Crazy Horse Memorial is a mountain mounument complex that is under construction on privately held land in the Black Hills in Custer County, South Dakota. It depicts Crazy Horse, an Oglala Lakota warrior, riding a horse and pointing into the distance. The memorial was commissioned by Harry Standing Bear, a Lakota elder, to be sculptured by Korczak Kiokowski in 1925. It is operated by the Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation a private non profit organization. The memorial consistests of the mountain carving, the Indian Museum of North America, the Native American Cultural Center, a Visitor's Center and Full serve Restaurant. The foundation does not receive any federal or state funding and raises money through its entry fees and donations. Zinkowski started Crazy Horse in 1948 with the first blast. He worked on his own for years until his children were old enough to help. He died in 1982 but his wife and 7 of his 10 children took over and continued his carving. 16 years later in 1998 Crazy Horse's face was completed and dedicated. Now the work has begun to start blocking the mountain to start on the horse's head. The sculpture's final dimensions are planned to be 641 ft wide and 563 ft high. The head of Crazy Horse is 87 ft high compare that to Mount Rushmore's Presidential heads which are 60 ft tall. If completed the sculpture would be the largest in the world. There are some controversies over the Crazy Horse momument from Crazy Horse's descendents. Crazy Horse himself did not like to be photographed and when he died his buriel sight was kept a secret so it would not become a shrine. His descendents feel that honoring him is against the Indian way of life and that the sculpture is desecrating sacred and burial lands.
The Crazy Horse Memorial is an incredible sight and when if does get completed it will be outstanding. It is so far from being completed that I know I will not see it completed in my lifetime but I am hopeful that in my grandchildren's lifetime (when I have some grandchildren) they will see the completion of the monument.
Before we got to the Crazy Horse memorial we took a leisurely drive on Iron Mountain Road (US Route 16A). It is a scenic roadway with one lane tunnels cut through the mountains. The road is full of twists and tight turns as you head up Iron Mountain. Along the way there are glimpses and lookout areas you can stop at and see Mount Rushmore. It is on this road that I got my first look at Mount Rushmore, from a far, and to me it was a very impressive sight. US 16A cuts through Custer State Park, named for Lt. Colonel George Armstrong Custer, and is home to a famous herd of 1500 free roaming bison. The park was started in the 1920s, grew with help from the Civilian Conversation Corps building roads, laying out parks and campgrounds and building three dams in the 1930s. The park was the Summer Whitehouse for President Calvin Coolidge in 1927. The park is 71,000 acres and is also home to elk, mule deer, bighorn sheep, pronghorn, mountain lions and feral burros. We were lucky enough to cross paths with about 200 bison in a pasture. It was such a great sight. I got out of the truck and snapped a few pictures and even got close to one of the bison that was grazing along the road. Okay, it was 20 ft but that is still pretty close. I am so happy we were lucky enough to see so many bison.
After we left the monuments we headed into the town of Keystone, SD. It is an old mining town, founded in 1883 that after the mining was finished turned itself into a resort town serving the needs of the tourists who come to Mount Rushmore. Population 377 with a median income of $26,400 and a median age of 43. Keystone was a neat town that kept the looks of a mining town through the center of town. It has some nice shops and lots of restaurants. Carrie Ingalls, sister of Laura Ingalls Wilder, lived in Keystone with her husband and family along with her sister Mary.
All in all, it was one fantastic day and that I will not forget for quite a long time. The mountain views, the bison, the Crazy Horse Memorial and Mount Rushmore! It was a great day!
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