As I entered the Cafe, a jolly faced Indian demanded: show me your tribal ID and then laughed and cautioned me about traveling to Calcutta since he has had some bad experience there..
I thought to myself, here I am in the middle of South Dakota in a fairly isolated part of the world, and this Indian is talking to me about travel to Calcutta..
I ordered a Cafe Americano with hot milk and his wife at the helm of the coffee machine and it was just excellent.
Repeated visits endeared me to this place, a warm and welcoming place and its owners: Leon/Belle/Tami. The coffee was consistently good and the Lunch offering if you could get them since they ran out, as they had a loyal following. It was not unusual to see various characters: some permanent and some fleeting, psychiatrists, geologists, doctors and nurses, young people on internet and others whiling their time away..
Leon is the great grandson of Blunt Horn and extremely interested in the history and culture of his people. He is friendly and gregarious and a pleasure to talk to.
It would be a pity if you miss The Higher Ground and Senor Leon if you are passing through Pine Ridge.
