29th July 2012 - Rapid City, S. Dakota
After overnighting in Buffalo, we arrived at Lake Park Campground around 12 pm.
The RV park is nestled among trees which was a blessing as it was very hot the week we were there. It is not a cheap RV park (about $45 per night) and cable TV is $1.80 per day. Disappointingly, there were only 2 washing machines and 3 dryers for the whole RV park. Tom said the bathrooms were so tiny he could hardly move his arms.
The RV park is right next to Canyon Lake, a popular venue for fishermen, geese and ducks!
30th July 2012 - Day trip to Mount Rushmore, Keystone
A lovely timber bridge that we had to drive under on the way to Keystone.
The town of Keystone where Mount Rushmore is located.
Our first view of Mount Rushmore from Butter - we went with Robie and Sharon.
The iconic faces on Mount Rushmore - Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.
One of the many bikers we saw in and around Rapid City during our stay.
Lovely photo of Rob and Sharon - there is a bit of a climb from the carpark to the Memorial but there is access for wheelchairs, including elevators.
Us and Sharon.
The walk to the sculptures is lined on both sides with the flags of the states that make up the United States of America. On each side of the pillars are carved the dates each state joined the federation.
The concept for a mountain memorial carved from stone began in 1923, when Doane Robinson, then superintendent of the S. Dakota State Historical Society had a vision to put South Dakota on the map.
The work was commissioned to Danish born sculptor, Gutzon Borglum who spent the last 14 years of his life working on Mt. Rushmore. The project had its share of detractors; however it received a boost, when in 1927 President Calvin Coolidge wholeheartedly embraced the mission and dedicated the cornerstone for the memorial. The 60 y.o. Borglum climbed to the mountain's craggy summit and symbolically drilled 6 holes to mark the commencement of carving.
The heads of each president are about 60 feet tall. Washington's nose is 21 feet high, the rest are approx. 20ft. The eyes are about 11ft wide and the mouth 18ft wide. About 400 people worked at Mt Rushmore from 1927 to 1941 - no lives were lost even though much of the work was extremely dangerous.
Guntzon Borglum working on George Washington.
90% of the 450,000 tons of granite removed from the mountain was taken out with dynamite. The workers became so skilled at "carving" the monuments with dynamite, they were able to blast to within 4 inches of the finished surface and grade the contours of the lips, nose, cheeks, neck and brow -outstanding!!
We headed back to Keystone for a spot of lunch - there's plenty of cafes to choose from and the usual touristy shops to browse.
We settled on Grizzlys for lunch - quite a nice restaurant.
Was surprised to see it was staffed mainly by Eastern European girls.
Further along from Mt Rushmore is the monument dedicated to Crazy Horse, a warrior of the Sioux tribe. Crazy Horse was born in the Black Hills and was involved in the Battle of Little Bighorn, where Custer was defeated. In 1948, 7 years after Mt Rushmore was completed, work on this monument started. When completed, the monument will depict Crazy Horse on his horse, with his finger pointing forwards. Entry fee to this venue is $27 which we thought was rather steep for a monument that is not complete.
1st August 2012 - Sturgis, South Dakota
STURGIS - the Mecca for bikers. The 72nd Sturgis Rally was due to kick off on 3rd August but already the town was throbbing to the distinctive sounds of Harleys and testosterone pumped bikers.
It was really cool to see the biker chicks all geared up with their leather chaps, bandanas and astride their black metal stallions. Main street of Sturgis, where the action will take place during the Rally.
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