You weren't really sure what was going on with Dirk, but you considered yourself his friend. Seeing as he was the only dirk you were really able to confidently say that about, you wanted to make sure he was ok, with whatever was going on in his life.
So, you were off to your transportalizer. Having one was kind of a big deal, and while you were pretty sure you were headed for another universe with this, the fact that you could go for a visit was kind of important to you.
Keeping it in the yard was more of a personal choice.
And so, you step onto the pad, and off you go, to the coordinates he sent you.