Tag: #southdakota

Mount Rushmore/Crazy Horse/Deadwood South Dakota

19 June 2018

Yay!! I got to see the Presidents at Mount Rushmore!!

After 5 attempts over 3 days I had almost thought that I would miss out on this great wonder of the world. It was truly worth the wait. When I woke this morning the sun was shining. I couldn’t get out of the hotel fast enough praying that the fog wouldn’t roll back in. I was stuck in the entrance traffic and got this shot hoping that it wasn’t going to be my only one as the fog did come rolling in.

And then it cleared to the gorgeous picture at the beginning!! Another off my bucket list. This is truly a magnificent piece of art. 400 people worked on this sculpture financed by the Government, and not one person died on this dangerous project.

Then I went on to the Crazy Horse Memorial. The man who started this project, Korczak Ziolkowski, a sculptor, known as the storyteller in stone, was approached by Henry Running Bear to build a memorial “My fellow chiefs and I would like the white man to know that the red man has great heroes also”.

Korczak and his wife, Ruth, with their 10 children worked together and many of their 23 grandchildren still work on this project.

This project is funded totally by donations and tourists with the Foundation rejecting any government funding. Still has a long way to go.

Next stop was Deadwood South Dakota, famous for Wild Bill Hickock and Calamity Jane.

The Saloon 10 where Wild Bill’s poker hand of a pair of 8s and Aces became known as “deadman’s hand” after he was murdered holding these cards.

Calamity Jane’s grave is next to Wild Bill’s as he had wanted.

Devil’s Tower Wyoming

18 June 2018

Woke this morning to heavy rain and thick fog. I rang Mount Rushmore and visibility was nil. I didn’t want to waste a day but I don’t want to miss out on Mount Rushmore so I went for a 2 hour drive to Wyoming.

I stopped at a cute town called Aladdin with a population of 15. The 125 year old general store has five rooms of collectibles to purchase.

In fact, if you have $850,000 you can buy the whole town.

Devil’s Tower is the USA’s first national monument and set in the Black Hills. This monolith is considered sacred by Native Indians and is very popular for rock climbing.

How cute are the prairie dogs!!

And this cute deer who crossed my path.

Tonight I am staying in Keystone a cute historical town at the foot of Mount Rushmore.

I went up to Mount Rushmore as it is 7 minutes from Keystone. However, visibility was still nil.

I returned to Keystone and had dinner in Ruby’s Saloon.

Then I again went up to Mount Rushmore where I remained for 2 hours just waiting for the fog to clear for just a few seconds so I could see the Presidents. Not much to see tonight.

The whole monument is so beautifully set out.

The only thing you pay for is $10 for parking but it is valid for a whole year. I will try again in the morning and will decide if I should stay another night to capture a glimpse of this great monument. It is costing me money and time I had not planned. Hopefully the fog will lift. Rain is predicted for another 2 days though. There are people from all over the world who have missed out and I hope I am not one of them.

“Wall Drug” Wall/Rapid City, South Dakota

17 June 2018

On my way to Rapid City South Dakota I stopped at Wall Drug in the town of Wall on the edge of the Badlands of South Dakota. So many people told me that I must stop there but I didn’t expect it to be such a commercial tourist attraction, although the many signs throughout the beautiful countryside should have alerted me. Many people do enjoy this tourist spot as evidenced by the big crowd of people there, in the middle of nowhere and pouring with rain. I saw it as “just” another shopping centre, however, the history behind the original store beginnings and how it has become a mega tourist attraction is interesting.

It was set up as a pharmacy in 1931 by Ted and Dorothy Hustead and business was not going well in Wall, known as the town “in the middle of nowhere”. Dorothy decided to put up signs on the highway to attract customers to their store by offering “free ice water” or “cold root beer”. This was so successful that they continued to expand the pharmacy to include food, clothing and this town in the middle of nowhere caters to 2 million tourists each year.

They even have a Harley Davidson store.

It is a popular spot to stop on the way to Rapid City and Mount Rushmore. There are apparently signs all over the world depicting the distance to Wall Drug including signs put up by American GIs around the world during WWII. Wall Drug Signs

Later when I arrived in Rapid City I did a walk around town and they have statues of a USA president on each corner.

I just photographed some of my favourites, not necessarily politically. There isn’t one of Obama yet and that should be unvieled around September.

A couple of Rapid City buildings in the historical centre.

I then went to a pawn shop looking for some Indian tribal paintings and the gun section shouldn’t have surprised me but it is disturbing.

I then went to Mount Rushmore, although I wasn’t expecting to be able to see anything as a thick fog hanging around all day got worse. Hopefully it will clear tomorrow.

Little House on the Prairie

16 June 2018

For all the Little House on the Prairie fans, I stopped off at Walnut Grove, Minnesota.

Laura’s family travelled 1500 miles to various towns including Walnut Grove, Sleepy Eye and settling in De Smet South Dakota. I cannot imagine what that would have been be like in a wagon over rough terrain.

This is the Ingalls family homestead in De Smet, South Dakota.

Last stop today was Mitchell South Dakota. The most popular tourist attraction is the Corn Palace, famous for its corn murals which change every year. It reminds me of the displays at the Sydney Royal Esdter Show.