Before moving on to Spearfish we went to the Crazy Horse Monument. I don't remember what is looked like in 1993, but they actually have photo wall with the progress documented, so a lot has been done since we originally saw it. But a lot more has to be done. There is no target to complete or a prediction of when it will be done.
Crazy Horse is not a government park and they receive only public donations and admission fees. The park is managed by the Crazy Horse Foundation and has a board that guides the Ziolkowski family on how to proceed with projects. The park has added a lot of museum type displays on Native American culture, history, etc. Ruth Ziolkowski, the wife of the artist decided back in the late '90s to completely finish the face of Crazy Horse and that really increased the visitors per year and therefore the money they had to work with.
About the time Mt. Rushmore was completed, Chief Standing Bear had the vision and desire to have a mountain carving similar to Mt. Rushmore to honor Native American heros. He got with artist Korczak Ziolkowski, who only worked a short while on the Rushmore project, and convinced him to take on the project. Standing Bear had no money for the project, just an idea. Korczak and his family has done the rest with guidance from the tribes.
The project is huge. The face is 1/3 larger than the heads at Rushmore. When completed there will be the horse's head, Crazy Horse's head, outstretched hand, and both sides will be completely carved. The tour guide said they would not complete the back end of the horse because they would be inundated with politicians coming to worship :-)
The picture we took of Crazy Horse are on Flickr.
We did get back to Mt. Rushmore for a lighting ceremony, but it was cold and the lights don't do much for the carvings compared to the sun.
Our timing was perfect arriving in Spearfish when we did. Peter and Cindy Ostman had just moved there from Holly, Springs, NC and were settled in waiting for the moving truck with all the rest of their stuff. So they had time to show us around. We hit Deadwood, Sturgis, and Spearfish over the next few days. On a day when the Ostmans were tied up, Martha and I drove over the Devils Tower.
We also went to the Fish Hatchery in Spearfish which was established when the government was trying to get rainbow trout to proliferate in areas outside of Yellowstone River. Nice little museum and preserved director's house.
The photos are on Flickr at https://www.flickr.com/photos/jfabernathy/albums/72157669019458232
The picture we took of Crazy Horse are on Flickr.
We did get back to Mt. Rushmore for a lighting ceremony, but it was cold and the lights don't do much for the carvings compared to the sun.
Our timing was perfect arriving in Spearfish when we did. Peter and Cindy Ostman had just moved there from Holly, Springs, NC and were settled in waiting for the moving truck with all the rest of their stuff. So they had time to show us around. We hit Deadwood, Sturgis, and Spearfish over the next few days. On a day when the Ostmans were tied up, Martha and I drove over the Devils Tower.
We also went to the Fish Hatchery in Spearfish which was established when the government was trying to get rainbow trout to proliferate in areas outside of Yellowstone River. Nice little museum and preserved director's house.
The photos are on Flickr at https://www.flickr.com/photos/jfabernathy/albums/72157669019458232
Did you see people climbing Devils Tower? I forget how fast the ranger said it took to get to the top.
ReplyDeleteWe did see two idiots climbing up the tower. That's when you know how big that rock is. You can barely see the climbers in the photo I posted.
ReplyDelete