June 26, 2015
We were anxious to visit the Crazy Horse Monument. We were here a couple of years ago.
It doesn't look like much has been done to the mountain since we were here. It was more crowded than it was then. We found out that a dynamite blast was taking place tonight and people were there to see the fireworks.
It doesn't look like much has been done to the mountain since we were here. It was more crowded than it was then. We found out that a dynamite blast was taking place tonight and people were there to see the fireworks.
This huge "carving" of the Indian, Crazy Horse (which actually in the translation means, "my horse is crazy"), is a huge family owned undertaking. The Lakota Indian people are not accepting any government funding for this project. The face of Crazy Horse is finished. It is much larger than the faces on Mount Rushmore. In fact, it is said that all four of the Presidential busts on Mount Rushmore could fit on the headband on Crazy Horse's forehead! Huge!
We paid a reasonable fare to enter this park, able to come and go for several days if we chose to do so. The knotty Pine lodge was an amazing structure. It was filled with artifacts, sculptures, paintings, souvenirs and so much more. I noticed how the kids liked playing inside a real Tepee. 
A Lakota Indian man demonstrated a couple of dances his people used to do. His clothing was handed down to him from his family ancestors. His headdress was made from winter Badger hair and Golden Eagle feathers. Quite unique.
Leaving here we checked into our motel in Keystone before running up to see Mount Rushmore. We had been here before but Ron and Nancy had not. The mountain was unimpressive in the evening sun as the faces were too dark for me to see with my poor eyesight. We decided to return tomorrow morning. After having a quick bite of food at a nearby Pizza Parlor, we headed back out to visit the Crazy Horse Monument and watch the evening show.
The dynamite blast at Crazy Horse was impressive! A Laser Light show was put on before the blasts. It, too, was impressive (what I could see of it). The blast was a series of several blasts that carved a few tons of granite from strategic places along the huge mountain. Someday, when completed, this will be an awesom exhibit.
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