The lost posts: Tuesday, September 9, 1997 [edited]

Three days ago I left my life in Michigan and set out for Alaska. My companion is Chad Emmons, a friend from Cornerstone College. We spent our first night in Chicago with John & Linda and her roommate Melanie. We went to Navy Pier and downtown where I ran into an old friend Kristen VerWis. Sunday Morning attended Willow Creek Church then set out across Wisconsin and Minnesota into South Dakota where we camped for our first night. On our way into the campground we were pulled over for going 6 miles over the speed limit. The South Dakota police officer, dressed in jeans, cowboy boots and cowboy hat, let us off with a written warning!

Monday we drove into the Badlands. It was pretty spectacular. Not an all day affair though. I think we took 2 hours to drive the north loop. From there we proceeded to Mt. Rushmore (worth seeing once) and then to Crazy Horse - but didn't go in b/c it was $14. So we went on to Wind Cave, known for its gusts of wind and rare cave formations called "boxwork". Interestingly, there were no stalactites or stalagmites. We got backcountry passes for backpacking at the visitor center there and hiked about 2 miles on the Centennial trail.

While preparing our camp we noticed 2 buffalo about 100 yards from our tent. All night I could hear them walking around and puling up the grass. When we opened the tent in the morning he was only about 40 yards away and looking right at us. He didn't seem to mind us though as we packed up and headed safely on our way. Next stop, Yellowstone!

10:13pm - Wow, It took a long time to get here from Wind Cave. A very pretty drive, however. We saw Devils Tower from a long distance but chose not to stop for the sake of time. We came to Yellowstone through the Big Horn range and the Chief Joseph Scenic Highway. When we got here we couldn't get backcountry passes b/c they only issue them from 8am to 5pm. So, we camped at Indian River. The wildlife here is very abundant, as I write I can hear the call of the elk, apparently a sign that winter is just around the corner. The other wildlife we've seen includes pronghorn, foxes, mule deer, prairie dogs, and buffalo of course. We hope to see much more.

The stars are abundant tonight. As I look up I wonder who else may be looking at these same stars. I miss my friends and family. I hope they know I haven't forgotten them.