The Big Circuit -- May 26, 2011

Our plan this day was to see four things on a big circuit of the southern Black Hills: Custer State Park, Wind Cave National Park, Crazy Horse Memorial, and Mt. Rushmore National Monument.  More than anything this turned out to be a nice drive on curvy roads on a nice day.  The lesson we RELEARNED today was that YOU MUST NOT RELY SOLELY ON YOUR GPS!!  GET AND USE A GOOD MAP OF THE AREA.  Using our GPS we at first missed Custer State Park AND the Wind Cave National Park.  But we DID find Crazy Horse.  However all was not lost since I found some decent samples of mica.

And I really liked this stand of aspen trees that still had not leafed out.

The story of how the Crazy Horse Memorial came to be is quite interesting.  It is a story of one man's dedication as sculptor, dynamite expert, and social commentator.  His wife and family bought into his vision and have expanded upon it.  It is a legacy that will continue for generations and immortalizes the words of Crazy Horse:  "My lands are where my dead lie buried."  Many controversies have arisen over the building of the memorial.  I feel it memorializes the best of human nature:  The desire to live in peace and security.  See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crazy_Horse_Memorial

CRAZY HORSE -- BRONZE MODEL & STONE MEMORIAL

CRAZY HORSE MEMORIAL

CRAZY HORSE MEMORIAL -- CLOSE-UP

In the Custer State Park we learned why it was named for Custer.  Apparently Custer camped nearby before the Battle of the Little Bighorn.  He also discovered gold in the Black Hills.  It was here that we encountered the wild asses...........

..............and the largest herd of bison..............

.........................as well as the largest pronghorn herd that we had seen heretofore.

We also really liked the State Ranger Station built in the 1930s by the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps).  Notice the strong log and rock fence with cattle guard at the entrance to keep out the bison.

 A drive that is really special is the Iron Mountain Road which has several tunnels on it.  Coming out of one this is the view...........

Can you see the four presidents of Rushmore in the gray rock in the lower center of the photo?

Here's a better view of Mt. Rushmore -- and I prefer this angle than that provided at the Mt Rushmore Visitors Center:

Several of our days in Rapid City were complete rainouts, so we really enjoyed the perfect weather we had this day.