Saturday, August 15, 2009

Day 41 Summer Vacation 2009

Here is the route that we will follow today as we leave Custer and head for Deadwood SD.

August 15 2009

Not very far from our hotel in Custer SD is the Crazy Horse Memorial. We spotted it off in the distance as we drove along US 16.

6331 View of Crazy Horse Memorial from US 16 SD6333 View of Crazy Horse Memorial from US 16 SD6336 View of Crazy Horse Memorial from US 16 SD

At the visitors center we watched a movie that told the story of why and how this mountain is being carved. In the foreground of this next photo is a scale model of the sculpture and in the background you can see the progress that is being made.

6354 Crazy Horse Memorial SD

The mountain carving is far from complete, it was started in 1948, but progress is being made slowly but surely each day. It is very precise and exacting work, because one wrongly placed charge of dynamite could ruin the whole project.

Here are some photos of the blasting and the men working to create the sculpture.

6363 Crazy Horse Memorial SD6364 Crazy Horse Memorial SD6367 Crazy Horse Memorial SD

This photo gives you an idea of how much work still remains.

6373 Crazy Horse Memorial SD

There is no federal funding for this project, all the money is raised from the money that is collected at the entrance and by selling items in the gift shop.

6375 Crazy Horse Memorial SD6376 Crazy Horse Memorial SD

Our next stop today is Mount Rushmore National Memorial. We got a sneak peak at George Washington when we pulled off the road to take some photos of the rocks and I looked up and there he was, a side profile.

6388 Mount Rushmore National Memorial View from SD 244 Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway6396 View from SD 244 Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway6395 Mount Rushmore National Memorial SD

We parked the car and wandered around the memorial taking photos.

6409 Mount Rushmore National Memorial SD6410 Mount Rushmore National Memorial SD6412 Mount Rushmore National Memorial SD

After our visit to Mount Rushmore, we headed out on the Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway. Another great scenic drive, through high mountain passes, with lots of twists and turns and spectacular views and several one lane tunnels through the rock. The drive also included several views of Mount Rushmore.

6419 View from US 16A Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway Iron Mountain Road SD6421 View from US 16A Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway Iron Mountain Road SD6422 View from US 16A Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway Iron Mountain Road SD

The GPS gives you a good sense of how twisty the road is.

6441 View from US 16A Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway Iron Mountain Road SD6425 View from US 16A Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway Iron Mountain Road SD6444 View from US 16A Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway Iron Mountain Road SD

We drove through Custer State Park where we found some donkeys that were begging for something to eat.

6451 Begging Donkeys on US 16A Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway Iron Mountain Road SD6455 Begging Donkeys on US 16A Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway Iron Mountain Road SD6456 Begging Donkeys on US 16A Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway Iron Mountain Road SD

And a bit further along was a herd of Bison crossing the road right in front of us.

6462 Bison on US 16A Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway Iron Mountain Road SD6464 Bison on US 16A Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway Iron Mountain Road SD6468 Bison on US 16A Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway Iron Mountain Road SD

Once we got past the Bison, the rock formations became larger and more spectacular.

6491 View from SR 87 Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway Needles Byway SD6505 View from SR 87 Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway Needles Byway SD6521 View from SR 87 Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway Needles Byway SD

The greatest rock formation of all is the Needles Eye, I had to stitch two photos together so that I could get a shot of the whole rock. The two individual photos are beside the one that I stitched.

6538a The Needles Eye Stitch6540 The Needles Eye SR 87 Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway Needles Byway SD6539 The Needles Eye SR 87 Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway Needles Byway SD

After leaving the Needles Eye rock formation, we wound our way along the remaining section of the scenic byway and then headed North to Deadwood South Dakota where we will spend 2 days.

I took lots of great photos today, if you wish to view them all, you can click on the link to my FLICKR site.

1 comment:

  1. What a phenomenal trip! And all that without leaving the coun... er, I mean, without leaving the continent. You've put together an amazing range of sights.

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