Mt. Rushmore, South Dakota - Government Shutdown!

October 1, 2013 - the day we planned to visit Mt. Rushmore was absolutely gorgeous, weather-wise.  Our lovely campground in Custer City, SD had nice tall pines and was a good staging area for day trips.  We visited with our host, Sue, about how to see the majestic carvings despite the Government Shutdown talked about on the news.  We joked about how hard it would be for the government to hang a sheet or something over the granite faces of George, Abe, Tom, & Teddy!

 

We took the suggested "red" scenic route into Custer State Park and traveled Iron Mountain Road to the memorial.  The curvy road had beautiful scenery and interesting loops, bridges, and low tunnels.  We caught our first sighting of the memorial and quickly pulled into the turn-out for photos.  All the while, I just knew we'd be able to drive right up to it and walk through the flags and such - surely just the visitor's center would be closed. 

Well, not so - there were lots of orange cones, vehicles with flashing lights, and uniforms keeping us from turning into the gates.  Very disappointed, we drove on and found a small turn-out to snap a few pictures.  Several people were parking way up the road and literally hiking back, cameras in hand.  With a sour-grapes attitude, we decided that at least we had been a part of history-in-the-making, having been at the great memorial for the first time in our lives on the very first day it was "closed for business" -

Crazy Horse Memorial was just 11 miles down the road - this privately funded park was open!

 

 

 

CLOSED!

 

 

 Crazy Horse Memorial

 

 

 

 

High Plains Western Heritage Museum - Spearfish, South Dakota

We visited the High Plains Western Heritage Museum in Spearfish, SD, a short drive from our campsite.  This beautiful facility was founded to honor the Old West Pioneers and American Indians of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming and Montana. 

 

Six categories of High Plains History were chosen to be honored:  Pioneering, Cattle & Sheep Ranching, Rodeo, Transportation, American Indians, and Mining.  It was interesting to move through the museum and become part of each theme. 

We both really enjoyed the saddles and an area dedicated to the leather-smith who created things for Tom Selleck to be used in his movies.  The art work was also very beautiful and we enjoyed the passion with which the volunteer talked to us about the museum. 

We took a walk around the outside grounds where implements and artifacts are on display as well as old buildings and a windmill reminding us of times long past.  There were even live longhorn cattle resting in the grass just waiting for their next photo op. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Belle Fourche, South Dakota

We chose a cute little campground in Sundance, Wyoming to rest and regroup for a few days.  Sightseeing can be very tiring!  We shopped for steaks and good vegetables and planned evenings under the awing with short day trips around the area. 

 

The first day trip was over to Belle Fourche, South Dakota, with a stop-off in Aladdin for breakfast at Cindy B's.  The whole town's population is 15 and believe it or not is totally for sale... for $1.5 million.  That would include the restaurant, post office, a couple of houses, etc.  At least, that's what I understood.  They probably put that sign up every end of season!

Belle Fourche is located on the northern slopes of the Black Hills of South Dakota.  Because of the admission of Alaska and Hawaii to the U.S. in 1959, it was officially designated as the nearest city to the  point 20 miles north of Belle Fourche as the geographic center of the United States.  There is a beautiful ground-level monument of the U.S. with a large shiny medallion at the center location.

 

Surrounding the monument are flags of each state, beautiful trees, grounds, and visitor center/museum.  Larry enjoyed talking to the staff about John Wayne's movie, The Cowboys, which featured this area as the place cattle were being driven.  Interestingly, the movie was not filmed there. 

 

Weather was beautiful and it was a great day to be outside.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Devil's Tower, Wyoming

We crossed the state line from Montana into Wyoming on a mission to visit Devil's Tower.  We all remember the movie, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and have a vision of the tower in mind.  But, nothing can compare to that first glimpse of it as it looms ahead of you! 

I am writing this entry for the blog several days after visiting the tower so I wanted to refresh my memory as to details like height, etc.  Well, here is the message I just received on the U.S. Official Website: Because of the federal government shutdown, all national parks are closed and National Park Service webpages are not operating. 

So, instead of boring you with details, I'm attaching this "weird geology" link: 

http://www.unmuseum.org/devtowergeo.htm

We took the 1.3 mile hike around the base of the Tower and were amazed to see "crack climbers" - about 20 in all, at various points in their climb.  There were even a few at the top!  It was a beautiful day so we enjoyed a picnic lunch in the shadows of the Tower and drove to viewing points nearby for different perspectives.  We saw beautiful deer, prairie dogs, and even a snake!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Little Bighorn National Monument - Custer National Cemetery, Montana

We departed Yellowstone Holiday on Friday, Sept. 27th with the idea that we would head through Yellowstone Park to Cody, WY.  Well, that idea was nixed with the return of light snow.  Not wanting to take any chances with the roads, we headed north to Bozeman, MT and then east to the Little Bighorn National Monument (Custer's Last Stand) located within the Crow Indian Reservation.  It was interesting to jump back in time and relive the story....

On the morning of June 25, 1876, Lieutenant Colonel George A. Custer and the 7th Cavalry charged into battle against Lakota Sioux and Northern Cheyenne Indians. Custer's orders were to wait for reinforcements at the mouth of the Little Big Horn River before attacking the Indians, but Chief Sitting Bull had been spotted nearby, and Custer was impatient to attack.

Custer's job was to force the Indians back to their reservations. Some of the Indians refused to leave their sacred land, and other hunters were camped in remote places and never learned of the treaty order. The U.S. Army prepared for battle anyway.

Custer planned to attack the Indian camp from three sides, but Chief Sitting Bull was ready for them. The first two groups, led by Captain Benteen and Major Reno, were immediately forced to retreat to one side of the river, where they continued to fight as best they could.  Custer was not as lucky. 

263 Calvary men were killed and are memorialized with white markers throughout the area, marking where they fell in this historic battle.  There are Native American markers in red granite stone as well but where they fell is somewhat a mystery as soon after the battle, their bodies were removed.  There is also a Native American Memorial but it was being refurbished.  The rolling hills, deep valleys, tall grasses, and roaming horses made it possible to imagine such a battle.   

Adjoining the visitor center is Custer National Cemetery, which includes interments from abandoned frontier military posts, the world wars, Korea and Vietnam.

 

It was a cold and windy day but that didn't stop us from walking the grounds - we used our cell phone at certain points to call a number and hear recorded information about the spot.  There is also a road you can take through the battlefield.  Two tour bus groups filled the small theatre so we were unable to catch the presentation - next time....