A Full-time Life

FACES OF SOUTH DAKOTA

 

 We visited Chief Crazy Horse while we were in South Dakota  last month.  I wrote about this favorite place after the third time we were there in  June, 2008.  The massive monument has been a work in progress since 1948.      

Click here to  link to my earlier post, which tells more of the story and here to visit the  official Crazy Horse website.  

 

 It was very cold and icy this time.   I took the above picture through a window inside the visitor center.

The view below is from my 2008 archives and it was taken from the outside deck.  A scale model of what the finished statue will look like stands at the edge with the statue beyond.  This time, the scale model had been put away out of the weather and the porch was slick with frost.

  

 

 The sculptors are focusing now on the horse's head and the hand.   It was a little difficult to see what progress has been made over the past five years.   It is slow going and I doubt if we'll ever see it completed.  

Finished or not, I still find the stories of Crazy Horse and of the sculptor, Korczak Ziolkowski, fascinating.    Korczak died in 1982 but he left detailed plans for the rest of the work.  His widow Ruth and seven of his twelve children are still directly involved in the project which receives no public funding.

 We paid our brief respects to the Chief on our way to spend time in beautiful Custer State Park (shown in several previous posts).    We had decided not to go to Mount Rushmore, which is in the same area.   We'd seen it before and so had Geoff (and we knew it hadn't changed). 

 

But we were in for a surprise.    After we explored Custer Park, we decided to take the "long-cut" back to our Rapid City motel by driving the scenic Peter Norbeck National Scenic Byway.    

As we drove along admiring the Black Hills in the distance, we suddenly realized we were looking at Mount Rushmore from the "backdoor."  

There were no signs here pointing to the monument (and no background information about it's history or meaning).    But we thought it was actually more fun to discover this "secret" viewpoint for ourselves than it had been to go in at the front door in earlier years.  

Click here for the link to the National Park Service official Mt. Rushmore website.

 

Here is a view of these four famous faces with a close-up lens:

 

 

 Linking this last view of our roadtrip visit to South Dakota with OUR WORLD.   

Thanks to Lady Fi and the team.  

 

 

BEGGING BURROS

 

More from South Dakota's Black Hills, where wonders and photo-ops never cease.  (Yep, still posting about our recently completed roadtrip.)

 

 

 

A  good-sized herd of feral burros roams the hillsides at Custer State Park.  Not native to the Black Hills, these burros are descendants from ones originally brought there to haul tourists around.  These rides were discontinued years ago and the burros were released into the park, where they continue to thrive and multiply.  

 

  

 

The Park's website warns that these are not tame animals and suggests that visitors be careful.   But I don't think very many people worry about these friendly animals with their sweet faces.    (They are sometimes referred to as Custer State Park's "Begging Burros.")  

 

 

Even if we had wanted to, we didn't have a bite to offer the poor things, having come on our drive with nothing but bottles of water.   But they looked as if they were doing quite well without our help.

 

 

FOR:  SCENIC WEEKENDS hosted by Gemma and CAMERA CRITTERS hosted by Misty.  Thank you to both.

 

CUSTER STATE PARK 2013, part 1

 

In our real world, we are currently in Little Rock and heading south.   I'm always behind on blogging when we're on the road, so this post is about where we were in the world last week.   

 

 

  

The best state park anyplace for wildlife viewing and for scenery -- and one of our favorite places ever --has got to be Custer State Park in South Dakota.  This is the third time we've visited this park and we've never been disappointed.

 

 

 

This time was especially fun because our son from Colorado drove up to meet us while we were staying in South Dakota, so we got to look around the park with him.  (Bill said he saw so much more than usual since he didn't have to drive.)

It wasn't as cold in the park as it was in some of the surrounding Black Hills,   but you could still see some snow.  This bison had crystals in his fur.   Last time we visited the park it was Springtime.  It was fun to be there in a different season.  (You can click the blue link there to see what it looked like in the spring.)

 

The buffalo/bison* were only one of several species of wildlife we saw at the Park and this is only part of the spectacular scenery.  I will show more in future posts.  

(*We noticed that some of the explanatory signs around the park used one word and some used another.   Most people say buffalo, but bison is actually the correct word for this American animal.)

 

FOR OUR WORLD TUESDAY.  Thank you to Lady Fi, Arija, Gattina, Sylvia, Sandy, and Jennifer, the wonderful bloggers who make up up the Our World hosting team.

CHIEF CRAZY HORSE -- RERUN

THIS IS A SUNDAY REPEAT ABOUT A PLACE WE LOVED VISITING.  We were last at Crazy Horse in June of 2008; there is a link in the original post that takes you to the monument's official home page where you can read what is happening there today.  

Click on the blue link for Sunday favorites by CHERI  to see other old favorites (or to add your own)  and here for Margot at JOYFULLY RETIRED  who posts Favorite Places on Sundays. 

Here is our original post. 

 

We are a little obsessed with this monument.   It's kind of odd to feel that way, because when you think about it, carving up mountains doesn't seem like something nature lovers would necessarily applaud.  (I hope this admission doesn't get me on the Patriot Act list of suspicious persons, but Mount Rushmore, which is nearby, kind of left us cold.  We went to see it the first time we were in South Dakota.  We were glad we saw it, but it looks better in the movies or on stamps or license plates than it does "in person" and we don't especially want to go to see it again.) 

On the other hand, this was our third visit to Crazy Horse and we'd definitely go again whenever we're in our adopted home state.

 There are so many facets to the amazing story of this monument.   It isn't hard to see why it is so fascinating. One of the main reasons it's so interesting is that you are seeing a work in progress.  This is a current picture of the unfinished monument from the viewing veranda in the visitor center.  In the foreground is a 1/34 scale model.   Chief Crazy Horse is pointing to the lands that once belonged to his tribe.  He said  "My lands are where my dead lie buried."

 

Millions of tons of rock have been removed from the mountain.  The face of Chief Crazy Horse is nine-stories high.  Right now, the work is on the horse's head, which is 22 stories.  The whole sculpture is being built in the round.  This poster (click on it to enlarge) gives the actual measurements.

The statue's creator was Korzak Ziolkowski.   A respected marble sculptor, he had assisted Gutzon Borglum in creating Mount Rushmore.  Some time after that monument was dedicated, Lakota Chief Standing Bear asked Korzak to the Black Hills to carve Crazy Horse.  He said: "My fellow chiefs and I would like the white man to know that the red man has great heroes, too."    Korzak  (he is always referred to by his first name) accepted the challenge and began to design a monument that he knew would take generations to complete.  He began work in 1948, without much money and without very good working tools. 

I think the monument does a good job of honoring the Native Americans who inhabited this area.  Korzak's family has established the Indian Museum of North America on the grounds of the monument.  In the Visitor Center, there is a huge collection of Native American artifacts, a collection of Edward Curtis photos of Native Americans, and a cultural center for Native Americans of all tribes.  

 In this picture, you can see where they are going to blast out the horse's head.

The Ziolkowski family story is fascinating.  Korzak married Ruth after he began work on the monument.  They had ten children who were raised with the project.  Korzak died in 1982.  Work continues from detailed plans that he left, because he always knew that it would take more than a lifetime.  His widow, Ruth, heads the foundation.  Seven of their children, as well as some grandchildren, have an active role working on the monument.  You can tour part of their original home. 

The Mountain is a private foundation and they have never accepted any public funding. At the beginning, Korzak supported the family by running a lumber mill and a dairy farm at the same time as he worked on the carving.  His motto was "Never forget your dreams."

The visitor center was established pretty early in the process and it is very active now.  Of course these days they get private donations.  All of the buildings were built made from stone fragments blasted off the mountain.

On a previous visit to the Monument, we got to see a night blast.  These take place twice a year, on Korzak's birthday (which date he shares with Chief Crazy Horse) and on Ruth's birthday.  We just arrived by chance on the right day that time.

Here is a link to the Crazy Horse website:  http://www.crazyhorse.org .  Never forget your dreams! 

Posted at 07:31 PM in South Dakota | Permalink

 

Comments (This is a comment made on the original post).

This is, I think, the difference:
Crazy Horse is a fantastic, beyond-belief story of a man struggling against insane odds. And accomplishing an amazing amount. Way more than you'd expect.

Mt Rushmore is the story of the federal government putting everything they had into a sculpture. And getting about what you'd expect.

The Rushmore story just isn't as neat.

Posted by: Geoff | July 10, 2008 at 10:13 PM

 

We are a little obsessed with this monument.   It's kind of odd to feel that way, because when you think about it, carving up mountains doesn't seem like something nature lovers would necessarily applaud.  (I hope this admission doesn't get me on the Patriot Act list of suspicious persons, but Mount Rushmore, which is nearby, kind of left us cold.  We went to see it the first time we were in South Dakota.  We were glad we saw it, but it looks better in the movies or on stamps or license plates than it does "in person" and we don't especially want to go to see it again.) 

On the other hand, this was our third visit to Crazy Horse and we'd definitely go again whenever we're in our adopted home state.

 There are so many facets to the amazing story of this monument.   It isn't hard to see why it is so fascinating. One of the main reasons it's so interesting is that you are seeing a work in progress.  This is a current picture of the unfinished monument from the viewing veranda in the visitor center.  In the foreground is a 1/34 scale model.   Chief Crazy Horse is pointing to the lands that once belonged to his tribe.  He said  "My lands are where my dead lie buried."

 

Millions of tons of rock have been removed from the mountain.  The face of Chief Crazy Horse is nine-stories high.  Right now, the work is on the horse's head, which is 22 stories.  The whole sculpture is being built in the round.  This poster (click on it to enlarge) gives the actual measurements.

The statue's creator was Korzak Ziolkowski.   A respected marble sculptor, he had assisted Gutzon Borglum in creating Mount Rushmore.  Some time after that monument was dedicated, Lakota Chief Standing Bear asked Korzak to the Black Hills to carve Crazy Horse.  He said: "My fellow chiefs and I would like the white man to know that the red man has great heroes, too."    Korzak  (he is always referred to by his first name) accepted the challenge and began to design a monument that he knew would take generations to complete.  He began work in 1948, without much money and without very good working tools. 

I think the monument does a good job of honoring the Native Americans who inhabited this area.  Korzak's family has established the Indian Museum of North America on the grounds of the monument.  In the Visitor Center, there is a huge collection of Native American artifacts, a collection of Edward Curtis photos of Native Americans, and a cultural center for Native Americans of all tribes.  

 In this picture, you can see where they are going to blast out the horse's head.

The Ziolkowski family story is fascinating.  Korzak married Ruth after he began work on the monument.  They had ten children who were raised with the project.  Korzak died in 1982.  Work continues from detailed plans that he left, because he always knew that it would take more than a lifetime.  His widow, Ruth, heads the foundation.  Seven of their children, as well as some grandchildren, have an active role working on the monument.  You can tour part of their original home. 

The Mountain is a private foundation and they have never accepted any public funding. At the beginning, Korzak supported the family by running a lumber mill and a dairy farm at the same time as he worked on the carving.  His motto was "Never forget your dreams."

The visitor center was established pretty early in the process and it is very active now.  Of course these days they get private donations.  All of the buildings were built made from stone fragments blasted off the mountain.

On a previous visit to the Monument, we got to see a night blast.  These take place twice a year, on Korzak's birthday (which date he shares with Chief Crazy Horse) and on Ruth's birthday.  We just arrived by chance on the right day that time.

Here is a link to the Crazy Horse website:  http://www.crazyhorse.org .  Never forget your dreams! 

We are a little obsessed with this monument.   It's kind of odd to feel that way, because when you think about it, carving up mountains doesn't seem like something nature lovers would necessarily applaud.  (I hope this admission doesn't get me on the Patriot Act list of suspicious persons, but Mount Rushmore, which is nearby, kind of left us cold.  We went to see it the first time we were in South Dakota.  We were glad we saw it, but it looks better in the movies or on stamps or license plates than it does "in person" and we don't especially want to go to see it again.) 

On the other hand, this was our third visit to Crazy Horse and we'd definitely go again whenever we're in our adopted home state.

 There are so many facets to the amazing story of this monument.   It isn't hard to see why it is so fascinating. One of the main reasons it's so interesting is that you are seeing a work in progress.  This is a current picture of the unfinished monument from the viewing veranda in the visitor center.  In the foreground is a 1/34 scale model.   Chief Crazy Horse is pointing to the lands that once belonged to his tribe.  He said  "My lands are where my dead lie buried."

 

Millions of tons of rock have been removed from the mountain.  The face of Chief Crazy Horse is nine-stories high.  Right now, the work is on the horse's head, which is 22 stories.  The whole sculpture is being built in the round.  This poster (click on it to enlarge) gives the actual measurements.

The statue's creator was Korzak Ziolkowski.   A respected marble sculptor, he had assisted Gutzon Borglum in creating Mount Rushmore.  Some time after that monument was dedicated, Lakota Chief Standing Bear asked Korzak to the Black Hills to carve Crazy Horse.  He said: "My fellow chiefs and I would like the white man to know that the red man has great heroes, too."    Korzak  (he is always referred to by his first name) accepted the challenge and began to design a monument that he knew would take generations to complete.  He began work in 1948, without much money and without very good working tools. 

I think the monument does a good job of honoring the Native Americans who inhabited this area.  Korzak's family has established the Indian Museum of North America on the grounds of the monument.  In the Visitor Center, there is a huge collection of Native American artifacts, a collection of Edward Curtis photos of Native Americans, and a cultural center for Native Americans of all tribes.  

 In this picture, you can see where they are going to blast out the horse's head.

The Ziolkowski family story is fascinating.  Korzak married Ruth after he began work on the monument.  They had ten children who were raised with the project.  Korzak died in 1982.  Work continues from detailed plans that he left, because he always knew that it would take more than a lifetime.  His widow, Ruth, heads the foundation.  Seven of their children, as well as some grandchildren, have an active role working on the monument.  You can tour part of their original home. 

The Mountain is a private foundation and they have never accepted any public funding. At the beginning, Korzak supported the family by running a lumber mill and a dairy farm at the same time as he worked on the carving.  His motto was "Never forget your dreams."

The visitor center was established pretty early in the process and it is very active now.  Of course these days they get private donations.  All of the buildings were built made from stone fragments blasted off the mountain.

On a previous visit to the Monument, we got to see a night blast.  These take place twice a year, on Korzak's birthday (which date he shares with Chief Crazy Horse) and on Ruth's birthday.  We just arrived by chance on the right day that time.

Here is a link to the Crazy Horse website:  http://www.crazyhorse.org .  Never forget your dreams! 

OH FOOSH!

Here we are stuck in the muddy grass in Belle Fourche (the locals call it Belle, but the second part of it is pronounced Foosh).   Which is now my favorite euphemism when experiencing life's little problems.  The mid-west has had a terrible rainy spring and lots of problem due to flooding.  We have been incredibly fortunate in avoiding heavy weather.   Some rainy days, but none that kept us from seeing what we wanted to see.  So we realize that this really wasn't a big problem in the greater scheme of things.  Still it is is the kind of thing that makes you say Foosh!

It was raining hard when we drove into our reserved campsite (never fun).  But also, and more importantly,  the ground was saturated and there was no gravel behind us.  There was a very large tree right on the corner of our space, which would make it impossible to turn right on the narrow road in front and a steep and muddy hill to the left. (So, it was a pull-through site going in, but we wouldn't be able to pull-through going out.)    The owner of the park, just a nice guy trying to make a go of it on his 15 acres, said he didn't have any other spaces where we'd fit.   He said we wouldn't have any trouble getting out in the morning.... "oh just give yourself plenty of time to warm up and go for it."  Then he added, "I know what these big trucks are like.  I've got one that's been stuck since February."    Yikes! 

Of course, it rained hard all night long.   And the next morning, even though the sun was shining and it looked like a nice day, the ground was so wet that our feet whooshed in the mud when we walked.  And so, when Bill backed up to pull out, the truck sank too.  What a nice rut we made.

We looked around for wood or gravel or anything that we could use for traction, and gave it a few tries, but no luck.  So it was a 'Thank God for Towing Insurance' moment.  When the truck arrived, it was really just a small pickup.  But the driver (who was dressed like a CPA on casual Friday) was kind of a tow-guy genius.  He just attached a couple of winches to the truck and a couple of trees and stood there and watched them pull Bill right out.  He said he was called out to this park all the time.  They really need to buy some gravel! 

So we drove on down the road.  Bill was so happy to leave that he didn't even want to take time to change his muddy clothes.  (We don't ever exactly dress up for our road trips, but this is the first time he's ever driven with mud on his knees!)

The day wasn't a total loss.  Just a few minutes out of Belle, we drove through the town of SpearFish and then through beautiful Spear Fish Canyon.  The Canyon is one of the loveliest drives ever.   The picture is from our 2004 road trip when we stayed in Sturgis and spent quite a bit of time exploring the area.   We didn't stop this time, but it's pretty from the road too. 

So then we spent a night in Whyoming (Ft Laramie) -- and then on to beautiful Colorado.  

After all, you can't fully appreciate nature's grandeur without a few Oh Foosh moments.

 

 

 

 

 

CUSTER STATE PARK, SOUTH DAKOTA

  "You can't rollerskate in a buffalo herd .... but you can be happy if you've a mind to"  (Roger Miller)

Well, who would argue with Roger Miller.  You can't skate, but you sure can take pictures if you've a mind to.

 

It would be hard not to be happy in beautiful Custer State Park in June -- when the baby bison are frolicking and the grass is green.  This State Park (in our adopted home state of South Dakota) puts many national parks to shame.  There are miles of scenic roads to drive or walk and all of it is well-maintained. 

In addition to the buffalo or bison (the official signs use both)  we saw a herd of wild horses, a wild burro, a bunch of pronghorn antelope, as well as blue- and other birds, and some prickly little porcupines having a great time in the new grass up near Crazy Horse. 

  

While in South Dakota this time, we stayed at Heritage Village in Custer.  It's about a mile from the Crazy Horse Monument  (we could actually see the Chief out of our window) and just a few miles from this state park.        Custer is an OK little town -- there's a lot of kitschy tourist stuff here and all around the area.  Things to keep the family happy -- because the parents were, of course,  mistaken when they thought the kids would actually enjoy learning about history and nature.  So you see a lot of tourist trap kid stuff.   But if you're old with no kids, it's easy to turn a blind eye to all that and the town is OK. 

The Black Hills are beautiful  -- especially this time of year.    We got a short thunderstorm with hail nearly every afternoon (and one doozy in the middle of the night).    Here's a picture taken just outside our door after the day's storm was over.  All's well that ends well.

CHIEF CRAZY HORSE MONUMENT

We are a little obsessed with this monument.   It's kind of odd to feel that way, because when you think about it, carving up mountains doesn't seem like something nature lovers would necessarily applaud.  (I hope this admission doesn't get me on the Patriot Act list of suspicious persons, but Mount Rushmore, which is nearby, kind of left us cold.  We went to see it the first time we were in South Dakota.  It looks better in the movies or on stamps or license plates than it does "in person" and we don't especially want to go to see it again.) 

On the other hand, this was our third visit to Crazy Horse and we'd definitely go again whenever we're in our adopted home state.

 There are so many facets to the amazing story of this monument.   It isn't hard to see why it is so fascinating. One of the main reasons it's so interesting is that you are seeing a work in progress.  This is a current picture of the unfinished monument from the viewing veranda in the visitor center.  In the foreground is a 1/34 scale model.   Chief Crazy Horse is pointing to the lands that once belonged to his tribe.  He said  "My lands are where my dead lie buried."

 

Millions of tons of rock have been removed from the mountain.  The face of Chief Crazy Horse is nine-stories high.  Right now, the work is on the horse's head, which is 22 stories.  The whole sculpture is being built in the round.  This poster (click on it to enlarge) gives the actual measurements.

The statue's creator was Korzak Ziolkowski.   A respected marble sculptor, he had assisted Gutzon Borglum in creating Mount Rushmore.  Some time after that monument was dedicated, Lakota Chief Standing Bear asked Korzak to the Black Hills to carve Crazy Horse.  He said: "My fellow chiefs and I would like the white man to know that the red man has great heroes, too."    Korzak  (he is always referred to by his first name) accepted the challenge and began to design a monument that he knew would take generations to complete.  He began work in 1948, without much money and without very good working tools. 

I think the monument does a good job of honoring the Native Americans who inhabited this area.  Korzak's family has established the Indian Museum of North America on the grounds of the monument.  In the Visitor Center, there is a huge collection of Native American artifacts, a collection of Edward Curtis photos of Native Americans, and a cultural center for Native Americans of all tribes.  

 In this picture, you can see where they are going to blast out the horse's head.

The Ziolkowski family story is fascinating.  Korzak married Ruth after he began work on the monument.  They had ten children who were raised with the project.  Korzak died in 1982.  Work continues from detailed plans that he left, because he always knew that it would take more than a lifetime.  His widow, Ruth, heads the foundation.  Seven of their children, as well as some grandchildren, have an active role working on the monument.  You can tour part of their original home. 

The Mountain is a private foundation and they have never accepted any public funding. At the beginning, Korzak supported the family by running a lumber mill and a dairy farm at the same time as he worked on the carving.  His motto was "Never forget your dreams."

The visitor center was established pretty early in the process and it is very active now.  Of course these days they get private donations.  All of the buildings were built made from stone fragments blasted off the mountain.

On a previous visit to the Monument, we got to see a night blast.  These take place twice a year, on Korzak's birthday (which date he shares with Chief Crazy Horse) and on Ruth's birthday.  We just arrived by chance on the right day that time.

Here is a link to the Crazy Horse website:  http://www.crazyhorse.org .  Never forget your dreams! 

ALONG THE SIDE OF THE ROAD

  When we're traveling, we take the back roads as often as we possibly can.  It's always more interesting than the freeway and sometimes you stumble across something so crazy-wonderful that you just have to jump out and take a picture.  How could you resist this record-breaker?  The world's largest ball of twine is on Main Street in Cawker, Kansas. 

I guess collecting string is as good a thing to do as any if you live in nearly deserted Cawker.      

Cawker is pretty close to the middle of the country.  But the actual exact center is in Lebanon, Kansas.  That's the marker on the left.

Here are a couple other interesting places for short stops.  Both are a little more touristy and a lot more well-known than Cawker.  But just about as kitschy. 

This is the Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota.  All surfaces of the building, including temple-like domes, are artistically covered with dried corn and other area crops.  There's been a different theme each year.  Except I recently read that last year they couldn't redecorate because of the terrible drought conditions of 2006. 

For some reason, until we visited, I'd always thought that the Palace was just a decorated facade, but it is actually a fully-functioning meeting/convention/entertainment arena. 

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/attract/SDMITcorn.html

Wall Drug in Mitchell, SD, is a hoot.  Jackalopes, animatronic bands, western gifts, fake TRex, and all.  It was fun to read about this family business though.  The owner of this little country drug store wasn't doing too well way out here in the sticks.  His wife suggested he offer free ice water as a way to entice highway travelers to stop and through word of mouth, the business took off.  Now the store offers a lot more entertainment.  And a lot of things to buy that you wouldn't necessarily expect to see at a drug store.  But they still offer the free ice water.   Wall Drug signs show up all over the world.

http://www.walldrug.com/

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Spud Break!  This sign on the school grounds at Fremont, Idaho made us slam on the brakes.  We knew, of course, about "Idaho's Famous Potatoes" and we knew it was harvest time because the very air smelled like a potato cellar as we drove that day. We did not know that harvest-time is still such a big deal in the area that school lets out so the kids can help. 

OUR SOUTH DAKOTA STORY

  This is the State Capitol and grounds at Pierre in our home state, South Dakota.    Since 2003, we have licensed, banked, insured, and voted (absentee) there.  But we don't own any Dakota property and never have.  Our legal address is a box in Sioux Falls, a perfectly nice little city, but one which did not present many photo ops.  Like many full-time RVers, we chose South Dakota as our domicile for practical (tax-saving) purposes.  There are three or four other states that may provide similar advantages; Bill did a lot of research before we decided to choose SD.  Here are a couple of web-sites that were helpful in our planning:

Alternative Resources:  http://www.alternativeresources.net

Escapees: http://www.escapees.com

We use Alternative Resources, which provides mail-forwarding services.  ("How do you get your mail?" is one of the most frequent questions we get.) We simply call or e-mail AR with a current physical address and they forward all of our accumulated mail.  Because we now do all of our banking (and pretty much everything else) on the Internet, we get our mail only once a month.  The very nice people at Alternative will also take care of annual license renewal for our truck and 5th wheel.   I'd be willing to pay their reasonable fee even if we were in Sioux Falls.  Who wants to go to any DMV if someone else will do it for you? 

But this summer, we will put in a physical appearance, because our drivers licenses will expire in August.  (For this purpose, of course, they need to see our bodies and eyes.)  The state issues five-year licenses.  In 2003, this year seemed a long while off.  Now it seems like the time has flown since then.   

But here's the interesting thing about SD --  we really like the state!  We chose it for practical purposes and knew that after our initial visit to set things up we wouldn't have to go there often.  But there is so much to see.  We made a return visit in 2004 and actually look forward to being there again.  Needless to say, we never plan to visit "home" in the Winter (those snow marker posts along all the residential streets are downright scary).  We certainly hope to avoid tornado and hail season as well and both years we were there, were fortunate to have only beautiful weather.  (This picture is a typical prairie scene, where there's a monument to Chief Sitting Bull.  It's lovely in the summer, but easy to imagine how it would look in the dead of winter -- or what would happen when the wind swept across.)

We visited the Badlands and Mount Rushmore and spent quite a bit of time in Custer State Park, which has more wildlife than most National Parks that we've seen. 

On our second visit, we stayed in Sturgis (but not during the motorcycle rally weeks) and that was our headquarters to visit Pierre and other surrounding parts of the state.

Both times, we visited the monument to Crazy Horse, which is an all-time favorite place  -- in South Dakota or anywhere else we've been.

We look forward to seeing the progress when we're there later this year.

TRAVEL -- REAL AND FICTIONAL

JA Jance writes an enjoyable mystery series that's set in Cochise County.  Her main character, Joanna Brady, is the County sheriff.   Jance's descriptions of the country-side (and the passages about the length of time the officers spend in their cars) are spot-on.  The author lives in Tucson and in Seattle (where she has set another mystery series).  But she grew up in Cochise County and obviously knows and loves the area.  One day when we were driving around looking for the post office we happened on the sheriff's office complex at the outskirts of Bisbee.  You almost expected to see Sheriff Brady and her deputies.  We wondered what the real-life officers think about their fictional counterparts.  So this got me to thinking about other places we've been where favorite books are set. 

This is the "Little House on the Prairie" in DeSmet, South Dakota.  In September, 2004, we actually drove quite a few  miles out of our way to stay in this little town, where there is the church that the Ingalls family attended and a little museum dedicated to Laura Ingalls Wilder and her books.  It was a pleasant little town and a nice drive out to "Laura's Living Prairie" the homestead claim where the family lived.   (This was the second place the family homesteaded -- maybe the last five or six books).  Bill didn't mind the trip and enjoyed looking at the old home and farm tools -- but it would have been a good place to be with somebody else who remembered reading about and loving the family; the Little House series really is kind of a a girl-thing.

Later on that same Fall -- across a few states and after several other interesting stops-- we stayed at the Mark Twain Caves RV Park in Hannibal, Missouri.  The park is located near the cave that Mark Twain is said to have visited and written into his story (the Becky Thatcher cave).  From Old Town Hannibal, we took the Mark Twain River Boat Excursion for beautiful views and an overview of river history from the guide.  The next day we toured Sam Clemons' boyhood home and a museum in the old Hannibal drugstore.   In the visitor center, we bought new copies of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer to re-read and then to give away, because it had been such a long time since we'd read those wonderful books. 

Bill really likes the Dave Robicheaux series by James Lee Burke -- those are set in the Bayou country of Louisiana, an area which we both love. 

Pre-retirement, we spent quite a bit of camping time in Steinbeck country in California -- and he's one of our favorite authors still.   

It's fun to see places that you've only read about and interesting to realize that the fiction we enjoy most is regional -- we get travel books and good stories all in one that way.

And then, of course, there was our trip to England.  Here's where there are people who plan all their travels and recreational time around their favorite authors.  We just stumbled across these places by accident.  We saw where Jane Austen lived in Bath.  And a whole lot of places where Charles Dickens hung out and wrote.  The Trafalgar Tavern here is one of them.  And then there was that other guy, William, whats-his-name ... oh, Shakespeare!   

So, that's the end of the post because I've worked up from books we read now to books we read in the past, to books we re-read, to books we should read someday, if only we live long enough!

Comments

[Geoff]

This is, I think, the difference:
Crazy Horse is a fantastic, beyond-belief story of a man struggling against insane odds. And accomplishing an amazing amount. Way more than you'd expect.

Mt Rushmore is the story of the federal government putting everything they had into a sculpture. And getting about what you'd expect.

The Rushmore story just isn't as neat.