Black Hills or Bust!

It’s been such a pleasant experience camping at the different Kampgrounds of America (KOAs) across the midwest.  I have to admit that I am a bit of a campground snob. I like a maintained and clean. We had not stayed in a KOA prior to this trip, but they are reliable, numerous, and have a certain standard of quality.  There are three classifications of KOAs: 

• Journey – for a one-night stopover (basic facilities)
• Holiday – for vacationers 
• Resort – for vacationers, but with amenities like water parks and huge recreational areas for horseback riding or other outdoor activities.

The KOA Journey in Douglas, WY was a hidden treasure.  Since we arrived late, they left our paperwork in the drop box and left a blue light on our campsite, making it easy to find in the dark.  This morning, we ventured outdoors and found a Coffee Cabin serving handcrafted hot beverages – what a nice little touch!  I’m a pretty basic coffee drinker, but I even indulged in a latte this morning.  It was just what I needed to get me going!

The landscape in this part of Wyoming is harsh – lots of scrub brush and yellow/brown pastures.  

Entering the Buffalo Gap National Forest and crossing over in South Dakota again, the terrain softened a bit and you could picture giant herds of buffalo roaming the lands… of course, we did not see any, but I’m using my imagination.

In the Black Hills, we made two stops: Crazy Horse Monument and Mount Rushmore.  Both monuments are immense tributes to heroes of two distinct cultures.  While the Crazy Horse Monument has been a work in progress since 1948, when it is completed, it will be the largest mountain sculpture.  Chief Henry Standing Bear, a leader in the Lakota community helped to select Crazy Horse (most famous for leading the native people to victory at the Battle of Little Bighorn) as a representative for all native peoples and the sculpture is not intended to be an exact likeness of Crazy Horse, but rather embody the heroic spirit of many native people.  

Chief Henry Standing Bear invited sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski to create the monument in the Black Hills, land sacred to his people.  Interestingly, Korczak Ziolkowski was a renowned sculptor who had studied under Gutzon Borglum, sculptor of Mount Rushmore.  We found his name on the wall of workers at Mount Rushmore.

Ziolhowski was such a quirky and dedicated artist.  He refused $10 million in grants from the federal government in order to maintain the integrity of the monument and his promise to Chief Henry Standing Bear.  He worked by himself for many years, making roads and living quarters by hand.  Later, when he began drilling and blasting the mountain, he drilled holes in the rock using an old compressor that often went “kaput” several times a day, making him climb the over 700 steps to the top of the mountain.  He knew that the scope of the project was so massive that he would not see its completion in his lifetime, but his family continues the mission to complete the sculpture today.  From the looks of the progress, it will be many years before the Crazy Horse Monument is completed.

On the other hand, Mount Rushmore is a finished project.  It is one of those places that I have seen in photos or on television so many times, but never had the desire to see in real life.  It truly is an impressive work of art and when you think about the number of workers it took and the amount of rock that had to be blasted away, it is astounding to see.  What was particularly fascinating about Mount Rushmore was the number of languages being spoken around us.  I counted at least seven different languages.  We talked about why each of the president’s was chosen to be on Mount Rushmore as we moved toward the viewing area down a pathway lined with all the flags of the States and territories.  

It’s a very patriotic place.  It also sells ice cream!  Delicious ice cream AND they have Thomas Jefferson’s original vanilla ice cream recipe which they will sell to you for a dollar.  So now I have Thomas Jefferson’s original recipe for vanilla ice cream.  The Declaration AND vanilla ice cream?  That’s just showing off.

The last stop on our tour of the Black Hills was Wall Drug.  In my mind I equated Wall Drug to South of the Border.  Along the sides of the highway, signs for Wall Drug dot the landscape every couple of miles about 100 miles out of Wall, South Dakota.  They are funny and quirky and often have an Old West theme, like so much else out here.  

I was not wrong.  It was a giant tourist trap and IT. WAS. PERFECT.  WE only had about 30 minutes to explore, but we all managed to find some junk we didn’t need before getting back on the road.

We stopped here for the kids. Since we tortured them with culture this morning, we promised them some actual fun!  This reminds me of the vacations I took with my parents when my brother and I were young.  Something educational + something fun =  vacation.  

Example: Colonial Williamsburg + Busch Gardens

Example: Gettysburg Battlefield + Hershey Park

Example: Everglades + Disney World

* Has anyone visited Colonial Williamsburg or Gettysburg in July?  No?  I don’t recommend it,  You will melt.  All kidding aside, I am thankful for all I learned on these trips even if I complained at the time.  This is something I keep telling myself every time a child rolls an eye.

I think my Mom and Dad would be proud of this trip.  We’ve had a lot of fun mixed with a lot of cultural experiences while we toured the American West.

I am proud of this trip.  We saw a lot in a little time.  But, the best part was that we were all together.  I feel like we all know one another a little better and have a deeper understanding of each other’s quirks and habits.

“Travel is not a reward for working, it is education for living.”