Faces

We met John and Leslie at the Perkins near their hotel and then drove separately to meet at the Crazy Horse Memorial, about 37 miles of mostly twisting roads but beautiful scenery. On the way I spotted someone climbing one of the huge rock faces ... just a green shirt halfway up a mountain!

The Crazy Horse Memorial is interesting and well worth the visit. They clearly explain a lot about the history of the monument and there are numerous views of it from many windows and outdoor locations as well. Very much a work in progress, the face is done and work is being done on his outstretched arm. There is something special about seeing it partway done.

There are exhibits and displays both of Native American history and about the artist, Korczak Ziolkowski, and his family, several of whom still work on the monument.. He started work on the monument in 1947 and worked on it until his death in 1982, age 74, my age! He was laid to rest in a tomb at the base of the mountain.

Part of the exhibits includes portions of his family home and furniture and such that was a part of it. His wife Ruth and their ten children carried on with Korczak's dream. Some of his children and grandchildren carry it on today. I do think the best of the family stuff exhibits was the fancy ornate seat with the cat sleeping on it, mind you, a live cat! I didn't notice at first but the cat must sleep there frequently because if you look carefully at the photo below, you can see a pad of some material between the cat and the elegant fabric of the seat.

This stop is worth several hours of visiting and the gift shop is nicer then many such places. I do love the ball cap I got there, brown with a feather emblem.

I also found a tall mug with an Indian riding a horse on a background of an old ledger. Added to the enchanting drawing was they also had a magnet with the same image on it.

After a short lunch at Crazy Horse the four of us drive over to the Mount Rushmore National Memorial, about 30 miles away through beautiful mountain valleys. I do think Geoff is glad we rented a car and he did not have to try taking Wolf on these roads though.
 

Mount Rushmore was also an interesting experience although part of the route up towards the faces was blocked, what I believe is called the Avenue of Flags. If you don't mind a good bit of uphill hiking with steps and all you can go around on the Presidential Walk and get a lot closer to the sculptures.

The gift shop was nice enough although a bit crowded not just with people. We explored what was accessible and ate at the Carvers Cafe while we waited on the lighting ceremony after dark. The lighting ceremony was a bit of a disappointment. The initial speaking part was interesting as he spoke about each of the presidents whose faces are up there but it would have been great if each face was illuminated as he spoke of that president and then all lit at the end but we pretty much listened through the dark and then the whole thing was lit.

I did find a very nice Native American pottery vase and part of the design shows a silhouette of a wolf and in the background without being too invasive is a depiction of Mount Rushmore. These are done by local Native Americans and signed on the bottom. I also found an adorable stuffed bison but squooshy soft, dressed in a plaid hoodie. Certainly better than a lot of the tourist stuff they had.

To sum the day up, Crazy Horse is definite main stop, worth spending a bunch of time at. Mount Rushmore not so much as long as part of it is closed if you are mobility impaired but if you are into a bit of an uphill hike it is a good second stop. The lighting ceremony is not really worth waiting on, in my opinion anyway.