MIH - Wind Cave National Park, Mount Rushmore, & Books on Tape

Wednesday-Saturday, August 3-5, 2017

Using the Beymont Inn as home base we start exploring the area.  There are several attractions within a short drive; Wind Cave National Park, Mount Rushmore National Monument, Crazy Horse Memorial, and Custer State Park.  We visited Wind Cave and Mount Rushmore, drove by Crazy Horse and drove through Custer State Park.

Wind Cave National Park – This is one of the oldest National Parks and probably one that is the least well-known.  I don’t really know how well-known it is, I’m just saying that because I’ve never heard of it and there were not many people visiting at the time that we were there.  I also think that it is easily bypassed by people heading to Mount Rushmore.  I would strongly suggest that if you are in the area and you want to see Buffalo in a natural environment that you stop here.  Of all the places that we would see Buffalo, this is by far the best.  Most of the other areas you see them along the main road or while stopped in traffic because they are crossing said road. 

At Wind Cave you can take a bit of an off-road (dirt) loop that takes you to fields where they roam (yes, the song just popped into my head, perhaps it popped into your too).  We saw a total of two other cars on this road, but for the most part we were alone.  We could literally stick our hand out the window and touch them if we so chose….of course they are wild animals so we chose not to.  We did, however, get out of the car and switched positions so that Wilson could be the passenger for a while and watch the buffalo a bit more closely.  Of course after we did that (I was initiator) I commented on how dumb that was.  For some reason I had no fear, just a simple, basic respect of the animals and I wasn’t worried about them charging at all.  The wonder of it all seems to make me lose a bit of the natural fear that I carry with me.

There are, as the name implies, caves at this park.  Having been there, done that at Carlsbad I had no desire to explore the caves.

Mount Rushmore National Memorial – Mount Rushmore was definitely on my list of must sees.  I’ve heard from several people that it was a huge disappointment but I didn’t feel that way at all.  I found it incredible!  We walked the short looping trail that took us to the Sculptures Studio, a mini museum.  We learned many things that left me with a general sense of awe, not unlike how I felt when we visited Hoover Dam many years ago.  The ingenuity, hard work, and perseverance of a project like this is amazing.  The construction of the sculpture began in 1927 and was supposed to incorporate the bodies as well as the heads but funding was cut off in 1941 so the project was declared complete.  With the completion of each head there was a dedication ceremony; George Washington (1934), Thomas Jefferson (1936), Abraham Lincoln (1937), and Theodore Roosevelt (1939).  These presidents were chosen by Gutzon Borglum, the sculptor, because of their roles in preserving the Republic and expanding its territory.  Borglum created plaster mask which were hung by cables and used by the workers for comparisons and measurements.  The project lasted for 14 years and amazingly in that time there were no worker fatalities. 

Did you know?  Thomas Jefferson was the first author in America to record an ice cream recipe?  There’s a young woman that Wilson and I knew long ago that I would love to share that information with.  She LOVED Ice Cream!

 Crazy Horse Memorial – We saw the Crazy Horse Memorial from a distance but chose not to explore.  The memorial started in 1948 and is far from complete so we felt there was plenty of time to see it at a later date.  The finished memorial will depict the Oglala Lakota warrior, Crazy Horse, riding a horse and pointing into the distance.  When complete I believe it’s supposed to be 10x the size of Mount Rushmore.  Even given the larger scale I find it hard to believe that the work has not progressed further, it’s been nearly 70 years after all.  I imagine funding and environmental concerns delay the process but one would think with current technology that the process would be quicker….

Custer State Park – We had a nice drive through Custer State Park but didn’t explore any further.  There was an accident which caused a bit of delay, but we amused ourselves by listening to one of the Longmire Series books which we’ve been downloading and listening to.

Books on Tape NOTE:  Books on tape are great while you are traveling long distances.  Prior to our leaving VT, I made sure I had access to the digital offerings of our library.  By chance I chose a series, written by Craig Johnson, set in Wyoming (actually this is what caught my eye since we were heading that way) depicting the life and adventures of local Sherriff, Walt Longmire.  Wilson and I both thoroughly enjoy listening as the narrator pulls us along the story.  NOTE:  Netflix has a series based on these books….Wilson and I DO NOT like it.  We both believe that the actors chosen don’t fully fit the pictures that we have based on the narrated books.  I suppose if you’ve never read or heard the books read then you might like it buy I think you’d be selling yourself short.

Other things to note:  I know that I've said many times that I felt that my parents are on this journey with me.  Things pop up that remind me of this periodically.  In Hot Springs there were a couple of businesses that let me know that they were with me.  Interestingly enough, it seems as if my parents may have switched roles....at least the signage would suggest that.  

 

Oh yeah, the bicycle sculpture was interesting as well....