A Crazy Rush

Friday morning, we took off for the Keystone area of the Black Hills. We had some famous faces to see.

Sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski spent the greater portion of his life working on this memorial to the great Indian chiefs and people of the Black Hills area. He, his wife Ruth, and ten children gave their lives to this project and cause. They’re carrying on their deceased parents’ dream.

The Crazy Horse Memorial is an ongoing project that is more than just the carving of this famous chief out of a mountain. It’s also become a university and museum. There are many artifacts to read and learn about.

There are no known images of Crazy Horse, so Korczak did his best to put together a physical compilation of descriptions given him by those who knew Crazy Horse. The boys are standing in front of the example of what the finished mountain will look like one day. Albert and I don’t feel we’ll be alive to see its completion. Seriously.

This shows how much of the blasting of the mountain took place.

This is the machine Korczak used to help him power through the first years of sculpting the mountain. He did much of the work alone. He built stairs going up to the worksite. Over 700. Many times, after he’d gotten the machine going, he’d be up the stairs away and begin to hear the machine cough and sputter, and eventually die. He’d have to put down the load of whatever he was carrying, go back down the stairs, get Kaput going again, and climb back up. Just after picking up his load again, Kaput would die. In one day, he had to restart Kaput nine times. That’s a lot of stairs! What dedication.

Then it was on to Mount Rushmore.

Have you ever wondered why it’s called Mount Rushmore, when it has presidential faces on it? Albert did, too, and asked around. It turns out there was a lawyer from back east out visiting the area. He saw the mountain and wondered what it was called. The Indians had different names for it, but nothing really official. The man’s last name was Rushmore, and he decided to claim the mountain as his namesake. He went back home and told everyone there was a mountain with his name on it, and it stuck.

Gutzon Borglum was the artist and sculptor for this project. Korczak studied under him and even helped with the carving of Mount Rushmore before taking on his own project.

She’s a local artist and sometimes paints in the gift shop. Her work is amazing and so life-like.

We ate lunch with some pretty special company. (That’s the Presidents back up behind the boys.)

After our fun day in the Black Hills, we headed to TeePee RV Park. Cute Bob and Peggy run the place. And their five cats…whose names include Meghan Markle and Prince Harry. Bob is a real character, and loves to joke around. When you leave the RV park, there’s a sign you drive by that says “Toll Road”. He also told the boys they were to be leashed at all times and Albert and I had to pick up after them. Ean thought that was really funny. The park is for sale, by the way, in case any one is interested in owning one in Rapid City. After twenty-eight years of running the place, Bob and Peggy are ready for retirement.
That night, a huge windstorm blew through. It was shaking Big Boy as we watched COURAGEOUS. Several neighbors had tents pitched, and the wind was trying to tear them down. Albert and I along with a few others, went through camp taking down the tents and trying to secure the belongings of the owners. Most of them were gone to a concert in Sturgis. The wind was so strong, we had to fight it with all our strength. It was a new experience for us. Challenging, yet exciting. And thankfully, the next morning, no one had lost anything.

We took a walk before dinner. DANCES WITH WOLVES was filmed out behind the RV park.

We could see rain was coming.

We attended the Rapid City SDA Church and at potluck, met a couple who winter in Apache Junction.
That afternoon, we explored around Canyon Lake Park.

Someone lives in this home and has a beautiful view each day! I think those of us down here have a beautiful view, as well…

Then we found a shady parking lot and relaxed for a while. Ean and I colored while we all listened to Your Story Hour. (My mom got us the camper coloring book. Quite apropos, don’t you think?

Bob had suggested we visit the Chapel in the Hills. It was built in Norwegian tradition and is a work of art! No metal at all, just wood.

We ended the evening back at our favorite tennis/track park.
When our friends, the Fenzels, heard we would be in the Rushmore area, they said to be sure to visit Bear Country. Before leaving town, that’s exactly what we did!