I should have started this post yesterday. Yesterday, was a bit more relaxed than we had originally planned. The drive from Sundance, Wyoming to Spokane Creek Cabins and Campground outside of Keystone, South Dakota was just over 2 hours. Originally, our plan was to see Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse along the way but since we were going to stay here for 2 days, we decided to just head to the campground and take it easy on day one. Lynn had reserved a spot at the top of the campground which put us away from the majority of other campers and gave us a view from above it all. No cares or worries, just relax and enjoy the evening for tomorrow will be a day of destination and discovery.
We adjusted our plan today to make a circumferential loop from Mount Rushmore to Crazy Horse, through Custer State Park and back to the campground. We left the campground and wound our way through the twisting roads leading back to Keystone, SD. A mining settlement established in 1883, It wasn't incorporated as a town until 1972. Today its a tourist hub, everything you can imagine on the main drag from trinkets to mugs and coffee to...... OH, A place like this may not have a starbucks, but there must be some place that can make me a good Latte' right? Bingo, Holy Terror Coffee was there to fulfil my caffeine desires. I swept into the suicide lane, turned into the strip mall of shoppes, and skillfully backed my Georgie Girl into a parking space right across from the door. Loaded up on a Latte', Blueberry Muffin, and a Giant Cinnamon Roll that was calling to me through the display case, Yum.
In a few minutes we were back on the road and just 5 minutes away from Mount Rushmore. I wish my mother was still here to give me the specifics, but my best guess is I was here about 50 years ago. I had looked over the area on Google Maps and noticed there was a big difference in what the Mount Rushmore visitors area looked like compared to when I was last here. Back then, it was little more than a 1600 sq. ft. building with an equally small observation deck looking towards the sculpture from such a distance that as a teen, left me sort of unimpressed.
Today, the new visitor center can accommodate 2,000 visitors per day. It features granite colonnades, an Entry Promenade paved in granite, a Parade of Flags followed by an amphitheater below the carvings. The Parade of Flags features the flag of each U.S. state and territory, with a pillar showing the date that it entered the Union. There is also an exhibit hall that displays information about how the granite sculptures of the presidents came to be. Being able to get that much closer brought me a lot more respect for the work and scale of the monument than I had as a teen. Not to diminish it in any way, I guess I was equally impressed by the work done to improve the visitors center facilities.
On to our next stop, the Crazy Horse Memorial. A mountain monument to Lakota warrior Crazy Horse, riding a horse and pointing to his tribal land. It has been under construction since 1948. Considered the world's largest mountain carving. When finished, it will be 641 feet long and 563 feet tall. The head of Crazy Horse alone is 87 feet tall, 27 feet taller than the president's heads of Mount Rushmore.
This is a multi-generational carving, the original sculptor's grandsons are still at work on it. It seems like little has been done since I was last here but that's not true. It's only the sculpture itself that has changed so little. It is the millions of tons of granite that have been removed and still to be removed before the sculpture can be revealed from within the mountain. If you look closely at the picture, you can see the equipment on top of what will eventually be his arm.
The hole under his arm is little more than a working tunnel. You could drive a semi through it right now. When it's finished, the opening will be 150 feet from below his arm to the horse's back. You can see his finger is nearly finished now and the hand is beginning to take shape. We've already decided to come back in 5 to 10 years to see its progress. A scale mockup of the finished statue is on display at the visitors center. They are estimating the hand, arm, shoulder, hairline, and the top of the horse's head will be finished by 2037.
From here we were ready to complete the loop back to the campground. This would take us through Custer State Park. The Park looked well kept and there were several camping areas, lakes, playgrounds and everything you might expect from a State Park. In fact it looked so nice we decided we would rather set up camp in the State Park next time we come back to the area. We stopped near a picnic area to let the boys out for a short break. In all our coming and going of the day, Toto and Bilbo were stuck with either one of us most of the time while we explored the visitors centers. We double checked the route back to the campsite to be sure it wasn't going to lead us to one of the tunnels Georgie Girl couldn't fit in, It was safe...
Hwy 16A was designed as a Scenic Route only, full of hairpin turns, corkscrews, and 1 lane tunnels less than 10'9" x 10'9". Just after the turn back onto US 16A was a sign denoting "Bison Are Dangerous, Do Not Approach." and we thought "maybe we'll get to see some." It was definitely a scenic drive, and as we were in no hurry, I set the Cruise control at 25 mph and pulled to the side whenever there was a car or 2 tagging behind. Lynn wanted to make a record of that, and I proceeded to do it a few more times along the way. As luck would have it, about 3 miles short of the campground, Lynn spotted a Bison grazing on the hill about a hundred yards from the road. I was able to catch a glimpse of him before rounding the next 15 mph curve and the hills and trees broke any chance of seeing him again. Shortly, we were leaving the State Park boundary and approaching the campground. Dissatisfied with just a glimpse, I asked Lynn if she would mind if we went back to see if we could get a photo. She reluctantly agreed and I found a spot just outside the campground big enough for Georgie Girl to make a U-turn.
We drove back to the general area where we spotted the Bison and I was searching for any pull-offs nearby that would allow me to stop and get out for a shot. Luckily there was a pull off just ahead on the left with an SUV parked on it but plenty of room left for me to get in. The SUV had stopped to observe the Bison we saw and now they were just 50-60 feet from the road. I parked and got up with my cell phone headed for the door only to see that one of the bison had actually walked between the SUV and Georgie Girl and was alongside my drivers window. Now there were two of them, One on each side of the road flanking us. Both Males and both between about 3-4000 lbs. each. I was looking for a photo op, and got a good one. We got a few more shots and they wandered off a little further. Now I had to continue on until I could find another spot wide enough to turn back around and head back to camp. There wasn't one until we got back to where US 16A turned off. We got turned around and headed back but luck wa still in my favor and the Bison were now headed up the road coming towards us.
So we stopped to let them pass... and finished our trip content that our plans were fulfilled.
We got back into our campsite and hooked up utilities. Toto and Bilbo were restless now and there was a trailhead right beside our campsite so I decided to take them for a hike to give them some good exercise and I could use a bit myself. OMG, this trail went right up the side of the mountain to the top where there was an American Flag on a flagpole mounted to the granite Boulder at its peak.
I had to stop twice along the ascent to rest and catch my breath. Toto and Bilbo were pulling me up the hill for a good bit but they slowed down to a casual walk before we made it to the top. Walking back down to camp was a relief, and the boys made little time of devouring their dinner and crashing out on the bed. A nice quiet time for me to get this blog back up to date. The next two days will be travel days heading East to another not-so-famous monument, then southwest to the Old West town of Dodge City, Kansas. Thanks for dropping by, please leave a comment to let us know you came.
I'd like to get your thoughts about the blog to help me decide how best to proceed. Any and all suggestions will be considered. Bye for now
Steve, Lynn, Toto, Bilbo, and Georgie Girl :-)
I've put my two cents on everything else so here goes again.
ReplyDeleteI booked that campground thinking we might need amenities and facilities. We really didn't. If we run our of water we can refill at almost any campground. If we need to dump wastewater, same goes. We manage to conserve nicely when necessary and enjoy long showers when available. As far as managing supplies, I'm learning we need to cut back on the excess groceries. I'm sure there's going to be some point when we run our if something and have to make do or make a special run for something but we have all we need for 99% of the times and we can't stock it all in Georgy Girl. I can stop booking these full service camping resorts, we would actually prefer the privacy most of the time.
I was NOT disappointed with Mt Rushmore as most people say they are. Maybe I dialed back my expectations enough. I DID enjoy Crazy Horse much more, especially the museum and the story teller.
And the only reason I was reluctant to go back for the bison is I thought he would probably have wandered away by the time we got there. I'm so glad we did though, that's a once in a lifetime thing!!
Full day, thoroughly enjoyed!! One for the record books.