June 19

Mt. Rushmore and Deadwood were our destinations today. The road up to Mt. Rushmore is gorgeous. The “pig tails” on the highway really do spiral up. When Norbeck laid out the road, the first engineering company said it couldn’t be done but the second one made it happen. He wanted the road to go through the most beautiful parts of the park with the least disturbance to nature. There are three more of the narrow square tunnels, the last one perfectly framing Mt. Rushmore as you go through. What can I say about Mt. Rushmore. It is one of those places we have all seen in school books and on TV. It is an American icon. The hope of the park service is that visitor will “enjoy its beauty and reflect on the symbolism of the four Presidents, the magnificent feat of engineering required to carve a mountain and the artistic accomplishment evident in the four faces.“ We certainly did all of the above! The walk through the Avenue of Flags to the Grand View Terrace is one photo moment after another. Chris and I took the Presidential Trail to get the closest view we could and then walked down to Sculptor’s Studio. We passed by two mountain goats for an extra treat.

It all started back in 1923, when Doane Robinson, state historian, suggested carving statues in South Dakotas‘s Black Hills. The first thoughts were to carve western heroes on the faces of the pinnacles. Gutzon Borglum was fed up with the Stone Mountain project when he was approached to come to South Dakota but he forcefully informed the originators of the project that he would not waste his time sculpting regional figures. His idea for the sculpture was to commemorate the foundation, preservation, and continual expansion of the United States. He chose Washington as the father of our country. Jefferson was chosen for his work on forming our nation and further expansion with the Louisiana Purchase. Roosevelt was honored for the Panama Canal and increased trade, expanding the National Parks, and as the trust buster. Lincoln had to be included for holding the nation together during the Civil War. He was a fiery and stubborn artist but known to be the best. He spent the last fourteen years of his life working on this project. Work began in 1927, and was completed as we see it today, seven months after Borglum’s death in 1941 by his son Lincoln Borglum. 400 workers sculpted the colossal faces working through the depression.

The museum and film did a fabulous job of taking us through the process. We saw the model that was made to the scale of 1 inch to 12 inches and many of the tools and heavy pieces of equipment on display. Photos showed the scaffolding and men dangling along the face doing the more detailed work. Local miners who were used to working with dynamite were hired. We met one of the men who worked on the project in the Gift Shop. He was doing a book signing. He had been working at a mine nearby and was a great baseball player. Borglum loved baseball! The combination got him hired.

The entire facility enhances the magnificent sculpture. However, they did not bring up what a difficult and egotistical, and stuborn man Borglum was. Another major piece of information that was missing was the fact that the Black Hills with its granite rock walls and spires was a very spiritual place for the Native Americans living in the area. Crazy Horse begins to make up for that.

We hurried up to Deadwood in time to catch the bus tour of the city and cemetery. It’s kind of a ditsy little tour but that is part of what made it fun. “In 1876 fortune seekers looking for gold in the Black Hills of South Dakota stumbled upon a gulch full of dead trees and a creek full of gold - and the Wild West town of Deadwood was born.” The tiny town boomed with outlaws, gamblers, gunslingers and of course ladies of the night. It was said that you could smell it from 10 miles away and you were often up to your knees in mud. Reality sounds pretty unromantic. I often romanticize history. The town of course burned to the ground as they all did but was rebuilt and now the entire town is a registered National Historic Landmark. Some years ago they opened it up to gambling with a percentage of the profits going to restoration. It must be working. The town has a fresh coat of paint and looks inviting. Everything is Wild Bill Hickok this and Wild Bill Hickok that. He was only in town a short time but this is where he met his demise. He was shot in the back by Seth Bullock in the #10 Saloon. They have a reenactment every day. Boot Hill was moved to higher ground. Our tour bus took us up to the grave sites of Calamity Jane and Wild Bill. Stories abound about those two but apparently there was not much of a relationship. Calamity Jane’s life story is a tragic one. We could see the Homestake Goldmine area that closed in 2002 after 130 years. Today it is the location for the Deep Underground Science and Engineering Lab. Norm, John and Chris had fun playing a little Black Jack at a video table with beautiful buxom women dealers. With $1.00 bets they could play a while. Faye and I walked along the streets checking out some of the old hotels and Saloons, and played some slots. We watched a “gun fight” at the other end of town. We tried out the Chinese Restaurant in honor of Chinatown and headed back to Custer State Park. We said our good bys to Faye and John. They were leaving for Denver the next morning. What a nice visit we had!

June 20, 21, 22

We had a day to clean the Manor and pack it up for our return HOME. We did one last drive through the Wildlife Loop. This time we drove throught the Blue Bell area. this was originally a retreat lodge for the Bell Telephone Co. Now the lodge is still there but out the road a mile or two there is a horse camp. You can actually bring your horse camping with you! There are corrals for your horse and a camp site you.

We are going to stay in hotels the two nights of our journey back to reality. With long days of driving we wanted to make it as easy a transition as possible! Our last night will be in Ellensburg. My dear friend Anna, who knows Ellensburg, recommended the Valley Café for dinner. It will be my treat. I could not treat Chris and Norm enough for the wonderful experience I have had in these last five months. It has been a trip of a lifetime! Thanks seems like such a small word for such an amazing time.

We just got back from a delicious dinner at the Valley Café. We talked about all the amazing times we had; interesting, informative, educational, and just plain fun. How we never wanted to give into a day of relaxation and personal time because there was always some wonderful thing to experience. Also how it had its difficult times with three people traveling together for five months for heavens sake. How we might do it differently if we had it do all over again. Adding a third wheel is not always easy. All in all it was fabulous! Thank you Chris and Norm! Home tomorrow! Back to the real world of family, friends, gardening, home projects, working out, dieting, and personal time! I will surely never forget these past five months and will be working on my photo books into the winter.