Posts tagged Black Hills
Deadwood, South Dakota
Monday 20 August
Deadwood, South Dakota





















Deadwood, South Dakota is famous for Gold being discovered there, and for Wild Bill Hickok being shot dead in the #10 Saloon. Not much more.





Signs make the best
of history's famous names.














Kevin Costner owns a casino with two restaurants upstairs in the middle of downtown. Diamond Lil's, more of a cafe, and Jake's, which is fine dining. Posters and other memorabilia of his movies line the walls - everywhere.

































This building must have been a dealership for the Hudson Motor Car Company. Manufactured from 1909 to 1954 as Hudson products, and later produced by the American Motors Corporation from 1954 to 1957. They were very popular cars - won a lot at the race tracks.















Charlie Utter

In the spring of 1876, he and his brother Steve organized a wagon train in Georgetown, Colorado and headed for South Dakota. When the wagon train passed through Cheyenne, Wyoming he ran into his old friend Wild Bill Hickok who joined the caravan, along with more than 100 others including prospectors, gamblers, and a troop of “working girls.” Later, in Fort Laramie, Calamity Jane also joined the wagon train.




































The Number 10 Saloon, is where Bill Hickok was shot!
This saloon is in a different location than the original #10.
So this is the #2 , #10.































































Deadwood Train Depot.
Like most old depots, it has been made into an information center.























































Mt Moriah cemetery overlooks the town of Deadwood.





















Bust of Wild Bill at his burial site. He probably turned over in his grave when Calamity Jane insisted on being buried next to him.



































Prostitution was allowed until 1980. Now, mannequins watch the streets from dismal second story windows.

Gambling was made legal in Deadwood in 1989 -- which literally saved the town from dying. Today, it is still the only city in South Dakota where gambling is legal.





















History revisited, the original #1, #10 saloon located in the "badlands" section of town burned down. A new #2, #10 opened up the street, the sign is shown in the photo below. So then this building (above photo) was built on the original site, so it's the #3, #10.


























This is on display
in the new location
of the #2, #10 saloon.


























Not bad enough being shot in the back of the head, now poor old Bill's picture is every where - even on the Public Works trucks.


Crazy Horse Mountain
Sunday, August 19, 2007


















_____________________________________________________

As you are driving along I-395, you see the mountain in the distance.















When Crazy Horse was asked, "Where are your lands now?", Crazy Horse replied,
"My lands are where my dead lie buried."

____________________________________________________


He is pointing to his land.





















From inside the Visitor Center is this view of what the mountain will eventually look like.

______________________________________________________














This picture, in the studio, shows how the completed project will look.

___________________________________________________

Korczak Ziolkowski - the sculptor who envisioned the design and began the work. He was invited by Lakota Chief Henry Standing Bear to do the carving. He arrived in the Black Hills on May 3, 1947 to accept the Indian's invitation. He started work on the mountain in 1949. He was almost 40 years old and had only $174 left to his name. Over the decades, he battled financial hardships, racial prejudice, injuries and advancing age. He believed in the free enterprise system, he felt Crazy Horse should be non-profit, educational, and cultural; a humanitarian project built by the interested public, and not the tax payer.

Some of the master sculptor's other pieces on display.



































____________________________________________________

This mahogany horse was carved in nine days.




















_____________________________________________________

This motorcycle was raffled off to raise money. Crazy Horse monument is NOT funded by the government - only private donations keep the project going.















The motorcycle was taken to the top of the mountain for this photograph.





















On August 10th, a couple of weeks ago, the winner was announced.















____________________________________________________


These beads came from an Italian manufacturer, were transported over the oceans specifically for trading with Indians.















___________________________________________________

Some very unique bead work on display.















In the artist's studio, is this Deadwood stagecoach.














____________________________________________________


Every night at 9 pm, the park puts on a Laser Show lasting about twenty minutes, rain or shine. We almost didn't go because of all the thunder and lightening that night. But we only had this one chance, and luckily it didn't rain - we enjoyed the show. Came down in buckets five minutes later though, as we were driving back to camp.















Images were displayed on the side of the mountain. We were over a half a mile, maybe a mile away from the mountain. The images were huge. When you consider Mt. Rushmore would be able to fit inside Crazy Horse's head, this will give you some scale as to how large the images were.

























































____________________________________________________
Mt Rushmore
Sunday, August 19, 2007

Our first view of Mt. Rushmore was through a tunnel cut through the rock on Highway 16a. In all, there were a total of 3 tunnels, each with it's own spectacular view.















How was Mt. Rushmore named?

Mt. Rushmore was named after a New York lawyer, Charles E. Rushmore, who was in the Black Hills in 1885 researching mining camps for area mining companies. The official name change occured on July 4, 1930, by the U.S. Board of Geographic names.















Driving for miles along the highway, the monument is visible through trees in unexpected places. You just have to keep an eye out.















You come to an opening, and there it is, in all it's glory.















What are the dimensions of the heads?

Face: Approx. 60 feet from the chin to the top of the head.
Eye: Approx. 11 feet across.
Nose: Approx. 20 feet (except Washington's which is 21 feet).
Mouth: Approx. 18 feet across.

The faces are scaled to a figure 465 feet tall. The full sculpture is 185 feet across and 150 feet tall.















How long did it take to carve the mountain?

The sculpture took 14 years. Work began on October 4, 1927, and ended on October 31, 1941. Considering delays from weather and interrupted funding, the actual time spent working was a total of 6 1/2 years.

____________________________________________________




















Gutzon Borglum - Sculptor of Mt. Rushmore.

For Borglum, Washington represented the BIRTH of our country, since he was our first president. Jefferson, symbolized EXPANSION, he was largely responsible for the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. The sculptor chose Lincoln to embody the PRESERVATION of the Union of States in confronting the challenges of the Civil War. Theodore Roosevelt represented the DEVELOPMENT of our country with the construction of the Panama Canal.

____________________________________________________














Inside the museum are shown various tools and procedures used to create the monument.





























Chandelier hanging in the cafeteria shows men in Bosun Chairs doing the carving.

_____________________________________________________




















Lou, bigger than life, camera in hand.

______________________________________________________




















Quite a splendid walkway they've created, displaying the flags of each of the states.

_______________________________________________________












As we were leaving, we got another view - the profile of Washington. If you read the plate above, it tells how Jefferson was originally to be on Washington's right side, but due to the poor rock quality, had to be moved to his left side. The work which started on Jefferson had to be blasted away, and as a result, created this unexpected profile of Washington.









































The Black Hills are truly beautiful!

____________________________________________________