Running Down a Dream

My last week in Minnesota was filled with good times. Last Sunday (father’s day) we paddled 7 miles on the Root River, I was in my pack raft and friends were in kayaks. We paddled through shallow clear water surrounded by towering limestone bluffs filled with wildlife. There were few rapids and some scraping bottom but we made good time considering the conditions and an hour stop to swim and fish. Monday it rained early and postponed any work on the paver patio, so I made a roadtrip to Red Wing MN. Here I visited the wonderful organic store Simple Abundance and then stopped next door to my favorite book store: Fair Trade Books. Why Fair Trade, here are my reasons: 1) Fair Trade gives you a free book upon entering the store for the first time, 2) You can exchange your used books for credit and use them towards buying other used books in the store 3) The selection is ever changing based on how many trades are made, 4) The owners Rick and Faye are great people you may learn a thing o

https://www.flickr.com/photos/133494881@N06/shares/kByCqw I finally set up a flickr account, and loaded it with all my Centennial trail photos, even I'm amazed I was able to take over 200 photos of the beautiful scenery! Now you too can see the various terrain that I encountered on a daily basis, it was ever changing, enjoy :)

17 days ago I finished my solo hike on the Centennial Trail, but I had so much fun and it was an incredible experience I still remember the trip like it was yesterday, hence the short story below, if it’s too long just enjoy the photos instead, turned out I had a lot of time to think out there and I really do love the area for its beauty and geology. It’s so easy to drift off in the day dream world as if I were still on the rugged and sacred trail in the middle of paha sapa (the black hills). On Saturday May 30 I arrived at the Alkali Creek trailhead, which is 15 miles south of the actual north trailhead located at Bear Butte. It was decided to start here and avoid the grasslands northeast of Sturgis, if I had extra time in the middle of my thruhike, I would explore more of the Black Elk Wilderness area. It was nearly 5pm when I arrived at Alkali Creek, I felt a bit out of place and was not properly prepared to take off on my 110+ mile journey, which I’d hoped to hike in 5 days. I

It’s been 3 weeks since I turned on a computer, a deserved break indeed. Prior to the computer hiatus, I sold my house, resigned my position with the university (early retirement;) and have embarked on a journey to explore the great outdoors. I’ve successfully lived that dream thus far, staying in a tent more often than not, realizing its only been 3 weeks however a lot of ground has been covered. My first expedition began Saturday May 30, one day after quitting my desk job.. Motive: to backpack the Centennial Trail in the Black Hills. Next post will be a trail report including pictures of the journey, still working on downloading the gps tracks and elevation profile, but in short it was a rugged adventure more up than down, packing 35-40 lbs, and covering just under 20 miles a day on average for 6 days or 116 miles of trail, mostly alone. Since the Centennial trail, I attended the first annual Blue Ox bluegrass festival in Eau Claire, WI with a group of new and old friends. Was a