Kim Visits South Dakota (Part 2)

I didn't intend to go so long between posts.  But ironically, another trip to visit family in South Dakota has kept me busy for the past (almost) two weeks.  So...it's time to play catch up once again!  And continue the recap from my May/June visit to South Dakota.

See Mt. Rushmore through the tunnel?

From the last post (if you all still remember), after showing my friend Kim around the Black Hills of South Dakota and the Badlands for the first two days, it was time to return to Custer State Park and explore some more of this fabulous area.  I started out early the third morning to drive the famous Iron Mountain Road that begins near Mt. Rushmore and winds into the park.  Designed purposely to be driven slowly to take in the spectacular scenery, it's one of the great byways of America.  Also known as Highway 16A, this 17-mile route features 314 curves, 14 switchbacks, 3 tunnels, 3 wooden bridges, (known as "pigtails") and two places where the road splits.

How about now?

About those tunnels.....the three tunnels built along Iron Mountain Road were all aligned so that they perfectly frame Mt. Rushmore as you drive through (in the correct direction, that is!)  How cool is that?  

There's a tiny amount of parking space adjacent to each tunnel to allow visitors to park, hop out, and get photos of this unusual sight.  Just watch for traffic!  

A young buffalo in Custer State Park

After traversing the entirety of Iron Mountain Road, I turned my car further into Custer State Park and headed towards a scenic drive known as the "Wildlife Loop."

Mama buffalo and her youngster's rear end

Besides breathtaking scenery, Custer State Park is also known for the plethora of wildlife that resides within its 71,000 acres.  I've seen pronghorn (antelope), prairie dogs, elk, deer, and many different bird species (including the Western meadowlark).  Bighorn sheep and mountain goats also reside in Custer State Park, however I've yet to see either one.  But most famous of all is the park's massive buffalo herd.  It often numbers as many as 1,450 head.

Sticking close to mommy

Spotting the buffaloes is easy.  The huge, shaggy beasts normally hang out along the Wildlife Loop.  The day of our visit was no different.  I drove about 5 miles before coming upon a large group of buffalo.  Not only were they right along the road, many of them crossed in front of my car!

Lots of buffalo babies!

It being late spring, there were tons of babies.  Not only much smaller, these little ones could be identified by their red-colored coats (young buffalo are sometimes referred to as "red dogs.")  It was fun to watch the little guys frolic around or follow their mothers begging to nurse.  It was such a thrill to be able to view the buffalo so close - they were oftentimes right by the pavement edge.  Of course, Kim and I safely stayed inside of my car with the windows up (most of the time anyway!)

Western bluebird

After a good hour of buffalo viewing, I continued along the Wildlife Loop to see what other type of critters might be about.  I spotted several Western meadowlarks singing their distinctive song as they sat on the fenceposts.  But I was never fast enough to catch one.  Then a lovely Western bluebird perched on a strand of barb wire and held still long enough for me to fire my shutter.

An antelope resting near a fence

A bit further down we both spotted a graceful pronghorn antelope walking through the grass.  It wasn't very close though.  Then we came upon another pronghorn laying in the grass near the roadway edge.  It was so close not only did Kim and I get a great view, I also was able to capture several images of this unique animal.

 

We ran into Custer State Park's famous "Begging Burros"

There is one other animal species running wild in Custer State Park.  A herd of burros make this place their home.  Not native to the area, these beasts have descended from burros that were historically used to carry tourists up to the summit of nearby Black Elk Peak (formerly known as Harney Peak.)  When the rides became discontinued, the burros were released into the park and have since prospered.  

Handing out burro snacks

These burros are affectionally known as the "begging burros."  That is because they approach vehicles and beg for food from the occupants.  Most people can't resist the burro's cute, furry faces and share whatever goodies are in their car.  (I have great childhood memories of feeding the burros cookies out the back window of our family station wagon.)  Although Kim and I didn't cave in to their demands, we watched two young girls offer some snacks out their car windows - while mom took photos from the sunroof.

Crazy Horse mountain carving

Finishing up the Wildlife Loop, we stopped for lunch in the nearby town of Custer.  Then I took Highway 385 north to reach Crazy Horse Memorial.

The Crazy Horse Memorial is a massive mountain carving to honor the great Indian Chief Crazy Horse.  When finished, it will dwarf nearby Mt. Rushmore and become the world's largest sculpture.  The project was the idea of Lakota Chief Henry Standing Bear.  Because the Black Hills are considered sacred to the Lakota people Chief Standing Bear wanted to locate a memorial here to honor a Native American hero.  He stated "My fellow chiefs and I would like the white man to know that the red man has great heroes also."  Chief Standing Bear invited prize-winning sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski (who coincidentally worked on Mt. Rushmore) to carve a monument to his people

The mountain vs a small scale of the finished product

Korczak arrived in the Black Hills on May 3, 1947.  He worked on the mountain sculpture until his death on October 20, 1982 at age 74.  During this time he refused any salary or government assistance.  After his passing, Korczak's wife Ruth and his 10 children continued the work he had started.  Today his grandchildren carry on their grandfather's dream.  The Memorial still refuses any federal or state funding and relies strictly on donations and admission revenues.

A native woman demonstrated hoop dancing

In addition to an amazing view of the sculpture work in progress, the memorial also features a wonderful Indian Museum, Native American Educational and Cultural Center, conference facilities, and the Korczak's original home and studio.  There is a place for Native artisans to showcase their art and visitors can view them working on creations.  Outside on a large wooden deck, Kim and I watched a local Lakota woman demonstrate the hoop dance.  She twirled over 20 hoops for several minutes.  It was impressive to watch!

The memorial's website, https://crazyhorsememorial.org/ is a gold mine of information, including photographs of the mountain carving progress throughout the years.  One thing I couldn't find however, was any information on the estimated completion date.  Although much work has been done since 1947, sculpting Crazy Horse is such a massive undertaking I doubt it will be finished in my lifetime.  

A most impressive dance!

Our final day in the Black Hills, my dad took Kim and I out to Ellsworth Air Force Base to see the South Dakota Air and Space Museum.  Although the indoor museum wasn't open that day, outside the main building was an impressive collection of military aircraft.  In the 1960's my dad spent five years in the Air Force as a navigator on a B-52 bomber.  He went on to become a private pilot, as well as a flight instructor, for many decades.  From all his experience, my dad knew every one of those airplanes on display and had flown many of them as well.  When we reached the B-52 bomber display, I took a few photos of my dad in front of the aircraft he'd come to know extremely well.

Street scene, Deadwood South Dakota

That evening my family, Kim, and I traveled up to the historic mining town of Deadwood for dinner and a bit of gambling.  Although I'm glad to see legalized gambling has restored main street to its past glory, I'm not much into losing my money to one-armed bandits.  So Kim and I perused a bunch of the shops and watched my parents and brother pull slot machine levers (however nowadays, they just push buttons.  What's the fun in that?)

 

My dad poses in front of a B-52 bomber 

It had been a fun, but whirlwind visit, showing Kim some of my favorite hometown places.  But our vacation wasn't over quite yet.  On our return trip, I'd planned a detour to Yellowstone National Park.  So stay tuned, there's more to come!  I promise the next post won't take two weeks to write....