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

We Love RV'ing to Mt. Rushmore, SD, USA

MOUNT RUSHMORE NATIONAL MEMORIAL

Our first day at Keystone, SD and we were anxious to see Mt.Rushmore in the flesh or granite.
We arrived on a beautiful sunny late afternoon and were impressed with the monument. There is great pride shown and with good reason. This is one of those places that pictures can not do it justice. They have a museum that shows the progress of the carvings and stories from many of those that worked on the project.


                                                       Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota, USA

One visit was planned for morning sunshine. The sunny sky was a perfect background for the great faces in granite. We spent a bit of time wandering around and I took pictures from most vantage points. The setting is beautiful. The surrounding trees have been left and offer a natural setting to walk about on the trail that leads you around the grounds.


                                                        President's faces of Mt. Rushmore, SD
Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln are all carved in granite on Mount Rushmore.

Walk of flags

There is no fee to visit the Mount Rushmore Memorial. There is a parking pass fee of $10.00 per year. There is the museum, movies, Sculptor’s Studio, bookstores, gift shop and the Carvers Café all located on the memorial grounds.

The amphitheater

The amphitheater is the stage for the evening performance previous to the light show. The arena holds thousands of people here to view the show and all veterans in the audience are invited down to the stage to be honored during each evenings performance.

The night light show

The evening ceremony included a short movie that tells the story of the presidents being honored there. It was raining and had been for awhile so was pretty cold as well. Their crowd is usually about 3500 people but I don’t think there were anymore than 350 for that night. Then they play their national anthem while the lights are turned on to highlight the faces, it is something to see. The pictures aren’t easy to get with the conditions but I did get one.

Now follow us through Custer State Park and see the animals we saw.