Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse

This day was dedicated to monumental stone works. First, we went to Mt. Rushmore. It has a very American setup, with a flag avenue leading to the observation terrace. We took some photos here. The monument is really large. In the visitor center, there is a film about the construction. Before I tell you all the details, please check the internet yourself 😄 However, there is not much else to do on-site. Since it is a national park, everything is paid for by the state.

Next stage is very different, just a few kilometers away. Here, a sculptor started chiseling a huge statue of Chief Crazy Horse into the mountain as part of a private initiative by the Indians in 1948. The Black Hills were and still are sacred Indian land, so it was already a scandal to chisel the presidents into the mountain. The Indians at least wanted to immortalize one of their heroes there. There is a video about the beginnings and progress of the work in the visitor center. The piece is far from finished. It took them 50 !!! years to unveil the face. Today it goes faster. More staff, better equipment. The photo with the "broken" machine shows what means were used at the beginning. Please also use the internet for all the technical details. You can get a little closer to the construction site by bus, and the area is also very worth seeing, as it shows a lot of Indian art. This is all a purely private initiative, there has been no funding from the state to this day. It should stay that way, they want to remain independent. The sculptor made money, for example, with his dairy farm, hence the sign with the cow. He had 10 children. The 5 boys helped on the mountain from the age of 8, the 5 girls on the dairy farm and in the administration. After his death, his wife took over the whole organization, the family lived and still lives largely for this project.

Just as a comparison of the works: the image of all four presidents of Mt. Rushmore fits behind the head of Crazy Horse.

Finally, we went to Deadwood, a western village. Although we had never heard of the gunslinger who was shot in Saloon No. 10, it was still nice to see the little show.

And to conclude the Indian history in this area, we went to the location where the Wounded Knee Massacre took place. However, there is nothing to see there except for a mass grave with Indian names at the Catholic cemetery. Many people with Indian names are also buried there. The Catholic Church did a lot of missionary work in the area.

And then, some general information for the interested reader. We will continue our journey with a rental car, motels, and a tent 🚙🏠🏕. The camper has a defect in the electronics. It can be repaired here, but it costs much more than in Europe. The car runs, but the lights don't work and it is too dangerous for us to be stuck somewhere in the middle of nowhere. Yes, all those who said it was an old car were right, but things can always break. However, we don't want to end our trip because of that. It was just a bad investment 💰💸💶 happens.