The road home from summer vacation took us through South Dakota. It took some convincing, but Dad eventually agreed that we couldn't go through S.Dakota and not stop at Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse Monument. Who knows the next time we would be that way, right?
Well, I think he was glad with the extra stop on our trip once we got to the fun! Our first stop was at Crazy Horse. After paying the $22 to get in, to our disappointment we found that the monument is actually no where near being finished, with only his face complete thus far. It's been some some 66 years that they have been carving away at the mountain. What ambition and vision. The Lakota Nation does not take any U.S. government funding, only donations from visitors and the Nations, as they want this to be a tribute of sacrifice and honor, not paid by "we're sorry we slaughtered you and took your land" money. I thought that was very admirable. The other aspect of the carving taking so long is the process itself. This monument is going to be huge! All of Mount Rushmore fits in the head of Crazy Horse. They have to carve away at the mountain with such care (the vibration level they use is at a level 3, where most monument carving is at a detonation vibration of 10), and there are the logistics of getting machinery up and down the mountain while carving the hard, arm, and horse's head. This is a ginormous endeavor!
Anyways, once we got over the initial upset of spending money to see something less than a quarter of the way completed, we found that they have a wonderful visitor's center, including a free show. Chloe and Delilah were fascinated by the beautiful garb, and vibrant chanting and dancing. How often do you get to experience something so awesome as this! The beat, the view, the stories shared and lessons learned through this peoples' dance and song. (See the video clip below. My favorite dancer was the one representing the buffalo) This was a pretty cool place, check out the website for more info.
At half the price, $11 got us in with a pass good for a whole year. Not that we'll use it, but I like the thrill of getting a "bargain". LOL. Mount Rushmore has changed so much from I was last there 17 years ago? My family drove from Utah to Nauvoo, visiting all sorts of Mormon Pioneer (and National) sites in celebration of the Pioneer Sesquicentennial Celebration of their trek west. My first trip there, they had started building the amphitheater, there was a little tiny museum, and then a very basic overlook to the presidents. Wow, is it different now. They have done a splendid job of making it so beautiful and interesting. There is so much to do, even a cafeteria style place to eat. We loved it!
In my effort to convince Bryson to take us to Rushmore, I had given really low expectations, based on my previous experience. That turned out to be a blessing, cause this rocked and exceeded any preconceived notions I had put into his head. You hear so much about this place as a kid, I'm glad Bryson didn't have the same boring experience I did back then. Oh, and before I forget to mention, this was Delilah's 1st Visit to a National Park!!! She's a lucky girl. :) Chloe's first park was last year at the Grand Canyon. I feel sorry for the rest of our kids. Hopefully they can have as grand a first national park visit as these kiddos have had. What was your first national park? Any suggestions? We are always looking for new places to visit. We've been to quite a few of the popular ones, but don't know much about the smaller less known scattered through the country.
We had a nice dinner before doing the small hike to the base of the mountain. Bryson got a BBQ Beef sandwich with fries. Boring. Delilah and I got Buffalo Stew with a wheat roll!!! It was delicious, basically pot roast that was already cut up in chunks for easy eating. I thought for $8, that was a hardy, unique meal.
Our favorite favorite favorite part of the visit was the trail that led to the base of the mountain/rock rubble. It was almost completely through gorgeous forest, fun rocks, lots of stairs (good for wearing out Chloe), and even some fun wildlife! I've never seen a mountain goat in the wild, let alone a momma and baby goats. It was peaceful, beautiful, and a great family outing overall.
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