Black Hills Trip - Day 6

Tuesday, June 29th:  Hill City, SD to Game Lodge Campground (Custer State Park)

This morning started with (what else) but more all-you-can-eat pancakes the size of Styrofoam plates!  Off to Crazy Horse Monument where we viewed the monument, the visitors center, museum and the sculptor's home.  Below is a current picture of the monument:

Some interesting facts we learned about Crazy Horse:

--Sculpting began over 60 years ago by one man (Korczak Ziolkowski) and is still being managed and sulpted by his wife, sons & daughters

--The face has been completed since 1998

--It is being sculpted "in the round" meaning there is just as much carving/blasting happening on the other side of the monument than there is on this side

--The memorial foundation does not receive, or accept, federal or state money for the project

--The "pass through" hole you see down and to the right of the profile of the face is 10 stories tall

--The entire carving will measure 563 feet high and 641 feet long.  

 

A picture from the obersvation deck (no zoom)

This is a picture of a poster hanging inside the visitor's center that has an overlay of the final design

Foreground:  A 1:32 scale model of the finished memorial

Background:  The actual memorial

From here, we headed toward the Needles Highway which starts at Sylvan Lake, 6 miles northeast of the town of Custer.  This 14 mile highway is full of twists and turns including a 1 lane tunnel and some places to stop and take in the beauty of nature.  Before heading out, we spent some time at Sylvan Lake which is pictured below.  We stuck our feet in the water, hiked around the lake and just hung out for a while.

Sylvan Lake

Dustin and Nathan panning for mica in the sand

This was on our hike around the lake.  These rocks actually hold back the lake, so we are behind (and below) the level of the lake.  Notice the rock climber in the lower left hand corner of the picture

A view from the top of one of the rocks at the edge of the lake

From here, we headed onto Needles Highway.  Here are some pictures:

The Needle's Eye

Dustin and Nathan hanging out on a rock

From Needles Highway, we proceeded into Custer State Park where we stayed in a Camper Cabin at the Game Lodge Campground.  The Camper Cabins have a twin bed and a bunk bed with a twin on top and a double on the bottom.  They have heat, lights and A/C and a small table that folded up against the wall.  Thankfully, it was in the shade most of the day and there was enough of a breeze we didn't need the A/C.  Ours sat beside a stream, which meant Nathan could toss rocks in to his heart's content.

Our Camper Cabin

Getting the fire going

We ended the night with "modified" s'mores.  Ritz crackers, toasted marshmallows and slices of Snickers and Milky Way candy bars (we were not going to pay $4.50 for a box of graham crackers at the campground convenience store!)