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me too long to get through it. But, Montana is another story. It’s not called the “Big Sky” state for nothing. It is
a very large state and very beautiful. The Rockies go through the western portion. There are large forests,
meadows and mountain streams in the western part. Probably, the greenest place I have ever seen. Towards the
middle of the state, the mountains become lower and gradually change to rolling hills with large sections of valleys
and plains between. The flat regions have farms and grazing for cows and horses. There are small and mid-sized
towns and a couple small cities on the way. But, for the most part it is wide open, beautiful, natural country. I
spent the night in Big Timber, between Bozeman and Billings at a Motel 6.
Tuesday, July 13: Today, I drove from south-eastern Montana through north-eastern Wyoming on my way to
north-western South Dakota, where Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse Monuments are located. Once in S.
Dakota, I pulled off in the town of Spearfish, which sits at the entrance to the Black Hills. I took the scenic route,
Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway. Along this beautiful drive are canyons, a river, meadows and crystal clear
waterfalls. I pulled over at Bridal Veil Falls, sat at the base of the falls on a rock and had a sandwich while
enjoying the wonders of nature. Two birds were feeding their chick(s) in a nest located right in the rock next to
the falls. I, also, enjoyed watching the falls and the pool of water below, in which various birds were drinking. I
drove the rest of the way to Custer, through this rugged, rich country and had dinner at a surprisingly good local
restaurant, _______ , then bedded down for the night.
Wednesday, July 14: I started this site seeing day at Crazy Horse, the “World’s largest mountain carving –
now in progress.” Today, you can see the Indian chief’s, Crazy Horse’s, face and a tunnel where the open space
will be between his left raised arm and the neck/main of his horse. The finished face is the largest carved face in
the world, ever. It alone is 87.5 feet tall and is wider than all of the four faces on Mt. Rushmore. When finished,
the monument will stand 563 feet. “My fellow chiefs and I would like the white man to know the red man has
great heroes too,” wrote Lakota Chief Henry Standing Bear when he invited sculpture Korczak Ziolkowski to the
Black Hills to carve Crazy Horse. The monument will depict a strong, proud Indian leader perched atop his
muscular steed, while pointing into the distance. Crazy Horse, when asked by a white man the derisive question,
“Where are your lands now?” He replied in the famous quote, “My lands are where my dead lie buried.”
Amazingly, this is a privately funded endeavor with the proceeds from the entrance fee and donations entirely
paying for the work.
From this impressive endeavor I drove through Custer State Park along Wildlife loop, where I encountered small
herds of Buffalo. I got some up close and personal photos while observing these large, majestic creatures. I
drove along Iron Mountain Road on my way to Mount Rushmore. This road winds its way through the Black
Hills. There are tunnels dug through the hard granite rock and the road spirals in a 360 degrees downwards two
times going under itself, a solid wood bridge above.
Once at Mt. Rushmore, I spent a good deal of time observing this incredible work of art, taking a guided
walking tour – learning about each of the presidents depicted and the issues involved in creating their busts in this
location. I sat in on a presentation at the sculpture’s, Gutzan Burglum’s, work shop about this man and how he
went about creating this monument. I, also, visited the museum of this National Landmark’s history – both of the
workmen, the construction, and of the presidents along with a brief history of the U.S. The monument itself is one
of the most awesome works of mankind I have ever been privileged to experience. All of these great men,
George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln are done justice. They
appear majestic, wise and strong with an internal radiance in the belief that America’s future is bright, peaceful,
prosperous and just. Most of the group on my walking tour were young boy scouts. It was encouraging to see
the interest and vitality of these young boys, regarding the history and great men of our country. Everyone there
could not help but be impressed with the grandeur, beauty and stately elegance of this enormous monument
carved out of a mountain of granite. The only harder natural material in the world is diamonds. Imagine the effort
to carve this mountain. It took 14 years, 6 and half of which they were actually carving (the balance of time was
delays due to funding and weather) and approximately 400 men to complete.
I made my way to the historic, gold mining town of Deadwood for dinner and lodging. I thought it would be
neat to see the town on which the new cable TV series is based – one of my favorite shows. I had dinner at Big
Al’s Buffalo Steakhouse. Buffalo Bill Cody used to be a regular patron here at this restaurant/bar. My steak
here was very good.
Thursday, July 15: Today was a driving day. I drove from Deadwood, S.D. to Sioux Falls, S.D., the western
most end of the state to the eastern most end. It is another very wide state. I drove through Sturgis on the way.
Since it was off-peak (no motorcycle rally), it was like most other small mid-western towns, except for all the
motorcycle shops and gift shops selling Sturgis paraphernalia. I could have pulled over to tour the Badlands
National Park. But, I chose not to, because I had already seen so many incredible parklands and I wanted to
make some headway back towards home (family and friends) today. I pulled into downtown Sioux Falls for
dinner. I ended up eating outside on this pleasant evening at Minerva’s on Phillips Avenue. There appeared to
be only a couple blocks downtown to hang out. So, I walked this area and settled in at what appeared to be the
hippest and nicest spot – Minerva’s. The food, atmosphere, and service were all very good. By the time I
settled in at my hotel, it was late and I was tired. So, I stayed in this evening.