WST (Western States Trek) Day 5: Dead Presidents and Deadwood

We left the wonderful Holiday Inn Rushmore Plaza with regret! The waterfall and fountains, the great service and comfortable beds were appreciated.

After a great buffet, we head west on I-90 for our first scheduled historic landmark: Mount Rushmore.

We arrive in kind of cloudy weather but we are pumped for this experience and we are not disappointed. From the moment we round the bend of Route 16 and see glimpses of the carvings between the trees, we are captivated.  The quiet, understated majesty of this place is powerful. You never hear anyone shouting or screaming or even scolding kids, it's as if the spirit of the monument is in the atmosphere. The drill used by Borglum's workers reminds me of the drillers who created the narrow gauge railroad in Alaska as I see before me the kind of drilling equipment they must have used. (FB agrees it is similar.)

Then we listen to the talk about how Borglum used an ancient Egyptian process of pipe and plumb line to transfer the details from the 6' design replicas to the actual mountain figures. (The measurements were multiplied by 12 - one inch on the model was 1 foot on the actual mountain.)  Borglum constantly changed the design figures to reflect what the rock strata actually was as the men dynamited.  The sculptors constantly altered the faces so they are as potent as the men who inspired them. To quote FB, "It is art!!"

Despite the violence used to create the sculptures, the result is astounding and almost breath-taking.

As we leave the memorial, the rain is beginning to splatter on us and those coming into the grounds. We marvel that we have arrived just at the right time to see the carvings and to feel their eyes watching us.

FB offers Nancy and me the opportunity to view the Presidents through the binoculars and OMG, The detail is fantastic. Teddy Roosevelt even has his pince nez glasses depicted!

I try a selfie, but the results are less than amazing.  As we are leaving Mount Rushmore for the Crazy Horse Memorial, we come to a scenic turn-off for the profile of GW.  FB pulls over and I step out of the Kia and snap...a great shot that was totally unexpected in its clarity!

This monument/memorial makes me pause and consider the men who founded and tried to preserve this essence of my country. As I listen to FB and Nancy josh about who might be added to the mountain face, I am thinking that no president in my life-time deserves to be immortalized as a reflection of the power and humanity and willingness-to-stand-up-for-others that these four presidents embodied. 

Our attempts to reach the Crazy Horse memorial are thwarted by misunderstood directions and large portable blinking traffic signals. When we pass through Keystone for the third (maybe fourth) time, we are giggling and kind of stupid. FINALLY, FB gets us back on track and we arrive nearly two hours later at our destination (17 miles from Rushmore!!!)  I realize this sculpture in its infancy, nonetheless, it is astounding in its breadth and scope. The whole of Mount Rushmore will fit under the arm of this figure when it is finished. I am kind of awed by the size and the energy surrounding this project. I am certain I will be tickled one day (when I am really old) to say, "Yes, I saw it when it was still being created!"

Crazy Horse Memorial is located in the heart of the beautiful Black Hills. The Mountain is 6,532 ft and ranks 27th highest mountain in South Dakota. It is made of pegmatite granite and was chosen by sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski & Lakota Chief Henry Standing Bear for the Crazy Horse Memorial. I learned that since no photograph of Crazy Horse exists, the sculptor interviewed as many living survivors of the Battle of the Little Big Horn as he could find and took notes of their descriptions of

Chief Crazy Horse. He then went to a police artist who rendered a drawing of the Chief based on the survivors' descriptions. The gentleman I met at the site told me Korczak was more interested in the "spirit" of Crazy Horse than in the literal actuality of the man's face.

As impressive as the body carving will be, Nancy and I were astounded by the "Nature Gate" created by Korczak depicting all the living things surrounding this mountain:

Additionally, I was mesmerized by "The Fighting Stallions" another Korczak sculpture. This one in bronze and about 12 feet tall.

We left Crazy Horse Mountain for Deadwood and the saloon where Wild Bill Hickok drew his "aces and eights" and died. We lunched there and Nancy and I gambled a bit (at FB's insistence that we just had to live the moment!)

Slots were a new experience. While intriguing, I just cannot imagine being addicted to this activity.  As we left the saloon, I was taking a shot of Nance under the sign, when the very cute Deadwood Deputy offered to take a picture of both of us...so here are the sisters at the infamous No. 10 Saloon and Nancy with our deputy. 

We left Deadwood and headed north to Bowman and North Dakota. The three of us were very satisfied with our day and our experiences. As FB put it, "We've four nuggets in our pouch."