A foggy morning gave me an excellent excuse to sit on the curb and debate my next move. Do I go south? Do I cross at Mobridge? What do I do from there? The fog lifted around 10:30, and I headed west.
It was a mildly windy day (though out here it isn't wind until it's 60mph. One guy told me South Dakotans can't stand up without wind) but I managed to make it to the Wakpala Wacipi (powwow) on the Sioux Standing Rock Reservation by mid afternoon. I hung out, talked to some folks, and enjoyed the show. I really enjoyed the music. Their singing style is incredible, and the hand drum driven beat is raw and excellent. I got some video. I wish I could have recorded it better.
This kid is legit
I'm embarrassed by the video quality but I'm assuming y'all wanna see it.
It felt good to cross the great Missouri River. WOOO! It is just plain beautiful. The river is enormous up here - the government dammed it up in the 1940s. They call it Lake Oahe. It's a very controversial dam due to how badly it affected Sioux lands, but you can't deny the beauty - the sun in an endless sky shining down on the massive river, green and amber hills rolling across the landscape, and the silhouettes of buttes looming in the distance. It the first time I've seen anything in the distance other than a farm in a long time.
Around dinner time I decided to head back toward town for food. Wakpala is about 7mi NW of Mobridge. Lucky for me it was 7mi downwind. Unlucky for me though, is the lack of trees out here. The hills were not made for hammock camping, I'll tell you hwhat. So I had to cross back to the east side. I'm in a motel in Mobridge. Headed back across the river to Timber Lake tomorrow.
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