I met Brian while camping in The Badlands, he was moving from Virginia to Colorado. Our friendship started over the Ravens hat he was wearing. We caravanned together into South Dakota, where we camped in Custer State Park. We hiked the tallest peak West of the Mississippi. No that can’t be right. Let me look. “Black Elk Peak is the highest natural point in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the Midwestern United States.” Close enough. Still pretty tall at 7,244′ ft (I’m clearly in a copy paste type of mood). It was some of my favorite few days on my drive to Alaska, hanging in the company of someone else who was also in transit.