#2: [04-Feb-04]

28-May-2002 -- I departed 47°N 101°W and drove south towards this last confluence of my trip, which is on Standing Rock Indian Reservation. Part of the drive was through the outskirts of the Badlands. I stopped at a very scenic area about 10 miles from the confluence and took some photos from atop a butte looking out across the plains.

I left there and drove on into Selfridge, ND where I headed west for a few miles before driving south on a little 2-rut road than ran between two pastures. Another confluencer, Curt Christiansen, emailed me and warned me that the north-south road on the map didn't exist, but the east-west road from Selfridge was a good road. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring his email with me. Sure enough, the little road I was on ended and I had to drive across some extremely rough fields for a few miles. I bottomed my truck out several times and rearranged all my gear in the cargo area of my truck. I eventually made it to a decent road and drove right up to the confluence. I took the photos and kicked back on a nearby tractor for a while with a cigar to savor the moment.

I left Mississippi on 17 May and visited my first confluence on 19 May in Nebraska. In 10 days I attempted 23 confluence visits and was able to make it to all but 3 of them. One due to snow, another due to mud, and the other due to water. The temperatures on this trip ranged from 26°F to 88° F (-3°C to 31°C). I made it back home on 31 May, so I drove approximately 5,500 miles (8,851 km) in 15 days, passed through 10 states and took a brief side trip into Canada. This was quite an adventure for me and after it was all said and done, I had a blast doing it. Thanks to all the people along the way who helped and most of all to Alex Jarrett for having this idea and making it a reality. I can't wait until my trip next summer... Alaska here I come! Curt Christiansen is from there and hopefully we can hook up and visit some together. I think this trip was a lot lower on the difficulty scale than the Alaska trip is going to be.

Until next year,
Danny Strickland
www.artgaga.com

In the Standing Rock Indian Reservation.