Arrival Day~
My latest expedition began at a place I've dreamed of visiting for many years. Made famous by the movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", the breathtaking national monument of Devils Tower Wyoming stands a majestic 1,300 feet into the horizon overlooking the north-western edge of the Black Hills.This spectacular monument draws tourist numbers in excess of 400,000 annually. With a few brave souls attempting to climb to the summit. It almost seems to be out of place with the rest of the mountains like it was simply transplanted there from the barren deserts of Arizona. Without a doubt this monument is truly a must see destination for the avid traveler and family alike.
My campsite was nestled neatly at the foot of the mountain with the monument entrance a meer yards away. This campground was truly the most spectacular to date, I was sincerely impressed. I couldn't believe just how awesome it was to be so close to a monument of this magnitude. Not to mention the tent area was so green and lush and so large that I wasn't competing for premium camp space. As an added benefit, the campground hosts nightly screenings of the Close Encounters movie with the monument as its backdrop. That was so fun, it definitely added a very real sense of creepiness to the movie. Seems kind of funny now, but my motorcycle drew a lot of attention since it strayed from the usual travel trailers and motor-homes. I had many people stop by camp asking me questions such as; How far have I traveled? How fast does it go? What kinds of places have you been to, and so on. It actually made the trip much more worth the time and effort knowing that my travels may actually be of interest to more than just me. After a nice long stroll around the campground, a hot meal and even better conversations over campfire with the friends I just made, I went to bed looking forward to tomorrows trek to South Dakota.
7:00 am! Rise and Shine...
Wow! I haven't awakened this early in forever. I guess a comfortable bed and quiet surroundings can do wonders for a tired body. After a good hearty breakfast, idle chit-chat and a hot shower, I was off to explore the wonders that await in South Dakota. I had a general idea where I was heading but was a little unsure as to the best route to take. Thank goodness one of the fellow travelers I met pointed out the quickest and most scenic route to Rapid City S.D. I started out of camp heading east along a less traveled stretch of road (Hwy 24) through the northwestern tip of the
Black Hills National Forest. This was indeed a beautiful ride with nice gentle rolling hills and gorgeous mix of trees and grassland. The stretch of highway had very little traffic, and the traffic I did see was, for the most part, motorcycles and the occasional locals. The ride gave me a great chance to actually take in all the beauty of the Black Hills around me. After a quick stop for a Dr Pepper refresher in the town of Belle Fourche, named after the Belle Fourche River, I was eager to reach my first destination, so on to 'Sturgis' I went.
Now unbeknownst to me when I made my travel plans moths ago, the dates just happen to be two weeks
before the BIG annual
Sturgis Black Hills Classic Rally. I was so relieved to know that my time there would not be spent wadding through the never-ending sea of motorcycles. I could actually take my time and explore the town with little or no worries. And I did just that.
For those of you not familiar with the 'Sturgis Rally" let me give you a brief rundown.
The Sturgis Rally is an annual event which brings 100's of thousands of bikers from all over the country (and the world) for a week of all out motorcycling fun. The event offers races, the famed 'Burnout contests', tattoo contest, bike build offs, poker runs etc... And as a break from the biker gang persona, as one might imagine, the event is beginning to draw more and more families as a vacation destination. One small draw back, at least for me, is that it's primarily for the Harley Davidson crowd but they do advertise that all bikes are welcome. For us speed hungry sport-bike riders the premier event is Datona Bike Week in Datona Florida but that is another story.
I drove through town and stopped at a few places I thought were points of interest. It was only after I had returned back home that I found a guide book for the city (bummer I know) . The bulk of the activities for the Rally had not been erected yet or were still under construction so I investigated what I could. I made a conscious effort to stop and see the local Harley Davidson shop (yes even sport-bikers can enjoy looking at Iron Horses), which was of course massive, but it was closed on Sunday so no luck there. Maybe, just maybe, next year I will actually join the fun and attend, well we shall see. After having a quick bite to eat at a local eatery, minus the big crowds, and marveling at the shear numbers of tattoo shops in one area, I made my way out of Sturgis to Rapid City and then on to Mt. Rushmore.
Mount Rushmore~
Having never been to Mount Rushmore before, at least not that I can remember, I had no real pre-conceived idea of what the monument would look like or the scale of the carvings. What I saw was more amazing than I could have imagined.
The Mount Rushmore Memorial is just a few short miles form the historic town of Keystone SD which is where Carrie Ingalls of "Little House on the Prairie" lived for most of here adult life. The entire park of Mount Rushmore itself was quite large and as you enter the front gates, constructed of beautiful granite that displayed 'Mount Rushmore National Memorial', you begin to get a real sense of the sheer size and grandeur of the monument. The main walkway leading down to the mountain is lined with U.S. State flags and under them are the year they joined the union. This was an excellent quick U.S. history lesson for me. I only knew the dates of a few states, so I was glad to learn of some of the others. So finally, I reached the monument itself. What a spectacular sight! The four presidents faces, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln stood proudly on the hillside in glistening glory. They seemed to peer down at you almost as if they are still watching over their country-men. I was amazed how surprisingly accurate and life-like the carvings were and out of solid granite to. If you look very closely at the pictures above you can even see Roosevelt's glasses, impressive! This must have been a massive undertaking and what a gifted sculptor Gutzon Borglum was to have created such an incredible piece of art. I begun to see the tourist appeal to the monument, not to mention the steep U.S. history involved in its creation. It's sad to know that the U.S. and the Lakota Indians are still in a heated battle after all these years over the rights to the Black Hills, what a shame. The park offers guided tours every 1/2 hour that explains the history of the area and the monument. I believe this is a must to get the full story on its construction and the reasons behind it. It's hard to imagine that Mount Rushmore has been a tourist destination since the late 1930's. And equally hard is the thought of just how many people have visited since then bringing in an excess of 2 million visitors annually. I now understand why this is such a landmark for the United States and South Dakota.
Crazy Horse~
Next stop on the tour, the newest monument in the black hills area, was Crazy Horse.
The Crazy Horse memorial was started back in 1948 by Korczak Zió≈Çkowski as a sort of rebuttal to Mount Rushmore and to serve as a memorial to the Lakota and Native American people who fought so valiantly for their lands. The carving itself is still under construction and will be for many years since the entire project is privately funded. The main attraction is the visitors center which consists of the Indian Museum of North America and the Native American Cultural Center. These were both of great interest to me in part because of my adopted sister and for my love and respect for the Native American People and culture. The Museum and Culture center showcase many stunning pieces of various antiques from the Native American and Lakota people. Some of the more jaw-dropping pieces were the ornate ceremonial dresses worn by the women, and the head pieces worn by the men. I was deeply moved by the personal items of many of the people. They gave me a brief glimpse into the daily lives of the people so many years ago. Many of the artifacts are donations made by local tribes, historians and collectors. As the artist rendering in the picture below depicts, when completed this memorial will be the most spectacular sight in the whole of the United States and perhaps the world. I can only hope that I will still be alive to see its final unveiling.
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