The day was cold and wet. We left the hotel and set out for a day for sightseeing from the car, unless we found a place to go inside a building. The weather forecast for the area was not promising at all for pleasant weather.
As we drove, we saw some deer along the roadside. After almost an hour, we arrived at Custer State Park as our first stop. Between showers, we made our way into the Visitor Center. A young Park Ranger was beginning a talk about how the Lakotas used every part of the bison for survival. It was absolutely fascinating. She had samples of the various bison parts and made us try to guess which part it was and how it was used before she gave us the details. See if you can look at the pictures and do the same. Some parts seemed very gross, but others were very ingenious. Robin's favorite was the two bones and tendons that make up the bison hump. Since a bison's head can weigh up to 250 pounds, these 2 bones and tendons act the same way a suspension bridge does in supporting the weight. Engineering at work!
Needles Highway was a nice, curvy drive with mostly pine trees and rock. The cathedral spires area of rock formations was very interesting. There were several one-way tunnels on the drive which were really cool. One was so narrow that you could touch the rocks on each side as you drove through. The highlight of this drive, though, was the rock formation called The Needles Eye. It was quite amazing. The fog was very thick throughout our drive which made for some interesting pictures. It also made for some tough curves as we made our way on the drive. Fortunately, the rain just sprinkled with the wetness coming mostly from the fog.
After we passed The Needles Eye, we came to Sylvan Lake. We drove around and found chairs set up for a wedding by the lake. There were Canadian geese there, too!
We left and headed to Crazy Horse Memorial. Connor had studied about the Crazy Horse Memorial in school this year, so he was very interested about our travels there. When we asked him about anything he would like us to bring him from our whole trip, the only thing he asked for was a rock off of the Crazy Horse mountain. We were certainly hoping we would be able to fulfill his wish. We didn't realize the place was so big and had so much there beside the mountain carving of Crazy Horse. When we got there, the fog was so thick we couldn't see the mountain at all. We went to see a Native American dancing and putting on a show. He really got the crowd involved. However, while he was dancing, Robin got sidetracked by a big bin in the corner of the room. It was loaded with rock fragments from the blasting of the mountain. She finally had to make her way over to the bin and look. The information there stated you could take what you wanted. All they asked for in return was a donation to be placed in the wooden box attached to the bin. The rocks were all sandy and wet so they were fresh. Robin picked up 5 different rocks, inspecting each and everyone to find just the right ones. They had a bag of plastic bags so you could carry the rocks. Sharon found one for Chase as well. All was well...we got Connor's rock! We would let him chose which one was "just right" for him!
After the Native American's program, we went to the restaurant for lunch. We imagined it would be beautiful on a sunny day, but all we could see was fog. Lunch was good. Robin had the best grilled chicken salad with nuts and craisins. Not only was it delicious, but it was huge! Robin took half of it back to the hotel and ate it later in the evening! Everyone's lunch was very good. When we finished eating, we still couldn't see the mountain.
Then we walked through the Indian Museum of North America, but didn't make it back to the Native American Cultural Center. We shopped a little and saw some beautiful items to buy from many different vendors.
Finally, we started to head to the van after mailing a postcard to Connor. When we looked up at the mountain, we finally got to see Crazy Horse's facial profile and arm. They were still behind fog, but visible from the fog beginning to thin out and lift. We took lots of pictures and were thankful we got to see it after all.
On the way back, we passed a replica of Philadelphia's Independence Hall, which we had seen on the way to Mount Rushmore. It was called Founding Fathers Black Hills. We arrived around 5:50 pm and it closed at 6:00. The lady who ran it told us to go ahead and go in. She made a special showing for us and allowed us to take our time to go through the exhibit while they were closing up the front. This attraction featured a unique sculpture exhibit, depicting artist John Trumbull's painting "Declaration of Independence." A team of local artists had created life-size sculptures of the 47 American patriots as they appeared in Trumbull's painting. Upon entry into the large room, there was a 20 minute audio presentation which told the story of the this signing event.
Around the outside of the room, there were flags and candles. These highlighted the portraits and write-ups of each of the men who contributed to the signing of this very important document in American history. The write-ups provided background and uncommon information on these men, especially those who aren't as well known as others. We learned quite a lot as we walked around and read about each of these men. It was a very educational attraction.
It was dinner time. We went to Longhorn's close-by our hotel. The food was very good. We went back to the hotel and called it a night. Tomorrow would be a new day, hopefully with better weather!
