25 Aug - Custer State Park, Crazy Horse, Belated Birthday Dinner

25 Aug
Custer State Park
This morning we headed south of Rapid City past where we turned for Mount Rushmore to Custer State Park.

We entered the park at the east side visitor center and stopped to talk with the ranger there.

We then headed south on the Wildlife Loop Road which is about an 18 mile loop.  We saw a couple large herds of bison south of the visitors center and a few stragglers closer to the road.

 Then as we arrived at Wildlife Station Visitor center the bison were everywhere.  On both sides of the road and on the road blocking traffic.  Awesome creatures!  And when they are in no hurry, you better be in no hurry because they aren't moving!!

The Wildlife Loop drive is very scenic.  Much of it is grasslands and prairie but there are also rocky areas and some twisty, windy roads.  As we proceeded around to the west entrance we saw several prong horn grazing along side the road.  We also passed the prairie dog town but did not get any pictures of them.

Crazy Horse Memorial

Before we knew it we were at the western entrance and exited Custer State Park.  We then proceeded up the road to the Crazy Horse Memorial.  When it is completed, it will stand 563 feet tall "as a bold sculpture of the Lakota leader, Crazy Horse, in remembrance of native American history in the beautiful ridges of the Black Hills of South Dakota".  The sculpture was started in 1948 after nine years of planning.  The sculptor, Korczak Ziolkowski had worked on Mount Rushmore and was approached by a Lokota Chief in 1939 about creating the sculpture.  From 1948 on, work continues.  Korczak passed away in 1982 but the work continues by his family.  They make it known that NO state or federal funds are used to support this project.  It is funded totally by donations.  

Crazy Horse was an Oglala Sioux Indian chief who fought against removal to an Indian reservation. He took part in the Battle of Little Big Horn.  On 5 Sep 1877 Crazy Horse was killed at Ft Robinson by a US Soldier.

We knew we were getting close to the memorial as we could see the sculpture from several miles away.  

You can easily see it is a work in progress.  We arrived at the gate and after paying a $22 admission fee made our way to the welcome center.

They have built quite a complex here including a beautiful welcome center with dual theaters, many museum-type displays of various Native American culture, an outside viewing area, a restaurant, a gift shop and various other structures.

Inside the welcome center

We entered the welcome center just in time for the next movie.  They described the project from it's inception and provided history as it developed.  After the movie we toured the displays and made our way to the veranda and outdoor viewing area.  What a view!  So cool they are actually up there working on it as we watched.  I was hoping we might be there when they blasted but they apparently do most of the blasting at night after the welcome center is closed.  Here are a few pictures:

A view from the viewing area

Zoomed in you can see the equipment continuing to work on the face.  The majority of the face was completed 3 Jun 1998

The area to the right will be the horse head.  The primary focus right now is Crazy Horse's hand, finger and the horse's mane.

Crazy Horse carving, based on a photograph

A Chief headdress

Decorative beads on the horse

This is how it will look when it is done

The basket used to raise and lower workers

Tools used to drill and shape the sculpture

Blasting equipment

A sample of the pegmatite granite with part of a blasting drill hole shown

As we exited the building there were a couple more pieces of equipment on display including their original air compressor.  

Our next adventure will be Devil's Tower which will be a long day since it is almost two hours from here, each way.