journal

Within a half hour of each other you can find two major American monuments.  One was completed years ago and the other is years from completion.  I have known of Mt. Rushmore and seen the iconic images for many years.  Once you get there you realize that it isn’t that big.  But it’s impressive and beautiful.  I saw other sculptures by the artist at the museum in Jackson Hole, Wyoming and his work is magnificent.  One of the best sights at Mt. Rushmore is the sightseers.  They come from all countries and watching people here is a spectacle.  The monument still a work in progress is Crazy Horse.  The visit to this monument included a short video on how it was commissioned and the artist who began work on it over 50 years ago.  This was a fascinating place.  The monument is huge and just the arm of Crazy Horse alone is bigger than all the heads of the presidents at Mt. Rushmore.  The visitor center also included many Native American artwork, history and artifacts.  I loved the bison so it’s my focus on this posting.  One final word.  See the monument, see the video, read about it – this is the most interesting “tourist attraction” I’ve seen.

When you think of a “party state” does South Dakota come to mind?  Well, it should.  We pulled into Sturgis and I knew this town was wild… I could only imagine how it is during the motorcycle rally.  After the requisite visit to the Harley Davidson store we asked where to eat lunch.  What a great suggestion.  The Knuckle Saloon – a bar/restaurant/motorcyle memoabelia museum/sometime rodeo stadium was fabulous.  They had wonderful buffalo burgers, a really cool interior and a promise for lots of fun.  The next day they were holding a bucking bronco rodeo in their courtyard.  From Sturgis, you can also visit the really different and beautiful town of Deadwood.  A throw-back to the Olde Wild West.  The buildings were reminiscent of a time when gunfighters and saloon girls dominated the place. Oh, and they had gambling halls with all the slot machines you need.  The two guys featured in the photos were a treat to meet.  The guy in Sturgis standing next to my car wanted to know how I like the Camry.  He happens to work at the Toyota plant in Kentucky.  The “Elvis of Deadwood” came out of the elevator in the Deadwood parking lot.  He was a riot.  All in all, South Dakota is a blast.  But wait, there’s more cool stuff to come.

There’s a really bizarre protrusion in the Wyoming countryside that rises over 1200 feet from the surface called Devils Tower.  It was formed as a result of erosion and makes a great statement.  On the approach to the tower we encountered a field of holes – home to the many prairie dogs that hung out while all us humans couldn’t stop taking photos.  Set amongst the prairie was a piece of sculpture meant to “frame” the tower from a distance.  Just loved that.  Once we got into the park we were able to see a few climbers through intense binoculars.  Take a close look and you can see them on the rock. 

Leaving Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons brought us to the Big Horns, an offshoot of the Rocky Mountains.  Climbing up the very steep drive to the Medicine Wheel was a breathtaking view of the valley, rock formations and scary cliffs.  The Medicine Wheel was a Native American installation that was created somewhere between the 12th and 15th century.  It has 28 spokes and measures about 80 feet in diameter.  This is a sacred place to not only the Native Americans but to many spiritual visitors.  There are a number of different symbols of the visitors that have made this mile and a half pilgrimedge to the top of the mountain.  It was a long hike but worth the trip.  On the way down we came upon a family of deer on the hillside.  Our next stop was a night at a hotel in Sheridan, Wyoming.  We were deep in the west.

On my adventure I have been hiking, biking, camping and rafting.  It was time to try something new.  So Kathy and I went canoeing on Jenny Lake.  This mountain lake was in backyard of our campground.  We rented a canoe and rowed for over an hour to the opposite shore.  I was obviously obsessed with that stump of a tree.  I turned out to be an upside down tree in full with the roots showing on top of the water.  This was my kinda place.  I also loved the canoe ride even though the water was REALLY cold so we made sure not to fall in.