Black Hills. Monuments and More! Westward Ho Part 4

Time to hit the Black Hills tourist trail.
Number one on the list, Mt Rushmore.

I had preconceived notions of what Mt Rushmore looked like. I knew the Presidents were carved upon a tall stone wall, and they were, but what I never imagined was that Mt Rushmore was a real mountain. Seeing the monument from a distance on top of that mountain was a revelation and as we walked up to monument, even though we knew what we were going to see, the size and clarity of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt carved in stone was incredible. This sum was more than the image. The power of the mountain transformed into visionary leaders on an incredible scale was inspiring. Being at Mt Rushmore was more than seeing Mt Rushmore. It was like standing at an alter to the United States. As Rome fell, so one day might the US, but Mt Rushmore will stand forever.



There's a great visitor center there. There's a film on the making of the monument, the sculptor's studio is open to the public and a terrific trail takes you down into the debris field under the monument. From here you get unique and inspiring views of each President.

























When you leave loop around to the left of the monument and you'll get this great profile of Washington from the road.

Mt Rushmore must be one of the most widely visited American monuments. We had toyed with the idea of starting the "license plate game", the game where you simply try to spy license plates form all 50 states as you travel the highways and byways. Pulling into the parking garage at Mt Rushmore blew that notion up. We literally saw all 50 states as we looked for a parking spot, including Alaska and Hawaii!

Saying goodbye to the Presidents we head towards another national monument. This time it's the Sioux Nation who is creating a monument to native peoples and their leaders by carving a likeness of the legendary Crazy Horse. Crazy Horse's head is so large all four President's on Mt Rushmore would fit in it! The final monument will not just be Crazy Horse's head however. He will sit astride his surging mount, hair blowing free, pointing towards the future. It'll probably take another 100 years to finish carving. I recommend a visit.

































Here's a model of the finished sculpture in front of the mountain being carved.






















There was a huge visitor center here too filled with information about the sculptor and a center for Native American arts. In front of the monument we watched a dance performance where the air was broken with the rhythmic beat of one drum accompanied by a high pitched native chant. Graceful dancers went trance like entering the personae of their totem animal in the eagle dance or buffalo dance.

Even though the monuments have been inspiring and thrilling we have a 12 year old with us who has other activities in mind. In the town of Keystone we tour the Big Thunder Gold mine. Founded by two German immigrants they dug this mine part time for over 30 years ... and never struck it rich. We panned for gold in Battle Creek filling two viles with souvenir gold flakes and we took a ride up the Rushmore Tramway so we could ride the Alpine Slide luge! The old mining towns turned tourist towns reminded us of towns we know in the Adirondack's like Saranac Lake, Lake Placid and Old Forge.



Heading back to our room at the State Game Lodge in Custer State Park we are once again immersed in a surreal and thrilling wildlife spectacle. Safe in our 2000 pound vehicle we get the extraordinary experience of being inside a Buffalo herd. Check it out.