Ken Ilgunas
Dec 29, 2012
Day 108: Christmas in Kansas
I was walking down a country road in southern Kansas when I spotted a big dog trotting toward me. It kept its body low to the ground...
Ken Ilgunas
Dec 27, 2012
Day 104: What's the matter with Kansas?
On my first day in Kansas, I walked a country road to the medium-sized town of Washington, situated just a mile or so from the Keystone...
Ken Ilgunas
Dec 25, 2012
A letter to a church in Atkinson, Nebraska
Dear Faith Wesleyan Church, Today is the 65th day of my journey. I am walking cross-country from Alberta, Canada to the Gulf Coast of...
Ken Ilgunas
Dec 22, 2012
Day 99: Kansas
In Nebraska, I was a celebrity. I was interviewed by countless small newspapers, the Nebraska chapter of the Sierra Club, and two TV...
Ken Ilgunas
Dec 18, 2012
Day 93: The Breaking of the Fellowship
(Francis Gardler / Lincoln Journal Star) (Francis Gardler / Lincoln Journal Star) When the governor and I began our journey, the day was...
Ken Ilgunas
Dec 11, 2012
Day 87: The expedition party grows
The governor (aka “Rick”) decided to join the hike. Even though he sees himself as a 30-year-old “swashbuckler,” he thought that, as a...
Ken Ilgunas
Dec 9, 2012
Albion, Nebraska
On December 4, 2012, hundreds of Nebraskans gathered in the small town of Albion to comment on an environmental assessment of...
Ken Ilgunas
Dec 8, 2012
Day 85: "The Governor"
While Rick Hammond may have never been officially elected to political office, he’s known to some as “The Governor.” Rick and his...
Ken Ilgunas
Dec 6, 2012
On the radio with Dick Gordon
I have so much respect for Dick Gordon and the producers of his radio show, “The Story.” He’s based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and...
Ken Ilgunas
Dec 3, 2012
Day 80: Arrested in Nebraska
In Petersburg, Nebraska (population approximately 200), I was sitting at the counter at a convenience store, which also ran a small...
Ken Ilgunas
Dec 2, 2012
Day 78: Nebraska
I was eating a pumpkin pie with a plastic spoon while hiking down Highway 18 in southern South Dakota. A homeowner, who saw me walk past...
Ken Ilgunas
Nov 28, 2012
Keystone footage (Videos 1-10)
As well as taking notes, I’ve been taking footage of my journey. I’ve gone through past hiking entries and included a video at the bottom...
Ken Ilgunas
Nov 27, 2012
Day 70: Stampede in South Dakota
When a cow attacks you, he’s gonna use his head to push you to the ground. Once he gets you down, he’s going to trample you to death. —...
Ken Ilgunas
Nov 18, 2012
Day 66: Midland, South Dakota
An American does not know how to converse, but he discusses; he does not discourse, but he holds forth; he always speaks to you as to an...
Ken Ilgunas
Nov 12, 2012
Day 59: Holed up in South Dakota
I feel like I am in a giant orange balloon being tossed in a tempestuous sky. But I am only in South Dakota, on the ground, somewhere in...
Ken Ilgunas
Nov 6, 2012
Day 53: Buffalo, South Dakota
In Fallon, Montana, I was given a can of soup, a homegrown tomato, and an orange vest typically worn by hunters. (“I’d hate to see you...
Ken Ilgunas
Oct 30, 2012
Day 46: Fallon, Montana
The landscape has changed. The prairie, which I’ve hiked and grown fond of these past many days, has gradually become grayer, rockier,...
Ken Ilgunas
Oct 22, 2012
Day 39: Glasgow, Montana
“Don’t you think it’s a little late in the year to be traveling?” asked the cashier at a Reynolds Supermarket in Glasgow, Montana....
Ken Ilgunas
Oct 16, 2012
Day 31: Val Marie, a day's walk from the U.S. border
I spent three and a half days in Shaunavon, SK, recuperating from a devastating shin splint injury. I hung out in coffee shops, the...
Ken Ilgunas
Oct 10, 2012
Day 26: Down and out in Shaunavon, Saskatchewan
I write this from the Stardust Motel in Shaunavon, Saskatchewan–a medium sized prairie town 75 miles from the Montana border. I took a...