June 18, 2007

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Woke up to a cool and windy morning. First stop was Mt. Rushmore. Arrived at 7:45 AM so it wasn’t very crowded when we got there. Very impressive. The Presidents are viewed from a patio and there is a short walk that goes closer. Did hear a quote of the day; man walked up to a Park Ranger on the patio and said, “Where’s the rest?” I didn’t hear the Ranger’s reply.
On the way to Custer State Park we took the scenic road through the Black Hills; a twisting, narrow mountain road (Frank drove this one). The road is famous for it’s narrow tunnels. We went through several with no problem, but decided to forego the two where CT only had a couple of inches clearance width or length wise.
We spent the night in a campground in the state park. Nice scenery - - -lakes, Ponderosa pines, granite mountains and rock formations. They are known for their herd of buffalo, which we did see. Took the afternoon to catch up on laundry.
That evening we visited the Crazy Horse Monument; a sculpture of Crazy Horse out of a granite mountain. This was a vision of a sculptor (sorry, I don’t have his name in front of me) who started the project 50 years ago after several well known Indians asked him to do it. It has never received federal or state funds so the work has been slow. He worked it alone for the first 5 years. He was very talented (they showcase some of his other work at the visitor center) and a real character - talented and driven. He had 10 children and a young wife and now 7 of the children and his 85 year old wife continue the work and manage the foundation. Crazy Horse’s face is completed. Work is now on the horse’s head. Only 8 people currently work on the mountain itself. It won’t be completed for many years.

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Photos

At the Visitor's Center
Replica of the completed monument.

Comments

[Mike Pagel]

joke
You realize you've now seen the most famous "rock group" in the world.