is from an airplane.

At the top of Big Hole Pass a type of lily grows in the endless high country range that Sacajawea actually showed the Corps of Discovery how to harvest its roots. This knowledge actually kept them from starving to death in this harsh landscape. As we descended the pass into Jackson following the Big Hole River, we discover an unexpected hot springs and not to my surprise,- Sacajawea happened to have led Lewis and Clark to this spot. The town of 38 people today has a great outdoor mineral hot bath that we all jumped into at the end of the day. The amount of aid that Sacajawea gave to Lewis and Clark is phenomenal. All of the back country and remote locations in Montana have historic markers that point out the Lewis and Clark route and inevitably all the critical information that Sacajawea lent to the Corps. Her incredible contribution to Lewis and Clark, in my opinion, should rate a greater deal of recognition and honor in the legacy of American history.

Day 35, July 25
75 miles, Darby, MT
Leaving Jackson this morning was very chilly as we are at 6000′ or so in elevation. The high country gets pretty cold at night and this ends up making for a slower start in the morning as we wait for it to warm up. The landscape was vast and open range land with an epic backdrop of the Bitterroot Mountains. We kept seeing eagle nests in the morning situated on top of telephone poles as we were riding. The Big Hole River meanders through the valley creating a wetland that looks ideal for all sorts of game and trout fishing. The views are once again vast and open. As we approach the town of Wisdom we are getting more used to towns of population 100 being good places to resupply. The countryside is so big and this spreads out the population remotely across the state. Not that far away is the Big Hole National Battlefield National Park. This is the tragic location of the plight of the Nez Perce Indians and the legacy of Chief Joseph. As the native people were promised a reservation and self determination, the discovery of gold on their land once again led to a violation of the treaties. A forced relocation in 30 days was demanded at a difficult time of the year (when the Snake River was at a high point) and the tribe tried to gather as much of their livestock as possible. The tension of this demand was met with resistance and violence. Similar to the problems that occurred with the Dakota uprising in Minnesota, there were various political factions in the Nez Perce bands that didn’t speak with a homogenous voice. This became a tinderbox and some of the settlers on the frontier were attacked and the army was called out to subdue the entire tribe,- treaty or non treaty natives. Chief Joseph, like Sitting Bull was forced to constantly avoid a counter attack by fleeing with his people to Canada. The same General Gibbon that was turned back by Crazy Horse in southeast Montana ended up attacking a camp of Looking Glass at Big Hole River and a fire fight ensued where men, women, and children were shot indiscriminately. The area today is marked by tepee poles set into a village without the hides stretched over the structures rendering what looks like an empty ghost village. The site is recognized as a sacred site by the contemporary Nez Perce and every year they hold a reconciliation ceremony at the site. A native Nez Perce woman gave a talk at the site today and she made a point in her presentation to share a positive aspect of her tribal legacy,- after her introduction, she ended up showing us how to play ‘the stick game’ that her people still enjoy today. The efforts by the tribes in some of the areas of historic trauma was so magnanimous and inspirational to see in their gestures of reconciliation and healing.

As we moved further west we entered the Beaverhead National Forest. This area is a very remote wilderness and definitely bear country. This kept us very aware of our surroundings more than usual especially as we passed through secondary growth foliage next to excellent trout fishing beds and streams. Gradually gaining elevation, we climbed up and eventually reached the Continental Divide at Chief Joseph Pass over 7000′. As we rode further, the route shifted into Idaho briefly and then back into Montana. Our descent again gave us more epic views looking out over the Bitterroot Mountains. This time the landscape was heavily forested with Lodgepole and Ponderosa Pines. We extended our day 20 more miles due to the downhill run of about 30 miles to Darby.

Day 36, July 26
65 miles, Missoula, MT
When we left this morning our destination was Stevensville but we arrived soon and decided to press on to Missoula. Not seeing a good place to camp, we rode on to our rest day location 2 days in advance. This will give us 4 days to explore the town and get ready for our ride into Idaho. The route we are following at this point has veered slightly north of the original Lewis and Clark trail. Our journey from Missoula through Lolo Pass in Idaho actually will follow the path of the Nez Perce as they were evading their captors. Our journey up to Missoula and through Gibbons Pass a couple of days ago also followed his route in the opposite direction. Fleeing their original homelands due to the discovery of gold, the Nez Perce were on the move looking for a more peaceful place to live. As they crossed Lolo Pass in Idaho, they moved up towards Missoula and south through the Bitterroot Valley passing through Yellowstone Park. They eventually were stopped just 40 miles south of the Canadian border seeking refuge. The skill of Chief Joseph’s negotiation abilities were the topic of popular newspaper articles in the 19th century and he had developed quite a reputation as a humanitarian. Though he pleaded his case throughout his life, the Nez Perce were never allowed to move back to their original homeland.

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Week 4 Question: Recently, we spoke to Kevin Locke from the Standing Rock Reservation in South Dakota. This is the location of the Hunkpapa Lakota Sioux, the band where the famous chief, Sitting Bull hails from. Kevin is working on the Lakota language project to ensure the legacy and continuing existence of the Lakota Sioux language. This is a critical component to the continued cultural existence of the tribe.

One form of justice that was traditional to the Indian Nations was a form of reconciliation that brings perpetrators and victims together in talking circles. Crime is seen as an event between individuals not an offense against the state. As we see the effects of historical trauma in Native America, We wonder if this form of reconciliation is a valid and effective mode of healing today for our society? Not only between people but between us and our environments. How do we reconcile our relationship with the natural world of which we are a part?

Day 23, July 13
Rest day, Glendive, MT
Today, we repack and clean our supplies. Tomorrow, we have two new riders join us, Pat and Mark Cleveland. Pat brought us more coals from the International Peace fire that was struck at Northeastern Illinois University that was brought down by the Three Fires Nations, Potawatomi Kansas Prairie Band elder, Nowaten Dale Thomas. This international peace project was began at Northeastern in 1996 and since then, spirit of healing has gone out across the world. Recently, coals were brought back to India by Arun Gandhi and also recently placed at the sites of the camps in Auschwitz. In addition to marking our route with survey markers, in key locations, we are going to share in the Peace Fire Project by placing these coals at key sites to mark a gesture of healing at locations throughout the American west. Tomorrow, as we move down the Yellowstone River and the follow the historic route of Lewis and Clark’s return, Lt. Colonel G. A. Custer’s campaign against the Sioux, and the recent tragic oil spill in Glendive, Montana,- we will mark this a spot of healing and record our site and GPS location and share this information with the Northeastern Illinois University project as well as document and contribute to the creation of our own mapping.

Day 24, July 14
80 miles, Miles City, MT
Today we crossed the Yellowstone and the Powder Rivers. The morning was overcast and pleasant and our ride went quick By the time it reached 1:00pm, the Sun was beating down on us at 90 degrees. The day quickly warmed up and the heat set in. As we crossed these historic rivers that were central to the high plains Indian wars of the 1870’s, it is hard to believe that it was possible to move so many people through this area. Presently, it is very remote, hot, and arid. The landscape doesn’t readily reveal it’s historic significance because it is so sparsely populated and has few ranches but mostly endless fields of rough ground and wild sage, yucca, and grass. The confluence of the Powder and Yellowstone Rivers were the staging areas for Custer as he moved south towards the Little Bighorn and today the area has this key site marked with series of remote signs and pathways overlooking Sheridan’s Butte just west of thePowder River. The Romanticism for this ere quickly dissipates in the harsh reality of the environment. This area looks much like when it did at first contact and it is not difficult to picture Lewis and Clark camping on the edges of the banks off the Yellowstone River (of which they did here in 1804). The idea that this area needed to be secured for the Bozeman Trail so settlers could go west seems like a lost cause from today’s perspective. We marked this area with a survey marker and also in respect for the historic trauma inflicted on the Lakota’s, and international peace coal was laid out along with a tobacco offering. (The use of tobacco by laying it out in a sacred area was a traditional way the plains Indians honored place).

Day 25, July 15
45 miles, Forsyth, MT
A good start today and right out of town of Miles City, we cross the Tongue River. This is a tributary of the Yellowstone River and it extends south to the top edge of Wyoming. This river has also seen it’s share of conflict, especially during the Expedition of 1876. The Northern Cheyenne and the Oglala Lakotas were attacked in Montana at the Tongue River a little further south of our crossing. The Native victory helped kickstart the Great Sioux Wars of 1876 and solidified Native resistance against forcing the Sioux and allies onto reservations and selling the Black Hills. These small muddy river areas seem so minor when compared to today’s geopolitics and again I am amazed that these small forgotten places were once so critical and important in American western development. The small eastern Montana towns seem to defy their past as they struggle to exist in a modern world. Again, most of the countryside is high range country and at times cultivated wheat fields. I can only imagine what the vast herds of buffalo and elk looked like when they once roamed the area. To the early explorers, this place must have must have looked like a vast endless Serengeti plain that was empty. To the European mindset, seeing small bands of nomadic people living here in sustenance economy must have appeared unproductive in regards to exploiting the landscape. It is easy to see how this could have happened because to me in the 21st century, this place still seems so empty. I think sometimes, some of these counties must be reverting back to the notion of a frontier. I wonder if we should allow some of these spaces to return to a Serengeti type managed space, especially when I see small broken down shells of failed homesteads. Maybe that’s easy for me to say coming from a city,- but I suppose there is still something of the original American mythology that keeps all this alive knowing you could still head out into the hills somewhere and build a cabin.

Day 26, July 16
84 miles, Hardin, MT
We left early today and we were riding by 6am,- the day was going to be clear and hot. Climbing out of the valley from where we stayed in Forsyth, we had an incredible view of the Yellowstone River while we rode south. The wide breadth of the river twists through the landscape and the numerous sandbars and sandy islands fill it’s volume. Some of the islands are huge and have cottonwood trees in large clusters. We are also amazed by the height of some of these trees,- they look to be over 100 ft high at times and a girth that indicates they must be well over a century old. At one island, Lewis and Clark camped in 1804. The forests that follow the river’s edge look to be wilderness like and capable of supporting a lot of game. It is not difficult to envision buffalo and elk herds filling the space. As we ride through the landscape the remoteness suggests the possibility of seeing mountain lion. Climbing through a double rise, we see two young eagles hovering over the trees and then coming down to rest on a fence post not far from where we were standing. After the coolness of our early morning departure lifted, we are challenged climbing high ridges with 90 degree temperatures. We pass through Hysham and on towards Custer. This is the location where Colonel G. A. Custer turned south moving towards the Little Bighorn in Yellowstone Expedition of 1876. We are approaching the same river today and will only be about 12 miles away from the battlefield tonight. Today, this tragic site is a National Park and sits adjacent to the Crow Indian Reservation.

Day 27, July 17
tour day, Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, Hardin, MT
Today, Anders joined our group and we set up his bicycle. Afterwards, we visited the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Park. This is a national monument and military cemetery. The name of the park was officially updated in the 90’s to recognize and honor the fallen warriors both native and non native. This was the last major battle of the Plains Indian Wars of the 19th century and the end of the traditional nomadic life of the native peoples of the Montana, Wyoming, and Dakota Territory though the Lakota, Arapaho, and Cheyenne were victorious that day. Arikara and Crow native people served as scouts for the 7th calvary and the battlefield is marked with red marble where native people lost their lives and the U.S. army soldiers fallen are marked with white marble. A native medicine wheel sculpture was also recently added to the park in the spirit of reconciliation welcoming the spirits of native and non native people to join together in the circle. Our Native American Crow guide spoke to us about the history of the conflicts and what led up to the battle. When she was finished with her talk, she informed us that her people and Native people are very forgiving,- but that they have an oral tradition, and that makes for a long memory that never forgets.

Day 28, July 18
50 miles, Billings, MT
Today we started rolling by 6am and had a great cool day and ride. The headwind gusting to 20mph actually kept us from overheating. The landscape was rolling and high range country with areas spotted with cattle. In some of the tree lined rises it looked as if a forest fire raged through sections of the landscape. This stretch today reminded me of my grandfather’s homestead in Johnson County, Wyoming especially seeing the Bighorn Mountains. Our view to the south kept the buttes in our sites all day. Slow travel makes for an intimate experience of the landscape,- the idea of state lines seems rather abstract as we watch the change in landscape so gradually. Wetlands in the Dakotas give way to rangeland and sage becomes more abundant. I am beginning to see land in terms of watersheds, buttes and natural coves. After a long climb we had a vast expansive view of Billings and were rewarded with a nice 5mile downhill run into the city.

Day 29, July 19
40miles, Columbus, MT
Today we rode along the Yellowstone River and once again faced a headwind. It is something we expect and it seems to pick up in speed as we approached the Bighorn Mountains today. We saw a young falcon and a pair of eagles hovering over the bluffs that overlooked the river and the views were incredible and the day was clear. We are at about 3500 feet in elevation and are approaching Bozeman pass the day after tomorrow though following the Yellowstone puts us in the valleys as we move northwest.

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 Day 15, July 5

67 miles, Gettysburg, SD
The day started off cool and clear and beautiful. We followed the Missouri River north past the Corps of Engineers dam and along Lake Oahe. The Missouri is the major water source that divides the state of South Dakota in half and it is a major influence on the state’s weather and landscape. Just west of the River, the landscape becomes arid and pine forested. On the east side where we are traveling, we see green fields of wheat and corn albeit in a contour that mimics the west side though covered in green. Once again I am thoroughly impressed with the incredible distances that we can see. Farms seem to be 20 miles set back from the road and we have not been in the shade of a tree all day. This is a space I would not want to be caught in a storm. I am constantly watching the weather and the sky. Weather is part of all decision making processes here. I monitor the radar too. Evenings can be cool and this is what makes for our early rise and traveling. It seems as though the winds can kick up later after the heat of the day sets in. We are always on the look out for afternoon and early evening thunderstorms. I am not afraid of getting wet but I am watchful for lightening and high winds. I don’t want to be caught on the prairie in 60 mph winds and hail.

On the remote route today, we happen to come across a man from Scotland traveling in the opposite direction. There was something that seemed time honored about our talk in the middle of nowhere and we both shared stories for 5 or 10 minutes, and then parted ways. As the day more on, the winds shifted and we made our way to Gettysburg and was greeted with a sign saying this was not where the battle occurred.

Day 16, July 6
60 miles, Mobridge, SD
A very cool start again. We are blessed with cool overcast mornings. The only difficulty is the 20 mph headwind. We are making 8-9mph but making progress. This morning we are traveling through the glacial lake district of South Dakota. There are wetlands and marshes everywhere. We see waterbirds and pelican. This area defies my expectation because of all the water. West of the Missouri it is like a desert, here it is moist and green. The landscape is completely flat and then gentle rolling and gaining in elevation. We must be about 1500 to 2000 feet above sea level. A red tail hawk follows us and then sits on a fence post and flies to the next one waiting for us to get there and then flies to the next one and keeps repeating this. The hills keep rolling and gain in elevation more the closer we get to the Missouri. We go through a small town with a population of 53. This feels more and more western as we travel and the rural towns are very isolated. Hunting and fishing is the main occupation and there is plenty of space to do that. We watched some ranchers herd their cattle into a lower pasture using ATV vehicles. Later, I met one of them down the road and we talked briefly. One of his cows had a hoove problem. He had to go to the vet he told me. We rode off in another direction after our brief chat. It seems as though everywhere its a small town atmosphere and people will stop and talk and be quite neighborly. We run into another person who checked up on us to see if we had enough water.People are generally very nice and we seem to share a strange frontier mentality being out on the road on bicycles. This landscape has a way of growing on me, though I am not quite used to being so vigilant with the weather observations. These open areas require a commitment to pay attention to forecasts as winds can whip up to dangerous speeds and no tree breaks to slow things down. Tonight we make camp not far from the Missouri River.

Day 17, July 7
68 miles Beaver Creek, ND
It was quite chilly this morning. We got up to eat breakfast and had to bundle up. Leaving about an hour later than usual, we had tail winds and good weather all day. The elevation went up and down all day. We followed the Missouri River most of the day and saw incredible views and long steep down hill runs. It is difficult to photograph or capture the perspective,- the views look cartoon like as the road ribbons around the landscape and then drops off suddenly. Sometimes it is straight as an arrow and blurs out in the distance that makes it look like it is a painted back drop. The countryside is open and exposed and is no place to spend the night. We meet another cyclist today from Seattle going the opposite direction. Shortly after, there is a cattle traffic jam on the road and we have to wait for the ranchers to move several hundred cows off the road. About 10miles further we run into another group of cowboys herding the cattle from the high pasture and the noise is almost deafening. As we leave this section of ranch country, we follow the Missouri north into North Dakota. After we cross this border, the next corral contains about 100 buffalo and they quickly jump up and move quickly to the back of the pen when they hear us. All of the cattle and ranch sounds quickly give way to silence as we slowly make our way to tonight’s destination. Beaver Creek is border on either side by a large expanse of water from Lake Oahe. Not far from water’s edge is where we set up our tents.

Day 18, July 8
51miles Bismarck, ND
After we break camp and move north, we follow the Missouri River once again. The cool overcast morning makes for perfect travel. The buttes that we encounter look like a green version of a Lunar landscape. The southwest corner of North Dakota looks like what I would imagine the Central Asian Step to look like. The other worldly hills look like they have been dropped onto the Earth. Sometimes, what appears to be a sand formation from the Badlands,- unexpectedly rises from a green pasture. The rolling hills take on an appearance of an underwater Ocean floor. Cattle dot the rolling fields and the expanse is starting to fill up with pine trees as we move further north. This area defies my expectations as we get closer to Bismarck. Farmland and small forests punctuate the countryside,- I could mistake this for Wisconsin or upper peninsula Michigan. Tomorrow, we will stop at ft. Abraham Lincoln. The first post commander was Lt. Colonel George A. Custer.

Day 19, July 9
41miles New Salem, ND
We leave Bismarck later in order to stop at Ft. Abraham Lincoln. The fort was established to secure the northern plains and subdue the Sioux and other bands not on reservations after the 1868 treaty of Ft. Laramie. Indian land was being encroached on after gold was discovered in the Black Hills and as a result wagon trains were being attacked. This threat to US expansion was seen as hostile though the land secured for the Lakotas was constantly being overrun illegally by settlers and miners. In 1876, three columns of US cavalry was dispatched to round up Natives deemed hostile, General George Crook from Ft. Fetterman in Wyoming Territory, General John Gibbon from Ft. Ellis in Montana Territory, and the ill fated, Colonel George Custer from Ft. Lincoln in Dakota Territory.

This is a the command house at Ft. Abraham Lincoln for Lt. Colonel George Custer. We set a survey marker not far from here. We rode west of Ft. Lincoln today along a route that parallels Custer’s march to the Bighorn Mountains to subdue the Sioux. (He was one part of a three pronged assault that also included Generals Gibbon and Crook.) When we cross into Montana at Glendive we will also be following Custer’s path down the Yellowstone, the Powder, and the Little Bighorn Rivers. This is where Crazy Horse repelled Crook prior to sealing Custer’s fate at the last stand Battlefield adjacent to the Crow Reservation. Crazy Horse, Gall, and Sitting Bull defeated the U.S. Army three consecutive times before being subdued.

Day 20, July 10
75miles, Dickinson, ND
Moving west towards the Yellowstone River, we enjoyed a tail wind all day which made for a quick and pleasant ride. This direction we ride follows the path of Custer’s campaign west in the 19th century to subdue hostile non reservation Sioux, Arapaho, and Cheyenne and is also the route (in reverse) where Lewis and Clark returned from their journey to the west coast. When the Corps of Discovery came through the area in 1804, the Sioux did not great therm with as much enthusiasm as some of the other tribes. And rightly so, because their hospitality would be met with constant warfare and encroachment within just a few years of the first contact. In only a handful of years, settlers began pouring into the region and moving onto Indian treaty lands. What Lewis and Clark didn’t realize was that the Sioux had been all the way in Albany, New York in the previous century talking to the British. Knowing that France and England were the world powers at the time, the Lakotas were perfectly capable of handling negotiations and trade on the upper high plains and didn’t need a middleman to broker their affaires. Being suspicious of the new comers intentions, the Lakota Sioux correctly foresaw the aggressive movement onto their territory. From an American pioneer perspective, the upper Missouri was a vast and empty plain, to the Native American, it was landscape that was starting to get too crowded with ill intentioned newcomers.

Day 21, July 11
63miles, Beach, ND
We have been seeing signs all day that this is Custer’s trail. Moving west into a 20mph headwind made for a challenging day. The landscape however was beautiful and extreme. In the morning, we see signs of the Badlands type landscape formations in the distance. The little knolls and buttes rise up in what looks like a lunar topology although everything is covered in green. Occasionally, the sides of one of these rises erodes away and reveals a dry sandy soil that is typical of the Badlands formations. The temperature rose to 91 today and the sky was clear and seemed more typical of the dry west than the moist storm riddled Dakotas of the east. I don’t know which makes travel more difficult because each has its challenges. Later in the day we cross into Theodore Roosevelt National Park and the Badlands seem to pop out full blown. We see a herd of buffalo on ledges to the south of us as we go through the park. The bison are free to roam the area and we cross huge cattle grates to enter into the preserve. This landscape today demands a different respect as the arid climate takes it’s toll on our endurance. Rain fall drops off dramatically in these areas compared to the midwest. Tonight, we stay only two miles from the Montana border. As we have traveled west the borders between states seem so arbitrary and it puts us in a strange relationship to a nineteenth century perspective. It is easy to see how this land was seen as empty when the first Europeans arrived. There is a quality of that that still overwhelms me with the vast views and sparsely populated regions. I think Chicago has more people than the whole state of South Dakota.

Day 22, July 12
36 miles, Glendive, MT
Today, we cross into Montana and are greeting with puffy white clouds and a blue sky. Wind is a constant variable and we are faced with gusts up to 20 mph. Though it can be challenging, it starts to become a new medium to adjust to. The landscape feels high in elevation though rolling in long rises in it’s terrain and we see remnants of the Badlands formations throughout the day. Time and distance are directly related and influenced by wind. It might seem like only 10 miles but a hurricane wind can turn that usual short distance into a 3 hour event. As we meet other cyclists, they mention waking up at 4 and leaving by 5am or earlier to move. The frontier was and continues to be influenced by weather and it dictates how to conduct our daily travel. Normally, I would feel inconvenienced by weather, but rarely would I alter my daily activities unless it was an extreme event. Now, I am always aware of what the sky is doing and how the fronts are changing. Being exposed to the elements puts my body in direct relationship to my surroundings. A hill or butte is something I don’t just look at but I feel it in how much energy it would extract from me or how much water it would take for me to ride up its slope. As we travel through this arid region, I find myself more and more monitoring my water consumption and water bottles. Our day is shorter and tomorrow is a rest day as we begin our 4th week.

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Day 9, June 28
54 miles, Springfield, MN

Last night’s camp in Mankato saw a severe thunder storm hit about 2am. The tents took in water and we had to hold down the poles in the high wind. Everything got soaked so we tried to dry out a bit before we got started. Shoving off about an hour later, the storm left the day overcast and cool most of the morning and early afternoon. This was the gift of last night. Traveling was easier today and we didn’t see many people as we head west. Once we left Mankato, we didn’t come across another town until the end of the day. This forces us to carry water and food for lunch and the day. We ended up on the Shetek Trail before Springfield. The trail was a historic route between New Ulm and Sioux Falls. Along this route are several markers pointing out the losses incurred by farmers and settlers during the Dakota uprising of 1862. Panic on the frontier was set in motion by raids and attacks led by Little Crow and various bands of loyalists. Unscrupulous Indian agents, stolen money, stolen food, and general antagonism led to starvation and revolt from the otherwise cooperative Dakotas. The attempt to drive all whites out of Minnesota led to a series of attacks on farmsteads and fleeing families. The white population at the time was not always aware of these details and became enraged at the seemingly random killings of innocent people. The language used to describe these events still remains a sensitive topic with contemporary families of the victims from both sides of the conflict. The current attitude in Minnesota from Native and non Native people appears to be one focused on reconciliation and trust as a path to healing historic violence and mistrust.

Day 10, June 29
60 miles, Camden St. Pk., Russell, MN
Today was moving west along one road all day. A couple of shifts due to the county grid needing to be shifted to account for the curvature of the Earth,- and that was it. Once we left Springfield we did not see a town until the end of the day in Russell. This was an endless day of one farm after another all growing soybeans, corn and wheat. All the farms look like they are well established and healthy. The fields are also pretty flush and it looks like a sea on the edge of the Great Plains. Each of the homes seem to be accompanied by a barn and several out buildings and surrounded by a small forrest of oaks and pine. This looks like a perfect shelter for the summer and winter. The landscape is covered in green and is very bucolic though it looks like it could get pretty rough in the winter. A constant headwind held us to about 10-11mph.

In the middle of nowhere we came across what looked like a one room school house but the sign on the side of the building said, Gales Town Hall, Grass Routes Government. In the back and side were massive bins to gather materials for recycling. The building dats back to 1900. This reminds me of the dust bowl days when rural people joined together and formed cooperatives in order to survive the great depression. The People’s Bank still exists in North Dakota and this little building and its project reminds me of this. We are just a small distance from the South Dakota border from where we have camped tonight.

Day 11, June 30
50 miles, Brookings, SD
Today was again cool and overcast and felt like it was 65 degrees out. Little to no wind made travel easy. Our landscape is getting less tree lined and more rolling hills of green. The fields look like we are on a rolling Ocean with 50 foot waves. The area is still green but we are starting to see a few indicators of the western economy such as the appearance of a couple of cattle farms. The longhorns just stare at us from a mud corral. The roads are turning to gravel in the back country and we are sticking to the state or US marked roads. We were able to move between 17 and 18 mph today and appreciate the blacktop. Once again, the towns going west are fairly spread apart as we don’t see any towns until our night stop. It seems as though all the paved roads are going north and south. Our stop at Brookings is also the site of South Dakota State University. We are able to visit the University Art Museum and see an exhibition of turn of the last century illustrative painting which was quite good. We also stopped in the the American Indian Center on campus and met two directors that were very warm and welcoming. We talked to them for a while about their mission and we shared our project with them. The link across country makes us feel nicely connected. Before we left, they showed us a beautiful star pattern quilt that was made by a former Native faculty member and other objects that were Lakota in origin. This was a real honor to be able to see these items at the end of our day.

Day 11, July 1
71 miles, Huron, SD
Waking up to a rain this morning and leaving in the rain. The gray overcast sky made for a cool day as we ride through central South Dakota, I am amazed at all the wet lands. Marshes and reeds line huge lakes in the farm country. We actually see pelicans gathered in the ponds and a few flying overhead. I thought we would only see these in Ocean areas. We are nicely blessed with east winds and the sky stayed overcast and cool all day. Passing through DeSmet we see the markers for Laura Ingalls Wilder’s homestead. The small towns are loosing their quaintness here and truckstops and grain elevators punctuate the railroad lines. Some towns show remnants of a 19th century boom with there architectural facades fading from old buildings. The present conditions speak to a less Romantic time and are more industrial-agricultural in appearance. Later, we reach stretches that flatten out into immense sublime views. This is the Great Plains and the views open up incredible distances. This has not changed and it is beautiful. The overcast gray makes the hazy distance seem even farther away. Pulling into Huron, we are greeted by a huge pheasant sculpture. The sign next to it boasts that this is the largest pheasant in the world and that it is also South Dakota’s state bird. It reminds me of 19 century carnival signs or 1950’s roadside constructions that stand in front of motel parking lots. The landscape is what attracts me most!

Day 12, July 2
110 miles, Pierre, SD
We again leave in the rain this morning. This has been an endless change of fronts during our crossing. The temperature is very cool again and makes for an easier day in the long run. Riding in the rain and getting soaked is becoming old hat. After 3 people from 3 different towns tell us not to go to Ft. Thompson due to the bad roads, – we heed their advice and move toward the capitol, Pierre. The landscape is incredibly flat and distances can seen for miles. Ranches and towns 10 miles away can be seen on the horizon. Wind is a big factor and we have been blessed with a tail wind for two days. Crossing these areas safely seems to be a matter of timing and luck. This is no place to be caught in a tornado or super cell. There is no place to take cover and there is no dip in the landscape and no trees. That is what makes this place so amazing and what has made our day amazing. The storms that struct us in Iowa earlier had maximum winds at 95 mph, here they were recorded a week ago at 110mph. We have a rest day in Pierre and are a bit ahead of our schedule because of the distance we made today,- so we will explore the Missouri River area in town tomorrow. So far, everyone that we have met in South Dakota has been extremely nice and outgoing. We talk to everyone at cafes and today a rancher stopped his pickup truck and offered to take our picture. We even had some one slow down their truck and check up on us and wished us well. The only hazard to speak of on the road were three wild turkeys charging out to meet us. Literarily.

Day 13, July 3
Rest day, Pierre, SD
Today is a rest day and we visit the state of South Dakota Capitol building and the state cultural museum. The history of land survey and the gridding of the landscape meet up with a clash of cultures with Native America. South Dakota is home to the three major divisions of the Sioux Nation,- Lakota, Nakota, and Dakota. At one time the western half of the state divided by the Missouri River was considered the Great Sioux Nation.

Day 14, July 4
Rest day, Pierre, SD
Setting the survey marker at near La Framboise Island, Pierre, SD. Big skies and storms always potentially brewing in the heat.

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Planting the 3 sisters- corn, squash, and beans. We will carry these seeds of growth and tolerance to Portland, Oregon.

Day 1, June 20 after, Indian Boundary Park

We left this morning at 7 and it ended being a 12 hour day through very hilly but beautiful countryside. Moving through northwest Illinois, we ran into late day thunderstorms. Lightening hitting the landscape late in the day right before our stop. Riding through areas of decommissioned railroad beds affords us a view of the rolling plains and thinly populated countryside. We are still adjusting to the physical demands and usual aches and pains. I think about the coal from the international peace fire that I received from Pat. The fire was brought to Illinois a year or so ago and another coal was recently placed at the camp at Auschwitz (among other places). As we struggle through our minor inconveniences, I think of the struggles people have endured in the past and the focus of our mission,- to listen to these stories and try and honor their personal histories.
I felt the coal in my bundle for aid.
We are at dinner, showered and checked in. Tomorrow will be a campsite. The day after we hit Dubuque and it’s supposed to be a big storm. At the end of today we passed through some lightening. Before we left I read about Wakinyan from the Lakotas…so I keep the ceder…
“Wakinyan has instructed us to burn cedar during the thunderstorms, as Wakinyan’s lodge is in the west and is made of cedar, and cedar is also cleansing. Hence, when Wakinyan flies over our houses, he will view favorably the houses which burn the cleansing cedar and he will leave our homes alone as he continues on in his cleansing journey to that which does require his cleansing.”

Day 2, June 2064 miles today. Up and down, we get respite in the woods following the train lines. The Galena railroad was decommissioned in the 1990’s and this now makes for some nice flat grades. Anything that needs water needs to travel on level ground to conserve energy. Moving into the Mississippi makes for an amazing but tremendously hilly landscape. This is like eastern Ohio as it approaches the Appalachians. Time for rest after an intensive day of climbing.

Day 3, June 21

70 miles

Started out a bit slow. Quincy broke off and headed to Stockton. We moved into a small town to take shelter from high winds. The fronts have been moving in quickly and we have a delay in movement. A funnel cloud passes over our head and the rain starts to deluge. The sky turns day into night conditions. The clerks at the convenient store monitor Facebook to see who’s barn is destroyed. Interesting use of social media as a commons for disaster.
After the rain passes, the wind picks up and we make our way west in the rain. The fronts keep moving through and it seems even more threatening as we are in remote areas. Our path takes a back road route and we see no towns. Rolling hills and steep climbs as we approach the Mississippi. The wind starts to pick up and we take shelter at a farmstead. The wind speed hits 95mph and trees are coming down. Later in the day we see grain driers blown across the road and downed power lines. No tornados hit the ground but it seemed like a perfect storm opportunity for this to occur. Afterwards, the landscape opened up to bucolic scenes.
We pass through Sinsinawa Mounds. This high mounded landscape was eventually turned into a convent after being wrestled away from the native tribes that inhabited the area. This was were Chief Blackhawk had his last stand as he was eventually driven across the Mississippi. We cross the Mississippi at the end of the day today.

Day 4, June 22

81 miles

Today we climb out of Dubuque. I so grateful that a farmer put us up in his garage as a shelter from those 95mph winds yesterday. Today it’s cool a breezy day but we hit the open plains and rolling hills that seem long and long and go on forever. The farm land seems more pleasant and gentle than in NW Illinois for some reason. The land looks rich. Earlier, riding on an old converted railroad beds we share the same things that locomotives need,- gradual rises. Parts of Dubuque climb straight up like San Francisco!
As we head away from the Mississippi, we start to see vast open fields and stands of pine trees. The scenery seems to be setting us up for the Great Plains. It feels a bit higher in elevation. This place looks like America’s breadbasket. Especially in the back roads that most people never see. Corn and beans are planted everywhere.
We are beat today as we pull into Postville, Iowa and we stay at a hotel for a break. There is a pizza place down the road and the hotel owner offered to pick it up for us! Her husband offered Julia the use of his car too! Iowa hospitality.

Day 5, June 23

66 miles

Today was much smoother and quicker. We are done by 3pm and gives us some time to clean cloths and dry out wet tents. First sign of birch trees and all farmsteads have huge pines lining the main houses. They look like they would keep everything protected, from winds to blizzards. The railroad beds are once again a source for seeing amazing parts of the countryside. They pass through forests and fields with no roads in sight. This is like looking out into a view from horse and buggy days. We don’t see or hear any traffic or other modern noises or static. The air is so much cooler inside the groves and it makes me think about how out of connection we are to nature going from air conditioning to air conditioning. Pulling into LeRoy, Minnesota today, the temperature registers 81 degrees but it feels much cooler. Five inches of rain hit this place a few days ago and it seems to be threatening again a bit later tonight. We opt for the local ‘Sweets Inn”. A true 19th century roadhouse.

Day 6, June 24
66 miles, Owatonna, MN

Cool morning and beautiful weather. The storms that came through Monday seem to still be leaving the area in a partly cloudy pleasant sky. Good for riding.

The landscape again seems to be becoming very northern in its appearance,- huge pine and spruce line farms and seem to appear everywhere in the forest gatherings we pass through. This part of the country seems very Scandinavian in its appearance. Bicycle paths seems to endlessly run through farm fields and wooded areas. They are immaculate in upkeep. Occasionally we will see others but for the most part we are crossing into more remote areas. It is starting to feel far from home. The quaintness of the small towns is charming and they are getting farther apart. Again, people are very nice and accommodating. We pass o meet a friend. deer frequently in the area and we have spotted an eagle. We have to start to carry more water as our travels are taking us further and further from sources of resupply. Luckily, we have hit towns at a very convenient distance and lunch and dinner worked out well. We were also able to get supplies for the morning. Usually, we wake up at 6, eat, pack up, and get rolling by 7 or 7:30. It’s nice to be moving early in the day when it’s cooler and in case of mechanical problems. Luckily, we have been spared anything too serious. Across from our camp tonight, a small boy is sitting in a boat in the reeds by the river. This looks like something out of Huck Finn. As time slows down for us, we see slow time activities all around us. The tiny city hall we passed by earlier today and the remnants of a one room school house speak of a different era. These things are long gone from urban areas. Tomorrow, we will see Adrian off. In the morning we will ride together and then split east and west on a trail as he heads off to meet a friend. Julia and I will be riding towards the Dakotas to eventually meet up with Pat and Mark around Glendive, MT.

Day 7, June 26
51 miles, Mankato, MN

We leave camp early today. Up at 6 and packed and rolling around 7:30. Overcast and about 65 degrees makes for great day to ride. The day went much smoother with a smaller distance and more rolling landscape. We are on an old railroad bed converted to a trail and it is easy to envision the landscape how it may have looked 150 years ago. The Corn comes right up to the edge of the trail and trees line the path. Anything that needs water appreciates a gradual rise in grade and that is what makes it nice riding on an old railroad right of way. Adrian split off from us today and we had an mythic parting as we came to a fork and he went east and we went due west. We spent the rest of the day riding on a desolate trail.

Our day ends at Mankato. We stay the night across the street from Reconciliation Park. A sacred site to the Dakota Sioux. This park is a memorial to the loss of life in 1862 after the Dakota uprising. This site is marked by the 38 names of the native people who lost their lives in the largest mass execution in American history. The invasion into native hunting grounds led to killings on the Minnesota plains and tragedy all the way around. The poem by Katherine Hughes sums up the sentiment that would speak well to us today,- regret for the attitudes that reason abandoned and respect for the deeds and kindness that brought honor to both cultures as well as a future when memories remain balanced by forgiveness. We plan on marking this location of landscape and memory with a survey, recording GPS coordinates, and mapping a new territory of tolerance.

Week 1 Question: As we cross many divides today, the Governor of Alabama takes down the Confederate flag from state buildings, the Supreme Court passes law regarding same sex marriage, and we travel through Mankato and Reconciliation Park. We wonder if we will forget the people on the fringes of the fight for equal treatment under the law? Will we basque in the glow of landmark legislation but loose the cultural war for the greater narrative? We are reminded of the passing of the 13th, 145th, and 15th amendments abolishing slavery, and that it took 150 years before we truly addressed equal rights. How should we challenge traditional notions of privilege?

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We invite people beginning: 5:00PM, 6/19/15, to meet at Rogers Avenue and the Lake and bicycle 2 miles to Indian Boundary Park, 2500 W Lunt Ave, Chicago, IL for a ride and talk.

On June 19, 2015 at Indian Boundary Park, Chicago we will hold our launch/performance opening and presentation to kick off a 2 month, 3000 mile landscape project that involves bicycling from Chicago to the Oregon coast. For the next 2 months, my daughter Julia and I will lead various riders on different sections of a cross country expedition investigating issues of landscape, history, and restorative justice. Following the historic routes of Lincoln and Lewis and Clark westward, our journey from Indian Boundary Park Field House will also explore concepts inspired from restorative justice and First Nations and Native American cultures such as the reintegration of stories and histories into our awareness as a means to facilitate healing, balance and harmony amongst ourselves and with our relationship to the environment.

While we travel, we will be documenting the stories of people and the landscapes, sharing them via our website, (www.CrossingTheGreatDivide.net) and welcoming a public dialog on these issues locally as well as digitally. We will be setting survey disks inscribed with the words, ‘Measure of Tolerance, Crossing the Great Divide’. These markers will serve as focal points for crossing a divide that separates us from each other and inscribe a new benchmark for a territory of cultural acceptance and tolerance. During our journey, we will also literally cross the Great Divide of the Rocky Mountains, fracking-mine locations, and Native Reservations.

The journey’s launch begins at 5pm with a 2 mile community bicycle ride and talk leaving from Rogers Avenue and the Lake and riding 2miles to Indian Boundary Park (the site of William Clark’s 1816 survey that secured access to Lake Michigan from the Objibwa, Ottawa, and Potawatomie). We will then introduce the historic routes of the area and our path, do a reading, present maps, and discuss our interactive mission with the public and how they can participate.

Special thanks goes out to the generous support of Roman Susan Gallery-Chicago, The Rogers Park Arts and Business Alliance, The Peterson Garden Project, Perimeter Gallery-Chicago, and the Chicago Park District. Our journey map and statement can be viewed at www.CrossingTheGreatDivide.net. Our blog will be live 6/20/15.

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