For the second day on the trail, Trey ’27 and the group learn about Lakota history and culture as they bike from campground to campground along the Mickelson Trail.
After spending the night in Sage Creek, we woke up, had breakfast and started the day with a hike just outside the campground, up a few hills with great views of the campground and beyond. We made our way back to camp alongside the road and saw a turkey about 20 feet away. We then broke down camp and headed to Thunder Valley, a Pine Ridge Lakota reservation community, and learned about their traditions and mission. Our guide, Marlon, showed us the community building and also showed us around one of the houses that was recently built.
After eating lunch at Thunder Valley, we made our way to the Wounded Knee massacre monument to see the site and to hear a little bit about the story of what happened in 1890. Soon after, we made our way to the Allen Ranch Campground in Hot Springs, SD, to quickly set up camp. We even jumped into the creek alongside the camp and hung out in the water for a few minutes.
Then we traveled to the Oglala Lakota Reservation to learn more about contemporary Lakota culture and community life. We spent the evening with Lakota students around our age, who taught us some traditional dances and a traditional game. We made our way back to camp after dark and quickly fell asleep to get good rest for tomorrow’s bike ride.
