Impressive scenery and craftsmanship
Apart from impressive scenery, we saw extraordinary craftsmanship when we visited our first stop, the Crazy Horse Memorial. The memorial to Lakota leader Crazy Horse is a work in progress, the 87½ foot tall face of the great leader was completed in 1998 but the project, that was begun in 1948, is still ongoing. The final statue will be 641 feet long and 563 feet high. The next phase of progress on the Mountain includes carving Crazy Horse's left Hand, left Forearm, right Shoulder, Hairline, and part of the Horse’s Mane and Head in 10-15 years.
In addition to the sculpture itself, Crazy Horse Memorial seeks to provide an educational and cultural programme to visitors about the Native American people. The Indian Museum of North America and the Native American Educational and Cultural Center are worth a visit.
The story behind the Memorial is an interesting one: Korczak Ziolkowski, a noted New England sculptor, first came to the Black Hills in 1939 to help on Mount Rushmore. That year, he also won first prize for his Carrara marble portrait, “PADEREWSKI, Study of an Immortal,” at the New York World’s Fair. Chief Standing Bear read news reports of Korczak’s achievements and invited him to create a mountainous tribute to the North American Indians. In 1947, Ziolkowski returned to South Dakota to start work on the Crazy Horse Memorial. The first blast on the mountain was in 1948, attended by five survivors of the Battle of Little Bighorn. To this day, this is very much a family business, with 4 of Ziolkowski’s children and 3 of his grandchildren still working on the Mountain.
After a lunch and a browse through the impressive gift shop, we continued our journey through South Dakota to Custer State Park. Custer State Park encompasses 71’000 acres in the Black Hills of Dakota and is home to an abundance of Wildlife. The park offers a variety of activities from camping and swimming through biking, canoeing and birdwatching to hiking, horseback riding and rock climbing. We embarked on a Buffalo Jeep Safari in the hope that we would be able to spot some of the around 1’300 Bison that wander the park. We were not disappointed. Apart from Bison, we saw Pronghorn, a type of antelope, mountain goats and donkeys, beautiful birds and a lot of stunning scenery. We spent a very enjoyable 2 hours in the park and the time flew in.
But that was not everything yet, another iconic Memorial awaited – Mount Rushmore. The massive sculpture depicting George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln, surrounded by the beauty of the Black Hills of South Dakota, tell the story of the birth, growth, development and preservation of this country. It was completed in 1941 and hosts around three million visitors a year with the busiest months being June, July and August. Today it is a symbol of freedom and hope for people from all cultures and backgrounds. The purpose of the Memorial is to communicate the founding, expansion, preservation, and unification of the United States.
The reason these four Presidents were chosen for the Memorial is that, in the view of the sculptor Gutzon Borglum, these four represented the most important events in the history of the USA. George Washington led the colonists in the American Revolutionary War to win independence from Great Britain. He was the father of the new country and laid the foundation of American democracy. For that reason, he is considered the most important of the four and is the most prominent feature on the mountain.
Thomas Jefferson was the primary author of the Declaration of Independence, and also purchased the Louisiana Territory from France in 1803, doubling the size of the country at the time, and adding all or part of fifteen present-day states. He represents the growth of the USA.
Theodore Roosevelt was instrumental in negotiating the construction of the Panama Canal, linking the East and the West. He ended large corporate monopolies and ensured the rights of the common working man. He represents the development of the United States. Abraham Lincoln held the country together during its greatest trial, the Civil War. He represents the preservation of the United States.
On our next day in South Dakota, we visited the Badlands National Park, a striking geological wonder featuring a maze of buttes, canyons and gullies formed by millions of years of erosion. The deposits contain one of the world’s richest fossil beds. The park’s 244,000 acres protect an expanse of mixed-grass prairie where bison, bighorn sheep, prairie dogs, and black-footed ferrets live today.
The striking scenery of the rugged spires and deep canyons may draw your attention, and the lens of your camera, first. But as you spend more time in this place, the prairie comes alive. Stay awhile and get to know the prairie plants and animals and appreciate the peace and quiet.