Pine Ridge to Shepherdstown

What a lonely place. I went there because I wanted to see it. I have read about it, seen movies ("Skins" and "Incident at Oglala") and wanted to see it first hand. I am so glad I did. I drove there from the Black Hills National Forest -- and drove about 20 miles on a gravel road to get to the Visitors' Center -- the road was the kind of deep sand and gravel that pulled my car left and right and made me a little nervous about the speed I was traveling. I always feel odd on a reservation -- I feel like such a gaping tourist -- like I am peering into something that maybe I do not or should not have access to -- and this time was no different. From the few questions I asked the Park Rangers to reading the kiosks that provide cultural and historical information, I felt like an intruder. A few of the kiosks did mention how it was unacceptable to "crash" a religious ceremony -- and that driving up someones personal driveway when uninvited was also unacceptable. And I was thinking to myself, people do that? Or they have done that? The signs also reminded us that we were visitors here and that we were driving through people's lives -- catching only a snapshot -- and I thought that was true -- it did add to my feeling that I should not be there, but I truly appreciated the frank way in which the writer tackled the issue of us as tourists and onlookers in their community. The Oglala have had some rough times -- and in the 70's Pine Ridge was a scary place to live -- it is where AIM (American Indian Movement) was born and you can feel the history. You can feel the sadness. But I needed to see it and feel it. Being alone was how I wanted to experience it, and I was fortunate to have it my way.

The Wounded Knee site was also sad and desolate. The text that describes the massacre was well-written and informative -- one side scrawled with graffiti -- but nothing other than the sign was there. I walked for a little while around where the sign is posted and stumbled upon the church -- and sunflowers growing up out of the side of the road -- tough and beautiful -- and felt what I felt -- which was other and alone and guilty.

Along with these emotions, I witnessed ultimate, jagged, expansive beauty.

The road to the Visitors' Center

From Pine Ridge I drove and drove and drove some more -- through South Dakota and into Iowa and through Iowa and into all the states between Iowa and West Virginia. I had trouble finding places to sleep (perhaps I have never traveled on a weekend before) -- but all towns where I stopped when I finally decided to call it a day of driving were full -- plum full -- like not a room to sleep in for miles and towns. It was rough. But I made it -- made it in a couple of long days (there is something that comes over me when I am driving long distances -- I get motivated and competitive about the miles and I just keep going and going and the longer I go, the more I want to keep going).

Just before reaching the TTEC destination, this happened...





And then I was there... at "A Trail to Every Classroom." It was an incredible conference -- one I loved. I learned a ton, designed a new curriculum based on Place-Based Education and Service-Learning and am currently piloting that curriculum with my freshmen (my principal rocks).

The Appalachian Trail Headquarters -- this is a topographical map of the AT from Georgia to Maine.

Overlooking the downstairs from the landing just before the cafeteria.

Presenting my map at TTEC.

The CT people and I became tight. Love them. Douglas offered to let me sleep at his house (he was continuing on to the coast of VA from TTEC so his house was empty) in North Western CT (it is BEAUTIFUL there). I was so thankful and took him up on it -- excellent people.

A close up of my map.

Another "Mainer" (she isn't Native though) -- from Rangeley.

That's my listening face -- cute, eh? That's Douglas from CT in the red and Gary from VA.

The "Social Center" -- or if you are from Maine, the bah.

The steps leading to the cafeteria -- sweet digs. I felt like royalty while staying there.

Taxidermy galore -- the place was cool.

And that about sums up the WHOLE trip -- phew, now I can get back on track and be a little more current. Seems a world away in some regards -- but also seems like it is still happening in others. School is certainly IN session -- I can feel it from my head to my toes. More on that later.