Mt. Rushmore and More Tour

We arrived at the Happy Holidays RV Resort near Rapid City, South Dakota, about 6:00 p.m. on Thursday and were beat from the 98 degree weather. We were happy (Is that why it's the Happy Holidays RV Resort?) for a 50 amp hook-up so we could run both air conditioners.

I found a one day tour, which we took on Friday and it was well worth the $69 each. This was our tour bus.

The tour included breakfast (at the ungodly hour of 8:00 a.m.!), a chuck wagon dinner, a musical show and a 9 hour bus tour. Ed totally enjoyed being able to sit back and just enjoy the scenery.

Mt. Rushmore as we drew nigh.

Did you know that Teddy Roosevelt's glasses were a part of the sculpture? Look carefully.
That scaffolding on top of his head is part of the Primal Quest that is going on now. That appears to be a person coming down the ropes.

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I'd heard of Crazy Horse but had no idea what it was. Sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski (who had assisted Gutzon Borglum on the Mt. Rushmore) was invited by a Lakota Indian chief to carve Crazy Horse, one their important leaders.

As we watched the documentary film about the sculpture, I found myself moved for two reasons. First, the vision and dedication that Korczak had to undertake this seemingly impossible project ("Follow your dreams.") was amazing. Secondly, the carving is a memorial to the spirit of Native Americans, who were so badly mistreated.

This project was started in 1948 and even though the sculptor died in 1982, his wife and seven of his 10 children are committed to carrying on with his work.

The face of the statute will be 87 feet high and the memorial will be 563 feet when it is finished. The focus of the work now is the horse's head, which will be 22 stories high. The finished project will be larger than Mt. Rushmore.

Why did Korczak depict Crazy Horse pointing over his horse's head?
Korczak depicted Crazy Horse with his left hand pointing in answer to the derisive question asked by a white man, "Where are your lands now?" Crazy Horse replied, "My lands are where my dead lie buried."

This is a model of the carving in the foreground.

It was a 12 hour day and I was dead tired by the time they brought us back to our campground.