2023 High School Trip Journal | Monday, August 7

August 7^th, the day started off with an awakening morning at camp where some people got some great sleep while others had the opposite. But no matter how good or bad people slept we were all ready to blast off the day. We started our morning with breakfast at Outlaw Ranch filled with amazing sausages, eggs, hash browns, yogurt, and a scrumptious cereal bar. The day had been a little questionable the night before, but the radar looked good and clear, so we went on with the day as planned. We packed up all the things we needed, packed our bag lunches, heard the deeper meaning stories from Sarah about where we were headed and took off on the bus with Sammie to Crazy Horse and part of The Black Hills. We drove our way to the Crazy Horse Memorial where we realized it was its 75^th anniversary after having its first blast on June 3 of 1948. We got dropped off at the Museum entrance where we went right into the theater to watch a video and learn the history of the Crazy Horse Memorial. We learned many intriguing facts in the video we watched but some that stood out to me was that it will be the largest mountain sculpture in North America (once it is finished), the Lakota Chiefs insisted that the sculpture be in The Black Hills because it is a sacred space to them, and it will be 563 feet high and 641 feet long when it is finished. We got to explore the museum, where a lot of the girls got some matching bracelets, until it was time to watch Traditional Lakota Dancers. It was eye opening to many of us to be able to watch and experience this and some of us (including myself) were able to go up and learn a few steps of a dance with them! We had spent awhile at Crazy Horse getting to know other people and cultures but after a few short hours it was time to start heading back to the bus to go on our next adventure.

We started ascending into our destination at another spot in The Black Hills where we would be hiking up to the highest peak in South Dakota called The Black Elk Peak. I could say many things about this 4-hour long,7.4 mile, 1,000+ feet elevation hike that we took, but I will try to keep it short and sweet. We started the uphill with the perfect hiking weather but also with some questions. Many people wondered how long it would take to get to the top or what it even looked like from up there. But we all pushed each other past our comfort level to make it to the top of the peak all together. We made it to the top and the view was stunning, we saw the road from where we started our hike, and everyone was so amazed and proud. It was a great feeling. The trek down though was a different story. It had started thundering while we were at the top and we all agreed that the highest peak in South Dakota was probably not the best place to be during a thunderstorm, so we started our descent. Once we got back below the clouds it started downpouring. Everyone got soaking wet and everyone was frigid and cold. But to my surprise people were still having a blast. We were thankful for the people we are with and the land we got to hike and feeling God’s touch through the rain made everyone feel weirdly comfortable being uncomfortable. A few of us on the trek down agreed upon some numbers. The experience was a 10/10, but the comfortability was more a 3/10 (thank you JJ and Tessa). But still an awesome time. We all made it back to the bus soaking wet, hungry, tired, but safe and sound.

We got back to camp a tad bit late for dinner, but do not worry we all got to change because it was starting to smell like wet dog in a way. But we had a lovely dinner cooked by the wonderful staff here at Outlaw Ranch which was followed by some free time around the camp. People went out and fished, pet the goats, and there was even some fun, giggly yoga going on that was led by our one and only Kayley. We ended off our day with talking about what had happened today and some plans for tomorrow, but also with some very magical campfires. S’mores were made, stories from the day were shared and so much more.

Throughout the day we talked about reverence. Reverence means honoring the mystery and the story of another and we had seen and done that a lot today. Everyone has different stories and perspectives on everything which makes it important to be respectful and have reverence.

For me personally, today has also reminded me about the group project that Sarah and Becca taught us about in Kentucky last summer. Meeting people who have different cultures and seeing and talking to all the different people on the Black Elk Peak hike today really showed that. One example I can specifically think of is when we were coming down the mountain and we ran into another church camp/group based out of Chicago and it was really cool to be able to talk with them. It made me realize that we are not the only ones out here doing this and that there are so many people that are part of the group project that we don’t even know about, and I think that’s pretty amazing.

Shoutout to all the Wisconsinites we saw on The Black Elk Peak hike today!

And also,once again, shouthout to our amazing bus driver Sammie because we couldn’t be going any places without him!