There are so many things to do we had to make some choices because, unfortunately, everything has an entrance fee or, if it is free, they expect a “donation” to help fund their attraction. In addition, we are staying near Sturgis which is at least 20 miles from some major attraction either northwest or south of us.
Our choice attraction for today was a trip to the Crazy Horse Memorial just southwest of Mt. Rushmore across Harney Peak by 16 miles. Crazy Horse was a Native American born in the Black Hills of South Dakota in 1842. He is known as a War Chief and defended his people and their land. Crazy Horse would agree with another chief’s statement: “The made us many promises but only kept one; they promised to take our land and did."
Our photo of the carving shows the current state as of July 2. The outline painted on the rock show the location of the horse’s laid-back ear, the location of the eye and the jaw as well as where the location of the forehead.
The Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation was started to “protect and preserve the culture, tradition and living heritage of the North American Indians.” The exhibits were interesting and filled with many artifacts. Martha felt the laser show at dark was not as nearly impressive as the laser show at Stone Mountain, Georgia. In our opinion the attraction may be slightly overrated.
Another obligatory photo – the mountain carving in the background and the sculpture from which the memorial is modeled in the foreground.
When considering the fact that it took 50 years to carve the face (dedicated in 1998) and seeing what remains to be done odds are that this will easily turn into a 150-year project. For sure, this will be an ongoing project far past the lives of the children of Korczak Ziolkowski, the original sculptor. Of his ten children, seven continue to work on the project or in the running of the supporting attraction one mile from the base of the memorial.
Also on display at Crazy Horse are several dozens of Ziolkowski’s sculptures. Some are in bronze and others are in stone. This one, “Fighting Stallions,” stands in the courtyard near the new cultural and educational center which is under construction. If you look closely you'll see that the whole weight of the sculpture is balanced at to point, the hoof and the tail of one horse. From what we learned at Santa Fe this is, in itself, an interesting accomplishment.
Tomorrow culminates our time here in the Black Hills. We will celebrate Independence Day on July 3rd at the Mt. Rushmore where the Independence Day celebration that runs for two days. Wednesday we will begin the final leg of our journey home which will include a stop at the Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Illinois. Before then we have the Badlands on the agenda as well as Sioux Falls, South Dakota and St. Joseph, Missouri. Since Byron has been to Sacramento, our stay in St. Joseph will mean he has been to the beginning point and terminus of the Pony Express Route.
One more thing — for dinner we had corn-on-the-cob prepared in the simplest of methods. Cook the corn with shuck, tassels, and all in the microwave allowing two minutes per ear. Remove after cooking (be sure to wear gloves) and cut the butt end about three-quarter of an inch from the end with a knife. Be sure to cut all the way through the shuck. Lift the ear by the other end and squeeze the cooked ear from the shuck. The tassels and shucks should remain intact and the ear ready for butter and salt. It sure beats cleaning the ears and boiling them in water which, be the way, really heats up the kitchen. You can learn more about the process by watching a video on You Tube.
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