29 September, 2016 (Tommy LeGrand)

The road continues, the bonds between us grow and as a leader? Well as a leader I couldn’t ask for a better group of adventurers… no, friends. Today was awesome, we started out in the Bad Lands for a second morning greeted by an awe inspiring sunrise. After which we all gorged ourselves on some good ole' “Spaceman – thanksgiving stuffing” which was just what I needed to get my furnace rolling. As my furnace began rolling we rolled out of camp and made our way to watch a brief but interesting video at the Bad Lands visitor center followed by a tour and our exit loop. My goodness, words could not describe the views. I’m not too sure pictures could do it much justice either. While taking in these breathtaking sights and even some tid bits of knowledge, both on the signs and from an experienced tourist / guide (the world famous Jeff). Most of us also got to start teaching quick lessons on our Outdoor Ed topics which could use some more practiced timing (haha!). Eventually we made our way, or more so got ripped out of our sightseeing tour, to adventure onwards to the land of 5 cent coffee and free ice water! Yep Wall Drug! A sight to see in itself. We all enjoyed a bit of time away from each other and then made our way back for some more R & R, roads and reading. The change in scenery was pretty immediate from South Dakota to Wyoming and just as breathtaking. Not to mention getting to see Devils Tower from a distance as it grew. As we got in to camp with high spirits, we realized it would be a long night. It was, but I think everyone is excited for tomorrow.

28 September, 2016 (Mariah Von Bruenchenhein)

What a day! What a day! It was such a great morning and an extremely beautiful day! However, I woke up sort of pissed because I had to pee really, really bad and did not want to get out of my sleeping bag. Thank goodness I did because the night sky was absolutely gorgeous! It pepped up my mood but I still went back to my sleeping bag to sleep just a little big longer. But something even better happened after that. Emily was completely cocooned in her sleeping bag. She stuck only her nose, one eye, and half of her mouth out to ask me how much time she has left to sleep or something along those lines. I answered about twenty-five minutes and she literally squealed with joy. Probably the cutest thing I have seen in a while. That girl makes me smile so much. Instead of going back to sleep we chatted for the rest of the time. After breakfast we set off on a hike throughout some of the badlands. I was amazed at the landscapes. Liv told me she is already planning a trip back to this place and I hope I’m invited when she does. I got many beautiful pictures of the landscapes and also a few with my instructor, who I can also call my very good friend. We moved on to the location of the Wounded Knee Massacre which was a few hours away. The ride was wonderful. It included great views, awesome music, and writing to loved ones back at home. It is hard to collect all my thoughts after visiting the location of the Wounded Knee Massacre. Just being there moved me in a way I cannot explain. I really do not know how to put my feelings into words. It’s a lot different learning about the incident at the actual place instead of from our textbooks. All I can say is education yourself. It is the most powerful thing one can do. Goodnight South Dakota. 

27 September, 2016 (Tyler Gebel)

At last we are here, the Badlands. We have traveled all the way down from Canada to our Macomb headquarters and now we are officially in the west. I feel like our transition to this area had great significance, when we stopped at the Dakotas Museum and the Lakota Museum to receive a tour, I felt an immense surge in more understanding of the culture out here. The Native American culture and the sad past they have endured moved me in a way that I believe changed my perspective of what I have been told through my education. WE discussed today that there is always more than one side of the coin between culture to culture and textbooks may only show the side of one coin. When we were done with our visit to these museums it was off to our campsite of the night. We knew we were in the Badlands once we saw the rugged landscape and its beautiful architecture sprawled out as far as the eye can see. I was really excited to see a group of fairly good sized prairie dogs when we were close to the entrance too. The flora and fauna has definitely changed dramatically as we have crossed the Great Plains. Two bighorn sheep greeted us when we passed through the main entrance. Our campground here at Cedar Pass isn’t too far into the park but the surrounding views makes me so glad to be in the Wild West. As the sunset began, beautiful colors streamed on the horizon and the blue sky darkened. When the stars came out, we could see more than we could count. The silence out here is peaceful and makes me reflect on all that I have experienced in the past few days. I am truly appreciative to be where we are and what lies ahead here in the wild and rugged Badlands. 

26 September, 2016 (Emily Smith)

Well guys, so it begins.

The meat and potatoes. We’ve conquered what we could in Canada and made it back to home base; a time that we were all looking forward to. Then it was right back at it this morning with more miles on the road and the Wild West toward our windshield of good ol’ Van 63. We successfully made it to Lewis and Clark Recreation Area and posted up right beside the water. We’ll only call this home for a very short while as we dive into the Badlands tomorrow. Words can’t describe how excited I am to finally get to ECOEE 2016’s first National Park and truly begin another leg of our storybook. As time passes and each day presents a new set of challenges to overcome, I’m reminded of the incredible growth that is happening here. With troubles ahead and troubles behind I can only take each overcome obstacle as a new notch in my belt. I’m learning so much day to day, I know that we all are. There is one lesson, however, that keeps appearing in my forefront over and over again – and that is that I better not blink. 

25 September, 2016 (Liv Smith)

The weekend at Horn Field Campus has come to a close. We met together at 5 o’clock after our much needed break. Most of us spent time with our loved ones, or at least doing what we love, like hanging out with friends or gorging ourselves on fast food. As soon as we met together we had a short brief of what was to be done for the night and then straight to Wally World. As chefs ran about getting our groceries, Emily had the master plan to go and buy Jeff a surprise birthday cake. A simple chocolate cake was decided upon, but only because we could not afford the one with smiling dolphins on it, or the pink princess cake. On our way back to Horn we made a quick stop at Currens to drop off and pickup books, and Horrabin to get Mariah a new water filter. I guess that’s the end of DB. Later in the night we all knocked Jeff’s cabin door to surprise him with cake, coke and candy. Hopefully Jeff had a good birthday, even with us involved. We start our trip tomorrow at the early time of 8:00 am. I look forward to the day’s travel, and my long nap in the car.

24 September, 2016 (Joel Davis)

Well, after all of the work that we managed to get done yesterday, this morning was left to basic chores and cabin clean ups. Breakfast was at 8 am and was some sort of Mexican breakfast burrito. After that everyone moved to get the last of their chores done while we waited for the LOW debrief. That started just after 11 and ran for about an hour or so. After that we were told that we were free to go if we had all of our chores done. Kolin, Nick, and I all stuck around Horn and relaxed until lodge and libations. This was a great event where we got to mingle with ECOEE’s past, people within the department, and even our parents if they came. It was great getting to see my parents and talk to them about everything I had gotten to experience in Canada and everything that I hoped to experience in the months to come. I cannot wait to get on the road and get to see what all awaits us out west and down south for the rest of the semester.

23 September, 2016 (Alex Olson)

Today was almost like our first few days together at HFC as we all had our individual along with group chores to accomplish except now we all had a good idea how to get them done.  Our day wad filled with task after task until we got most everything done.  This afternoon we had a surprise visit from the one and only Doc Lupton which led to introductions from everyone along with a good talk with him about the history of ECOEE and how different it is from 40 years ago to how it is now, but also how some aspects are still the same.  It’s crazy to think that a program founded 40 years ago has impacted 100's of student’s lives while preparing them for their future careers.  I am grateful to be part of the legacy of what ECOEE has become and look forward to all of the memories and experiences that will be in the next two months.  As we finished up most of our chores to be done for the day, we had a delicious dinner of beef stroganoff that we had the pleasure of sharing with Doc Lupton. Many stories were shared between us tonight with so many more to come tomorrow during Lodge and Libations.  It’s gonna be a hot one tomorrow so I’ll be thankful for the opportunity for the air conditioning at HFC while it lasts since there won’t be any for a while once we leave on Monday!  Hopefully my parents will recognize me when I finally get to see them or else they will be asking Jeff what happened to their son.