Today we spent the day driving through the hills of Western South Dakota. We drove from Rapid City to Sturgis to Deadwood to Hill City to Crazy Horse to Mr Rushmore and then back to Rapid City.
Some of us had breakfast at the hotel, others stopped at Starbucks as we set off for the day
. We headed West on I-90 toward Sturgis. Sturgis is a town of about 6,600 people. Each year, during the first week of August, Sturgis welcomes about 500,000 bikers (mostly Harley Davidson). They fill the hotels and campgrounds all around Rapid City and the towns surrounding Sturgis. They were setting up for the upcoming event when we drove through. Large tents were being erected and stocked with t-shirts and other merchandise. Temporary fences and viewing bleachers and stands were being prepared. It seemed that bars and tattoo parlors are the primary businesses in Sturgis. We passed one very large Saloon that was being stocked with pallets of beer from two fully loaded semi trucks. As no one wanted a Sturgis souvenir t-shirt or tattoo we kept on driving towards Deadwood.
Deadwood is another tourist focused town. It has some very old history and has maintained some of the old fashioned feel. Problem is it is a big gambling town. We saw a sign that bragged that Deadwood paid out $85 million in winnings last year
. Well if that little town paid out that much you know they kept way more, cause the house ALWAYS wins. Kevin Costner owns a couple places in Deadwood, and several TV shows and movies have been filmed in the town. Deadwood is also where Wild Bill was shot and killed. We took some pictures, browsed some shops and then headed on towards Hill City.
We made a quick detour into a junk shop that has some old gas station signs outside. Inside it was nothing but junk and the owners were not very hospitable. So we bought nothing and motored on.
The terrain is windy roads and treed hills. Under the trees are rocky outcroppings and cliffs. We see several signs to watch out for Big Horn Sheep, but we don't see any. There are also several lakes and reservoirs for fishing, boating and swimming. Around every other corner there seems to be another family entertainment resort.
Entering Hill City there are several wineries but we do not see any vineyards
. Not sure how hat works. Hill City was our favorite of the tourists towns in the Black Hills. It has the old town feel without the cheesy tourist overload. We ate lunch at a great restaurant called Desperado. It is located in an old, old building that has large log timber construction. They featured local buffalo that was very good. After lunch we browsed a few shops and then set off for Crazy Horse.
As we have driven through the Black Hills we have encountered lots of Corvettes, both new and old. They are here for a National Black Hills Corvette gathering. It would be much more fun driving one of the Corvettes than our big 15 passenger bus. Oh, well - maybe another time.
Just a few minutes driving through the winding roads and we arrived at Crazy Horse. Crazy Horse is a mountain that is being carved into a monument of Chief Crazy Horse riding on a horse. It was started in 1948 and seems to be only about 10% completed
. It seems that tourism has taken a higher priority than the actual blasting and carving work. If you are in the Black Hills you really should come see Crazy Horse - but don't make a special trip just for this. After Mt Rushmore was created several indians decided they wanted to make a monument that showed that they too had heros that should be memorialized on a mountain. So they recruited the carver, Korczak Ziolkowski, to carve Chief Crazy Horse. Korczak had been a carver on Mt Rushmore before he took on the Crazy Horse project. He began carving with minimal supplies and support, but he dedicated his life to the task. He and his wife had five boys and five girls. Many of the kids joined his efforts and many continue working on Crazy Horse today. The carver and his wife have both passed on. A 501c3 was formed to raise money to fund the completion. Money from the tourism also helps pay for the blasting and carving. They take busses up onto the monument so people can see it up close. This of course means they cannot be working on it so I am not sure if it will ever be finished
.
We had seen enough, maybe too much, so we set off for a second visit to Mt Rushmore. Mt Rushmore was carved between 1927 and 1941. It cost nearly $1 million dollars and their primary tool was dynamite. The four Presidents were chosen to represent specific attributes of America.
* President Washington, the first President, represents Birth. Birth of a nation
* President Jefferson, the third President, represents Expansion. Louisiana Purchase
* President T Roosevelt, the twenty sixth President, represents Development. Panama Canal & National Parks
* President Lincoln, the sixteenth President, represents Preservation. Saved the Union during Civil War
The weather was threatening with thunderstorms, so we made a quick walk around the Presidential Trail. The trail takes you closer to the monument and allows you to see it from different vista points. Along the trail we saw a momma mountain goat and her kid. As we were finishing the trail there was a distant thunder roar and a few big rain drops fell
. We retreated to our van and set the GPS for our hotel. We passed through Keystone on the way but felt no desire to join the masses in this tourist trap town.
Once back at the hotel the kids were ready for some time in the water park. The parents were ready for a little nap. So the moms got to nap and the dads went to the water park. Mark even joined the girls on a couple rides. I typed part of this blog while sweltering in the humid atrium of the water park.
We got cleaned up and headed for a cultural dinner experience. For some reason Nepalese food is big, and reportedly very good, in Rapid City. Maybe some of the mountain carvers came from Nepal. Whatever the reason we tried Nepalese food at a restaurant called Everest.
The restaurant was slightly scary from the outside but we proceeded in and were warmly greeted and quickly seated. We had to ask for some explanation on some of the menu items before we ordered
. We were proud of the kids for being adventurous over dinner. They tried new foods and seemed to enjoy it. The adults also resorted to family style by trying each other's food. The food was delicious and most of us ate just a little too much.
We headed downtown Rapid City to walk off a little of our dinner and see some more bronze Presidents. Downtown Rapid City is a nice place with well kept local businesses. It does not have the chain stores in the downtown area, maybe over at the Rushland Mall you will find the typical mall stores. We strolled down the Rapid City art alley. It is an alley that they have allowed artists and graffiti to be painted on everything. The walls, the power poles, the trash dumpsters. It is interesting and allows for some colorful pictures. During daylight it felt safe to walk through (plus we were a pack of eight). We walked down Main Street and could hear live music a block away. It was a Christian concert featuring Kerrie Roberts, Rhett Walker Band, and The Afters. We browsed a nearby shop, listened to a couple songs and then walked back to our van.
We have another early departure for our final destination on this trip. Cheyenne or bust! We are going to a rodeo.
Day 7 - Touring Western South Dakota
Friday, July 18, 2014
Rapid City, South Dakota, United States
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