"We don't got no crooks in Petersburg."
January 9, 2013 10:00 AM Subscribe
"I am currently hiking the 1,700 mile proposed Keystone XL route. I started in Denver, hitchhiked across the Canadian border, took a flight over the Tar Sands of Alberta, and commenced my walk in Hardisty, AB, the northern terminus of the soon-to-be pipeline." Heading southward, Ken Ilgunas is currently in Nebraska. This is his blog chronicling the landscapes, weather, people, animals and everything else he encounters.
Here's an amusing episode in which he's arrested in rural Nebraska and given the transient treatment--it's where the post title comes from. Honestly, he does look kind of grizzled by Day 80.
FYI: Map of existing and proposed pipeline routes.
Here's an amusing episode in which he's arrested in rural Nebraska and given the transient treatment--it's where the post title comes from. Honestly, he does look kind of grizzled by Day 80.
FYI: Map of existing and proposed pipeline routes.
10/1/2012 - Day 17: Oyen, Alberta
posted by coachfortner at 10:38 AM on January 9, 2013 [1 favorite]
Desperate for water, I hiked to a road, and walked to a small farm. A man on an ATV rolled up to me and asked me what I was doing.Is that detail really necessary for the narrative?!
...[some converation blah blah blah]...
He offered me his RV for the night. Their dog, Lou, a big golden retriever, was out harrassing the prowling coyotes. I began to feel slightly ill, so I went into his trees to use the bathroom. I squatted and Lou eagerly scarfed up what I pushed out.
posted by coachfortner at 10:38 AM on January 9, 2013 [1 favorite]
He said he works two months at a time, working between 16-24 hours a day, oftentimes with only 2-4 hours of sleep.
Fort McMurray is an industrial town that has no clear population because there are people constantly coming and going. One of my drivers, who's worked there for 15 years, estimates that the city, nestled in the boreal forest, has about 250,000 people, most of whom work for the oil industry.
Why would people tell him obviously untrue stuff like that?
posted by Pruitt-Igoe at 10:42 AM on January 9, 2013 [1 favorite]
Fort McMurray is an industrial town that has no clear population because there are people constantly coming and going. One of my drivers, who's worked there for 15 years, estimates that the city, nestled in the boreal forest, has about 250,000 people, most of whom work for the oil industry.
Why would people tell him obviously untrue stuff like that?
posted by Pruitt-Igoe at 10:42 AM on January 9, 2013 [1 favorite]
This post is called "More foot problems". The problem is, it seems, his blisters and not his big toes that appear to be so small I wonder how he balances.
posted by MuffinMan at 10:43 AM on January 9, 2013
posted by MuffinMan at 10:43 AM on January 9, 2013
nevermind... it makes sense now:
posted by coachfortner at 10:47 AM on January 9, 2013
This is Mud Butte, where I currently am.
posted by coachfortner at 10:47 AM on January 9, 2013
The problem is, it seems, his blisters and not his big toes that appear to be so small I wonder how he balances.
I wondered where I had seen those before. Then it came to me.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 11:19 AM on January 9, 2013
I wondered where I had seen those before. Then it came to me.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 11:19 AM on January 9, 2013
This is a fun read. Hasn't been an update since early December though. Hope he picks it back up soon.
Interesting fact I learned from poking around the rest of his site - he's the van living Duke grad student discussed previously.
posted by Arbac at 12:12 PM on January 9, 2013
Interesting fact I learned from poking around the rest of his site - he's the van living Duke grad student discussed previously.
posted by Arbac at 12:12 PM on January 9, 2013
Whoa, good find, Arbac. Someone sounds like he needs a monastery.
posted by resurrexit at 12:28 PM on January 9, 2013
posted by resurrexit at 12:28 PM on January 9, 2013
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posted by empath at 10:34 AM on January 9, 2013