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...
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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...