6 May – Rapid City / Black Hills

After breakfast we headed off to Crazy Horse. En route, we drove through the conifer forests that gave the Black Hills region its name. From the plains, the hills look black in the distance. Arriving at Crazy Horse, we turned off the highway and could see the monument towering over the tree tops. Crazy Horse is a giant statue cut out of a mountain top. The Latoka people are native to the region and the Black Hills are sacred to them. Crazy Horse was leader of the people and defended their way of life after the Treaty of 1868 was broken. This treaty was signed by the President and said As long as rivers run and grass grows and trees bear leaves, the Black Hills of Dakota will forever be the sacred land of the Sioux Indians. Then gold was discovered in the Black Hills…. Crazy Horse was stabbed in the back as he stood under a flag of truce.

The Crazy Horse memorial was begun in 1948 and work continues to this day. At this point only his face is finished and his outstretched arm and horse’s head is under construction. The family of the sculptor is working on it as an unfunded project. All funds come from admission and gift shop sales. Even in its unfinished state, the memorial is stunning. It is the world’s largest mountain carving.

After leaving Crazy Horse we drove the short distance to Mt Rushmore. Much smaller than Crazy Horse (the 4 Presidents heads could fit into the head of Crazy Horse) but equally as impressive. The Yanks have really gone to town on the presentation of the monument. On arrival you walk up a granite avenue lined with the flags of all the States. Ahead of you, is the mountain, with the heads of 4 Presidents – Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln carved into the stone.

Amazing that the carving was done between 1927 and 41, mainly by men hanging in bosons chairs from the cliff side with jackhammers. We followed a path that leads closer to the mountain and it is really interesting to see the heads up close. 

We also saw 2 mountain goats filling up on tasty grass after winter. They were not in the slightest interested in people and just kept nomming away. 

We did a bit of videoing for Ros’ business, as Mt Rushmore is the perfect place to talk about Leadership Legacy. A visit to the gift shop for Ros to purchase a Black Hills gold necklace as a souvenir, then heading back to the RV Park. On the way we passed through Keystone, and made a note to go back for a look at the goldmine. We also stopped at Fort Hayes to see the sets from Dances with Wolves. The film was made about 14 miles away on a private property and after they wrapped, the sets were moved to Fort Hayes. Kinda cool to see.  They were closed, so the only building was the outpost where Kevin Costner received his orders.