Black (beautiful)Hills: Two monuments with 2 very different stories

Not taking this advice… but enjoy other’s stories

Off to Deadwood! I think the town was like Placerville on steroids … or as Brant said, “like Placerville if they’d let them have casinos.”Still not too bad a place to wander around and taste whiskey. I wonder what Wild Bill would have thought praline pecan whiskey? Banana? Apple? Peanut butter? You have to be careful how many tastes you have when its like Baskin Robbins. I did like getting free fried shrimp while you gambled. I won a dollar and got free shrimp!

Of course we had to have a drink at the bar.

For a small fee you can walk into the cemetery to see this and Calamity Jane’s headstone as well. Not sure why he gets called wild and she gets calamity?

I wonder what Europeans think of this town? I bet they wonder why we idolize Wild Bill who shot his police partner (another marshall running toward him) then got shot in back of the head by a crazy man with a handgun over a hundred years ago. Or maybe they think, this makes perfect sense in the US!

The Adams museum was excellent. I did not want to stop playing in this sandbox. I want one.

Seriously you could move the sand and all the colors changed. The Wild West history was pretty interesting too.

After Deadwood, we made Rapid City our base which was remarkably easy for accessing the black hills. I think the lodges in Custer state park also looked great if you are thinking of coming but those Marriot points come in handy. (And there was a water park fully enclosed with glass…. I want to go there when it’s snowing!).

We were shocked by the state park fee but not after 2 days of exploration, picnicking, hiking etc. This is a herd of bison roaming about the park. Huge park so well done.

We spent one day exploring Custer State Park then on to Mt Rushmore. The other day was spent biking to Crazy Horse then some canoeing at Sylvan Lake before doing the Needles Highway.

Road our bikes up to Crazy Horse. Michelson Trail was terrific…. Thanks for the rec. Sue.

…and thanks to Al and Wes for their recommendations like this unique lake and many others.

Sylvan Lake…where they sell Mackinaw Island Fudge. Not sure why?

I truly can’t choose one monument over the other. I loved the presentation done by the ranger at Rushmore. If you can find a video or script on you tube it is really worth a listen. Lots of great info on the Presidents followed by a touching speech about working together.

This is a short granite tunnel we drove through and as you come out of it you can see Mount Rushmore

Would we come back: I’d like to do more hiking at needles and check back on Crazy Horse progress…. So maybe in a few years. And we must return for cave tours! And more Michelson.

And here is my personal favorite…Needles. Note car trying to pass between rocks (8 ft wide)

Beautiful scenery, and fresh raspberries along the trail.

Would love to hike a bit further… when the wildflowers bloom

Standing on the rock made all the difference…(picture I was taking above)

Bizarre to have these 2 sculptures with such different backgrounds in the same area. One was a federally funded project with 400 workers done by a well trained sculptor who had strong ties to the KKK who was let go nearing the completion of the project. A sculptor who left much of the work to his son while he traveled the world raising more funds. And even with 400 workers he could not complete it by the date he projected.

The usual pic… and it is pretty stunning

…but loved watching the lights suddenly turned on at night

We watched a movie, listened to the ranger talk and finally at 9pm they turned the lights on. so glad to get to hotel and have a glass of Red Ass Rhubarb Wine.

The other sculptor was an orphaned son of Polish immigrants with no formal training. He refused federal funding and said at the beginning of the project that Crazy Horse would not be finished during his lifetime.

Note the truck parked in front of the face to help with scale. The sky was not photoshopped.

Regardless both were passionate about their projects. Both extraordinary talented as artists with a strong vision of what they needed to do to create these amazing sculptures. I became a little obsessed reading about these guys and their families (and neither could have done the sculpture without their family). In the end, however, far more important to just stand there and stare at what they did rather than judging their lives. Hopefully it will also give back to Native Americans a tiny tiny bit of what we took away. Together the sculptures describe so much about our nation. Though once again, I do wonder what visiting Europeans think about our sculpting techniques. Nope no hammer and chisel like Michelangelo….just dynamite!