South Dakota

After Yellowstone, we drove through a snowstorm to South Dakota, with one more brief stop in Wyoming to see Devil's Tower. It rises up out of the Black Hills as a hugh geological structure. Sacred to Native Americans, it stands at over 5,000 feet. Its also popular with climbers. No one is sure how it was formed and scientists still study it, but it probably started as magma buried beneath the earth's surface. Regardless of how it came to be, it's a stunning sight.

While at the visitor's center, we spotted a cardboard statue of an alien and wondered its connection to the Tower. The park ranger explained that the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind was filmed here. With the exception of Marfa, TX, I did not set out to find movie locations but we've stumbled on quite a few.

Next, we arrived in Rapid City to check out Mount Rushmore. On the way. we drove through Deadwood, a real western town known for its gold rush history. The whole town is a National Historic Landmark and much of it looks as it did in the late 1800's. At its heyday it was a haven for outlaws and gamblers, today it is clearly a tourist town.

Finally, we arrived at Mt. Rushmore. This was one of the destinations we were both waiting for. As you know, four presidents' heads are carved out of granite in the Black Hills.

The sculptor Gutson Borglum worked on it from 1927 until his death in 1941 when his son took over. They named it the Shrine of Democracy and it was supposed to show all four Presidents (Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln) from head to waist but they ran out of funding and it was never completed.

The land it sits on was stolen from the Sioux and to this day, they demand it back. Nonetheless it is awesome to behold and both of us felt very emotional as we stood gazing at it. These four men were far from perfect but they were chosen because they worked to preserve the Republic. Whether that Republic will still be preserved in future remains to be seen.

Another mountain monument close to Mt. Rushmore is the Crazy Horse Memorial, which is privately owned and not a National Monument. A Lakota Indian Elder known as Henry Standing Bear commissioned a sculptor, Korczak Ziolkowski (an American from Boston), to sculpt the memorial. It stands at 563 feet, taller and wider than Mt. Rushmore.

Ziolkowski first had to buy all the surrounding land and began the carving in 1948 but the project continues to this day, and is worked on by sculptors daily. The original design shows Crazy Horse on a horse with his arm outstretched. So far, his face and part of his arm is finished. After Ziolkoski died in the 60's, his wife and family vowed to finish the project, a true labor of love. Luckily, Ziolkowski had ten children and now there are many grandchildren, all of whom work on this project in some capacity.

Crazy Horse was a Native American war leader of the Lakota tribe and one of the few to never sign a treaty. He fought at the Battle of Little Bighorn. Finished or not, his carving is most impressive. We were able to take a bus tour to the base of the statue, but you can also hike up the mountain to the top. (We didnt do that). You can actually see men working up there and the heavy equipment they have. We spent several hours here since there was also a Native Americal Museum, cafe, sculptor's studio, and artists in residence who paint make jewelry and other crafts.

As with all things not everyone is happy with the Memorial. Many Lakota consider it an insult to Crazy Horse's memory since he resisted being photographed and was deliberately buried where no one could find him.

Car trouble delayed us for a day in Rapid City (poor Van was asked to go 14,000 miles with no breaks), but then it was on to Wall Drug in Wall, SD.

Wall Drug is indeed part drug store but takes up a whole city block and is much more. Its designed to be a tourist trap, but that doesnt mean its not fun. It contains an art gallery, cafe with $0.05 cups of coffee and great donuts, a clothing store, chapel, kid's playground, and wonderful wooden statues of western figures like Annie Oakley.

Our last stop in South Dakota was a place called 1880 town, an amalgam of historic buildings collected from around the state and brought to one place to create a realistic western town complete with saloon, hotel, bank, blacksmith shop, and much more. In season, actors stage shootouts and scenes in the streets, but on this day, we were virtually the only ones there and had it all to ourselves.

Unbeknown to us, we learned that the movie Dances With Wolves was filmed here and many artifacts from the movie were present in a separate barn for viewing.

My favorite part of the town was the Saloon, two stories of an authentic western saloon complete with gaudy red tapestries, a full bar, and upstairs bedrooms for ladies of the night. We hung around the saloon for awhile.

South Dakota is a great state to visit. We could have easily stayed another week or two.