Days eleven and twelve

I woke up feeling very rested. I believe it was at about 6:30. I was staying at a campground in Wall, SD. that had electricity so I took the opportunity to blend 20 very ripe banana's with 1/2 lb. of organic mixed greens in my blender (I have no idea why I didn't bring my hand cranked blender). It ended making almost a whole gallon which I poured into a water container to carry around with me all day.
This was the big day of my 20 year class reunion. I was excited to see everyone and I felt peaceful and happy. I didn't know any of my class mates very well since I only went to school in Wall for my senior year, but since I went to 12 different schools growing up I really have no connections to any one school or got to know anyone very well at any of the schools I went to.
I drank about half of my banana smoothie for breakfast and it tasted so very good. Then Savana rode her scooter and I longboarded a couple blocks downtown to our meeting place. I found my classmates and we went through the parade. Afterward everyone got together for a potluck. I knew this would be a challenge for me so I drank a bunch more of my smoothie before getting there to make sure I was plenty full. At the potluck I ate a few veggies off the veggies platter. Waited a while and had some cherries that I had bought. Waited a while and had quite a bit of watermelon. It was very hard to stay strong, even my sneaky side kicked in when everyone was outside and I was alone with the food, I could just eat one piece of that hormone filled, fried to the max chicken and no one would know (other than my body!). My mind kept thinking about the chicken, potato salad and chips, but I would bring my thoughts back to health and vitality...I just looked around me and could see the visible results of eating those foods and decided I wanted no part in it. It was also a challenge talking to my classmates. In high school I was emotionally a mess, very shy and felt horrible all the time so I understood why my classmates back then were so standoffish. Now I am a cheery, happy, great conversationalist but it was a challenge to find anything to talk to with my classmates as well as get them to actually respond to me in a conversational manner. The main subjects of conversation were: getting drunk, how much they hate to exercise and what they all did together as kids. All topics that I don't relate too. Despite all that I stayed happy and my body felt very very good.
As I was leaving I mentioned that I was going to Pine Ridge Indian Reservation to see Wounded Knee. (I had actually forgotten about the prejudice against Natives that went on in South Dakota.) My classmates were very strong in their opinions in saying how bad and dangerous a place that was and all the horrible things those people would do to me. Wow! I assured them I would be safe and as soon as I got out of that town I felt a huge weight lift off of me.
Later on in Pine Ridge everyone was very nice and no one tried to kill or rape me or my daughter. The poverty, drug use and hopelessness of those people was so very sad. I ended up camping on the land of a Lakota man that went by the name Lonewolf. That evening I ate some cherries and later I finished the last of my smoothie. About an hour before bed I ate one avocado.
I went to bed around 10:30 and woke up at 7:30. It was great to sleep in. I ate 2 melons for breakfast and headed out at 9. I drove through Custer State park and the black hills headed to Wyoming. On the drive I ate .50 lbs. of dates, 2 apples, 1 lb cherries, 2 lbs. grapes and 1 lb. of strawberries, eating each food group at least an hour apart throughout the day. I drove until around 3 p.m. and I could barely keep my eyes open. I found a park in Wright, Wy that looked really nice with a pond. I spread out a blanket, told Savana she could sit next to me and read while I slept for an hour. An hour later I woke up and felt like a whole new person.
I was almost out of food and was getting a little worried. I had stopped at a couple of small towns but they didn't have fruit. I knew i would be ok though. At about 7:30 I made it to Riverton, WY. in the Wind River Indian Reservation, the difference in this reservation and Pine Ridge is astounding, the poverty doesn't seem to be bad here. The Natives and whites live together without a huge separation between to two. Anyway, Riverton had a Safeway. I was so happy to see a fantastic produce section!! yay!! I stocked up on lots of fruit and found a campground. The people at owl creek campground were very friendly and I sat outside as chatted with an older gentleman traveler. When he heard I went to Pine Ridge he told me stories about his adventures there and the wonderful people he had met. We also talked about why the poverty there is so much worse than on other reservations and how the prejudice against natives is so strong in South Dakota..and etc. It was great conversation. I had really bad cravings around 9 and thought I would die if I didn't get to eat some chips, instead I ate 4 large tomatoes and later a pint of raspberries. I felt satisfied again and went to bed feeling great at about 10:30.