Black Hills National Forest ~ Custer State Park ~ Custer City, SD

The Black Hills National Forest, so named due to the fact the tree covered mountains looked black, consists of several areas in the region and all of them are incredible to see. The main industry in the past had been mining and timber but the tourism has taken over and that would include Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Sturgis Motorcycle rally and Custer State Park.  (clik on colored names to see more). 

 

Entrance to Custer State Park

You must purchase a pass to visit State Parks and it cost $15 for a week for us. A warden is at the gate for each entrance and they greet you on your arrival. From there on it is a self directed tour and there can be different roads to follow once you’re in there, the main one is called the Wildlife Loop Road.

Buffalo mom and calf crossing

 We were here to see all that we could and we spent many hours driving around the Custer State Park and were able to see all kinds of wildlife, some very curious burros, some shy buffalo standing in the pine trees, and then there were some that felt very free to roam the range and cross the road whenever they took the notion. Travel this road with care. There were several calves in this herd and at this age, they look very similar to cattle.  Clik on YouTube to see them as they walk along the road.

Main Street in Custer City, SD

Custer City is considered the ‘mother city’ and is one of the oldest established towns in the area. It was the first to discover gold in all of the Black Hills and was named for Lt. Colonol George Armstrong Custer.

Walking down the widest Main Street in the US, which was made this wide to accommodate oxen turning buggies, is like a flashback in time, as long as we don’t notice the vehicles parked along the paved road.

 

The old bank still standing

Custer City is headquarters for Black Hills National Forest, although it is not a very large town. The population was 1860 people at last census and they obviously take great pride in their small town.Many storefronts have retained the old western town look. The old bank is now home to a restaurant but still keeps the signage that reminds us of the days gone by.

Buffalo artwork

There is a buffalo on many of the downtown corners covered in artwork. These were a result of a Custer Stampede project and is sponsored by the Custer area Chamber of Commerce and the Custer Area Arts Council.

Stories in artwork

The buffalo art adds a lot to the atmosphere and the artwork is incredible. They aren’t life size compared to some real buffalo we’d seen on our travels but they’re close to some of them.  The story told on some and the artwork is incredible.  Check out more at this link.
Follow us on our drive on the Needles Highway and enjoy the incredible views there.

RV'ing included Crazy Horse Monument in SD, USA

CRAZY HORSE MONUMENT

This monument does not get the same public coverage that Mt. Rushmore does internationally but it is an incredible attraction and I would recommend anyone to go to learn the story about the sculptor and how this has come to be where it is at now. It is a work in progress.

Crazy Horse Monument

The story of Crazy Horse is a great one and this monument shows the pride of the original people of the Black Hills. His quote is “My lands are where my dead lie buried”. But to me, the story is about the sculptor who designed and began this whole project. His name is Korczak Ziolkowski and he was born in Boston. He grew up in foster homes and was a completely self-taught sculptor.

The largest blast

We planned to visit it during out stay but did not expect what we saw. It just so happened that the same day we planned our visit, there was to be their biggest dynamite blast yet, 45,000 ton of rock to be blasted off the mountain. It was great to see it, even tho it doesn’t have the drama that one might expect.

The short story shown in the theater following the blast was well worth seeing. It shows some of the previous blasts, which were done at night and show the blast contrasted against the night. It also tells the story from the beginning.

A model of Crazy Horse monument

Korczak had been an assistant to Gutzon Borglum at Mount Rushmore before going off to war. He had won awards and was noticed and was invited by Lakota Chief Henry Standing Bear to make a carving as he “would like the white man to know the red man has great heroes, too”. Between the two of them, they chose Crazy Horse, who was born in the Black Hills and was partially credited with Custers’ defeat at the Battle of Little Bighorn.

Korczak arrived in the Black Hills in 1947 to accept the invitation and began in 1948. He was almost 40 and had only $174 to his name. He had to endure many hardships over the years but was dedicated to the project.

Written by Korczak Ziolkowski

Korczak was a strong believer in the free enterprise system and turned down government funding of $10 million, twice. He felt Crazy Horse should be built by the interested public and not by the taxpayer. Korszak was a man of honor, dedication, tenacity and a warrior to the end. This is not an exact quote, I had no paper to write on but in the short movie we saw, I believe he was quoting a chief who said something like, “A legend is greatness, greatness is a dream. If you have no dream, there is nothing.” I believe he lived his dream.

Tepe in the museum

Since his death in 1982, his wife Ruth works with the Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation Board of Directors and several of their ten children work on the project. There is an incredible Indian Museum of North America to be enjoyed while visiting Crazy Horse.

Check them out at www.crazyhorsememorial.org