Bus Tour

Today was fun. I can recommend the “Rushmore Tour” from Fort Hayes. It’s a nine hour bus tour with breakfast, a narrated tour and a dinner/live musical. Our driver was the grandson of Black Hills homesteaders and did a good job with local color and information.

I just haven’t tired of looking at the natural sights and the tour provided another fascinating day of seeing the hills and animals. This is a beautiful area.

Of all the tour provided, my favorites were Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Memorial. Rushmore must be seen to be appreciated. I just can’t imagine the talent of directing a project like this. The sculptor, Borglum, somehow was able to see heads in the raw spires of granite. Then with dynamite and jackhammers, he was able to carve them out on a colossal scale. At our best, we are truly a nation united by ideals. The four presidents portrayed represent the best of those ideals. It was deeply moving to see the gargantuan effort and to realize what it represents.

I was even more moved by the Crazy Horse Memorial. In the first half of the last century, a group decided that the American Indian Nation should have a memorial depicting that they too had heroes. It’s not clear to me who this group is or who they represent because those we group together as American Indians lived all over this country, had different cultures and different languages. At any rate, this group asked a Polish American if he could do something similar to Mount Rushmore. He agreed.

It seemed strange to turn to a non-Indian, but how many could do a task like this? He had worked with Borglum on Rushmore, so he was one of the very few who might be able to do the job. This became so dedicated to the task; he did most of the early work almost alone. He went on to meet his wife while working the job and they had ten children. He worked the project until his death in the eighties. His wife still manages the job and seven of their ten children have gone on to dedicate their lives to the task. What commitment.

This project is not finished; it could take another twenty years. The carving itself dwarfs the Rushmore carving and is even taller than the Washington monument and the Statue of Liberty. The project goes well beyond the carving. The current facility, below the carving, is dedicated to educating all who come in the history of the American Indian. When the facility is completed it will include a university and medical school. This is one of the most ambitiously impressive projects I have ever seen.

Tomorrow we plan to move on to Cheyenne. If all goes well we plan to attend the Shaun Dubie Memorial Roping contest.