Surprisingly, there is quite a bit to see and do in the southwest region of South Dakota. After spending two days in the Badlands National Park, we made our way to nearby Custer State Park and based ourselves there for three days as we explored this area.
Custer State Park
We managed to nab ourselves a spot at the Blue Bell Campground, which was not easy given that we were visiting during the week of the annual “Round-Up”. During this time, the bison in Custer State Park are herded into corrals and then a certain percentage are sold off. The park aims to keep the herd to around 1000 head, so that its grasslands are maintained. For those who are in the market, the going rate for a bison bull these days is $1600. Female bison and calves typically go for an amount between $500 to $1000. Blue Bell Campground is also home to a horse camp, so if you're into swaggering cowboys and cowgirls, this is the place for you. “A Western experience that's sure to charm the boots right off 'ya!” ~ Description from Custer State Park Guide.
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| Our campsite at Blue Bells |
Whilst staying in Custer State Park, we did a hike to the top of Little Devils Tower (not the Devil's Tower, which is in Wyoming, but just Custer's own Little Devil's Tower). The view from the top was impressive, but the walk up was a little depressing as much of the pine forest along the trail has been decimated by pine beetle. Pine beetle has become the scourge of the American West and is responsible for the decimation of several pine forests in the region. The beetles are able in infect a tree by boring holes into the tree and laying lava. The beetle then sends signals to other beetles to come join it in its quest to destroy the tree. Once it becomes evident to the beetles that the tree has no chance of surviving, it sends a signal to the other beetles not already in the tree to not come to this tree, but to look for another tree to destroy. Apparently this process is a natural one and it appears not too much is being done to stop the progress of the beetles. It seems that the current plan is to wait for a cold snap in the weather, which historically has been known to wipe out the beetles for a couple of years. Unfortunately, with global warming, such a cold snap is unlikely and some estimate that more than 80% of all pine forests in the western part of the continent will be wiped out by the accursed beetle. For more on pine beetles see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_pine_beetle
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| Alex at the top of Little Devil's Tower |
Custer State Park is also home to the Needles Highway. The “Needles” are thin, oddly shaped, granite rocks which stand atop the rugged Black Hills. The rocks are skinny, tall and stand on such an angle that you might say they look a bit like a series of needles standing together.
The Wilderness Drive is another popular drive in Custer and is pretty cool for animal aficionados like ourselves. On this drive we saw bison, pronghorn deer, prairie dogs, feral donkeys (called “begging burros”) and mule deers all from the comfort of our car.
Crazy Horse Memorial
"When the Legends Die
The Dreams End
When the Dreams End
There is No More Greatness."
~ Korczak Ziolkowski
The Crazy Horse Memorial is a work in progress and a sizable one at that. At present it is an incomplete mountain carving of Crazy Horse, a famous Oglala Lakota Chief, that honors all Native Americans. The carving was designed and initiated – at the request of Oglala Lakota Chief Standing Bear - by Korczak Ziolkowski, an American sculptor of Polish descent, in 1948 using a single jackhammer. The movie shown in the memorial's information center tells the story of how Korczak first built a wooden ladder all the way up the face of the mountain, then a long pipe to connect the compressor to the jackhammer. The compressor would often break down and he'd have to make the long climb down his ladder to get it going again. Fortunately for Korczak, he had eleven children, and seven of them, together with his wife, continue to manage and execute the project today. Unfortunately, Korczak passed away in 1982. He is buried in a tomb which he designed on the Crazy Horse site.
Crazy Horse is the Oglala Lakota chief who led the defeat of General Custer's army at the Battle of Little Bighorn (aka “Custer's Last Stand”). According to Wikipedia, Crazy Horse took up arms against the U.S. Federal government to fight against its encroachments on the territories and way of life of the Lakota people. This makes him sound like he'd fit right in with the modern day Tea Party movement, but it's arguable whether Crazy Horse' rhetoric is more or less militant than Sarah Palin's and company. When asked “Where are your lands now”, by an obnoxious reporter, Crazy Horse responded “My lands are where my dead lie buried”. This quote is plastered all over the memorial, and will be carved into the mountain immediately under the statue.
We both left Crazy Horse memorial felling a little bit overwhelmed by the work that has been carried out so far and the work that is still required to complete this mountain carving. The finished carving is projected to be 641 feet long and 563 feet high. So far only the face has been complete, and some work has been done to the outstretched arm. In the “Legends of Light” laser show, which is shown every evening in summer, the outline of the finished sculpture is projected onto the mountain, so you can get a good idea of what the complete project will look like. We both also felt sad and despondent by the plight of Native Americans. The information center at the memorial also plasters this quote around - “They made us many promises, more than I can remember – They never kept but one; they promised to take our land, and they took it!” ~ Red Cloud. Obviously, we could go on further about this topic, but its not really in keeping with the upbeat/lighthearted tempo/happy trails mentality of this blog, so we'll leave it at that for now.
Wind Cave National Park
We drove through this national park a couple of times (it's right next door to Custer State Park). We saw their bison herd and 2 coyotes but we didn't see the massive cave itself – currently the third biggest cave system in the world and it is thought that as much as 95% of it has not yet been explored. This was due to mere laziness. Sorry readers, we spent the afternoon allotted to the cave visit reading our books in front of the campfire, drinking Irish Coffees. Wish you were here...
Mammoth Site of Hot Springs, South Dakota, Inc.
Just south of Custer State Park, there is a prehistoric sinkhole which contains mammoth bones and tusks. So far the remains of some 58 odd teenage male mammoths have been recovered from the site, both of the Woolly and Columbian varieties. It is odd that all of the remains have been identified as teenage males. Our guide speculated that this was because teenage male mammoths were as stupid as human teenage males are today (sorry to our teenage male readers, but we're just delivering the facts here). It is thought that the mammoths fell into the sinkhole some 20,000 plus years ago, right here in South Dakota. Their bones are stacked on top of each other in an area approximately 100 meters in circumference and paleontologists are currently in the process of removing the bones and tusks. You can sign up to be part of the dig crew each July if you're that way inclined as well.
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| Mammoth Skulls |
Mount Rushmore National Monument
Mount Rushmore is the crown jewel of Roadside Americana. Sculptor Gutzon Borglum first began work on this mountain carving in 1927. Interestingly Korczak Ziolkowski, sculptor of Crazy Horse, worked on this mountain carving as well, as one of Borglum's assistants.
This well known symbol of America displays four of the most revered American presidents – George Washington (the first), Thomas Jefferson (the prettiest), Theodore Roosevelt (the most likable) and Abraham Lincoln (the tallest).
I would love to see Barack's face carved up there someday (the coolest), but unfortunately I think you'd struggle to find an American who agrees with me these days. Sigh...
If you ever do make the pilgrimage to this American icon, think about taking the Iron Mountain Road to Mount Rushmore. This road is a hairpin extravaganza! Sets you up nicely for the Monumental Breakfast which is served in the Mount Rushmore cafeteria – Scrambled Eggs, Biscuit and Gravy, Sausage and Bacon, all for $5.00.
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