The Black Hills

I detoured north from Nebraska after spending a couple days at Chadron State Park just south of US Hwy 20. I went up to Custer, SD and stayed at Comanche Park. It's beautiful. I believe The Black Hills are high on my list of the ten most beautiful places on earth. If you've only driven by on I-90, you haven't really seen them. Of course, my first stop was at Mount Rushmore to see the faces carved in stone.

 

 Ah, yes. They are behind me.

This is a great monument in honor of Gutzon Borglum. There is very little here about the presidents depicted, their place in history, "Why Teddy Roosevelt???", or the American way of life. Everything is about the sculptor, Gutzon Borglum. It is his mountain. His art. His glory. All told it was worth about the hour it took to see the entire exhibit and stare in wonder at the faces. He didn't even clean up his mess under them. The parking and concession is run by Xanterra. So your Senior pass is worthless here. $11 to park. On the other hand, the pass is good all year, so come back often!

I went on to Crazy Horse Memorial. Now that is something to look at. Korczak Ziolkowski, a talented artist and stone carver in his own right, was out of work once Rushmore was finished. It didn't take long to convince the Lakota that they had a hero as great as the four presidents and he could carve a mountain into the statue of Crazy Horse.

It's been in progress for sixty-five years now. The first blast was in 1948. Korczak died in '82. His wife Ruth passed away this spring. His children, grandchildren, etc. are still blasting away on the mountain and the tribes have created a very informative exhibit and museum, a college of arts, and plans for an entire cultural center.

Just two crazy guys hanging out on the mountain.

The next day, I did a huge Black Hills loop that still astounds me. I drove up to Devil's Tower twenty some miles from Sundance WY. It's hard to even describe this experience.

 The Devil has come home. The tower is still about five miles in the distance, rising about 900' from the base of the boulders.

 I look at this and think "You mean Borglum and Ziolkowski had nothing to do with carving this? How did it ever get here?" It took me about an hour and a quarter to walk around the base, during which time I saw many people, children scampering, and even climbers high on the mountain face. When I approached the loop, I naturally turned right. There were several hundred people at the monument, but it wasn't crowded. I walked around looking both up at its grandeur and out at the Black Hills. I was truly surprised the first time I saw someone coming toward me on the path. She turned off before we met, however, and I saw her headed for one of the climbing points. I met only three other people coming that direction. Everyone else chose to walk contretemps around the base. I got to wondering how many people would have to walk the other way to unwind it?

Objects in the mirror may be closer than they appear.

I went through Sturgis, SD on the way back to camp. I was a couple days late for actually seeing thousands of riders, though I saw several hundred on the road over the past two weeks. All the vendors were closed and it looked like it would be a sleepy little town again until next year.

Custer State Park was incredibly beautiful. I want to return to the Black Hills and would like to camp in Custer State Park the next time. Coming out of it and into Custer, SD from the east on US Hwy 16A, I stopped to snap this photo. According to Grandfather Boyden's journal, he was born in Custer SD at the foot of Calamity Peak on Christmas Eve, 1895. This is Calamity Peak and may be about where that ancestor was born.

Today, I returned to Chadron State Park in Nebraska and tomorrow will be continuing westward into Wyoming. I plan to divert from US Hwy 20 to Laramie for a few days before continuing on to Yellowstone.

I love the Black Hills and plan to return here for a longer stay. The terrain is varied from prairie to mountain with all manner of landscape between. I saw deer, buffalo, turkeys, and prairie dogs.

"Soul-melting scenery was about me . . . this prairie where heaven sheds its purest light and lends its richest tints." George Caitlin