Sightseeing Day:
- Crazy Horse Monument
- National Museum of Woodcarving
- Custer State Park Wildlife Loop
- Iron Mountain Road
Up early this morning and off to breakfast in Keystone. We had hoped to go to an old fashioned saloon for breakfast, but they were not open. Instead, we had a less-than-pleasant buffet breakfast, but it filled our tummies.
We headed for Crazy Horse Monument via Highway 244. This highway goes along the President Washington side of Mount Rushmore, heading west (see Washington's profile at the top of the rocks). The highways in the Black Hills are filled with spectacular scenery, and we just can't seem to get enough.
We arrived at Crazy Horse around 10 AM. The first thing to do is the orientation film--which Dave and I always like to do so that we get the facts and details, which puts our minds in gear. It was very informative, mostly about the construction of the monument, the sculptor, his family, and the monument's future.
The sculptor, Korczak Ziolkowski, was protege of Borglum (the man who carved Mount Rushmore and started Stone Mountain in Georgia). Korczak was asked by the Sioux (Lakota) to sculpt the mountain. The Sioux purchased the land from a miner who was tapped out. The monument is a private enterprise and has no government funding. It is being built strictly by donations and profits from the admissions, tours, gift shop, memberships, etc. For some strange reason (hee hee), the Indian Nations do not trust the white man to honor any agreement in writing to fund or finish the monument. The saying is that the white man didn't even finish the monument they started about their leaders (Mount Rushmore)!
I took this picture of the Crazy Horse Monument with a bronze model of the finished monument in the foreground.
Korczak married a woman 18 years his junior and they had 10 children. He built a school for them and hired a teacher to come to their land to teach them. Seven of his children have stayed to work on the project and live on the property with their families, and three live in the area. Mrs. Ziolkowski lives on the property as well, and she still oversees the project and all daily activities at the center. She is 83.
After the film, we were directed to a photo gallery of the Sioux Indians and their history. There is quite a bit of discussion in this area of the Battle of Little Big Horn with Custer and of the Wounded Knee slaughter. I have most of it figured out as to what happened and why, but still working on some of it. As we go, we learn more and more and hear more and more "tales." In the center the next displays are of mining exhibit and a pictorial of the carving of the mountain, which as been on-going for 60 years. Onward to display of Sioux handicrafts with live handicrafters (as merchants) scattered throughout the museum. After touring the museum about the Sioux and the project, we toured the original home of the Ziolkowski family and the workshops of the current sculptor.
We could have taken a ride to the top of the monument, and we did see some folks up there. The ride to the top costs $125 per person! But, this is because they make it a perk of joining a membership to support the monument building. So, we opted for the more conservative ride to the base of the monument for $4. We were glad we did as we could see the backside of the monument. Our tour guide provided a lot more information about the building, the family, and its future. But, most important (ha ha) was that we got to see muskrats.
Our next adventure was to the National Museum of Woodcarving in Custer, SD. I had hoped that Dave could take a lesson or two, but the next class was not until August, and they were 5-day classes. He didn't want to get THAT involved for now. We were both a bit disappointed as the on-site woodcarver had gone to Colorado for a couple of days. We saw a good video of woodcarving techniques and much of the artists' work. Some items for sale were also students' work, which was pretty good. The museum was created because of the work of Dr. Harley Niblack. He was a chiropractor in Denver, Colorado, and used dental tools extensively in carving his woodworks. Dr. Niblack worked closely with Walt Disney on many mechanical projects. He incorporated his own system of motors and pulleys to make many of his hand carved dioramas move. If you are interested, here's a YouTube entry created by the museum that's better than any of my pictures.
We then ate at a little sandwich shop called the Sage Creek Cafe. It was calm and peaceful, but not really in keeping with the wild west ambiance of the town of Custer.
Upon leaving Custer, we saw another wildlife creature, the likes of which we'll probably never see again!
Next we were off to revisit Custer State Park and drive the Wildlife Loop. We wanted to see the buffalo again. Shortly after we entered the loop, we saw some buffalo in the woods, up on a hill. The bull was laying in the grass close to the street. The bulls don't really mingle much in the herd. There were three stupid teenage boys up on the hill with the buffalo. We drove onward to see more.
In short order, we were greeted by the donkeys--which are called the "begging donkeys." The park says you can even get out of your car to pet them as they will not hurt you. If you have your window down, they might just stick their noses into the car "begging" for a snack. We really got a kick out of them walking down the middle of the street all around the cars.
There were donkeys in front of us...
donkeys behind us...
and donkeys beside us.
Here's some "wild" behavior that I filmed and put in YouTube for your enjoyment. Watch the baby donkey mimic its mom near the end of the video. Sooooo cute.
The loop is a 17-mile loop and we never saw any more buffalo the entire loop, except for one herd that had to be 5 miles away on a distant hill. Sniff. Sniff.
Our final trek of the day was to drive the Iron Mountain Road. This drive is known for its switchbacks, pigtail turns, and tunnels that open to a view of Mount Rushmore. The road was designed with these "thrills" in mind. It was an engineering challenge and yet was completed in 1932.
Here's a stock picture of one of the pigtail tunnels. Also, I have included a photo that I took of the view of Mount Rushmore as we exited the tunnel. This truck was not supposed to enter the tunnel after we blew our horn. But, there ya go!
We ended our trip where we began, in Keystone. We stopped to stretch our legs and then drove back to the RV. We had eaten so late, we didn't need supper tonight. It was a very long day of driving for Dave. So, he crashed in short order onto the bed for a long night's sleep.
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