Day 48
Hot Springs to Prairie Winds
I had contacted folks in Pine Ridge
reservation and Wounded Knee about meeting with some members of their
communities. The route from Hot Springs
to Prairie winds was 60 miles across some rather rough terrain, so I started
searching for a place where I could pitch a tent.
This is a very remote part of the country
and there are very few places where one might discretely camp. There are no towns and few buildings. However, in the middle of a very isolated
piece of road there is a Tribal Casino which is 30 miles from any town. It is the most elegant (and least expensive)
hotel I have stayed at on this journey.
The gambling offsets the cost of the room and meals. If you are not into gambling, it is the best
deal around.
Every day in the late afternoon violent
thunder storms appear. I was not able to
make it to the hotel before the lightening began, but I was able to stop in a
country store in Oelrichs (population 117).
Over a cup of coffee I chatted with the lady who worked there about the
region. Although she had never been on
the reservation (10 miles away), she maintains that those who live there are
lazy, greedy, and cruel. It gave me an
insight into how the indigenous people are viewed by those of European ancestry
living in the surrounding community.
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