The Black Hills Pt. 1: Custer and Statues in the Stone
7/2-7/5:
I headed out of Gillette at 3am to try to get a camping spot in Black Hills national forest. While I had spent the previous day burnt out on driving through the plains, I have to say that watching the sunrise over the rolling hills just between storms as I drove east was gorgeous. I wouldn’t want to live there, but it was cool to say. I have to say that the coolest part about driving around this country for me are the changes in landscape and I have to say that crossing the border of Wyoming into South Dakota on I90 is one of the craziest. Leaving the rolling golden plains of isolation you dive directly into winding rocky cliff passes covered in pine trees. This country is beautiful.
I knew this would be difficult because since 4th of July was just a few days away, but I was pretty determined and apparently lucky. I pulled into the Oreville Campground around 5am and got the last spot available. Oreville is a half reserved, half first come campground located about equidistant between the town of Custer, Custer state park and Mt Rushmore national monument. The spots are fairly isolated making it not the most social of grounds, but gives you privacy if that is your thing. The one warning I would give anyone considering staying at this campground is that it is directly of the highway and you will here cars passing deep into the night. If you aren’t a heavy sleeper like me you may want to consider something a bit more off the beaten path.
Anyway, after setting up camp and taking a quick nap I headed back into town to get some reception and figure out what I should get up to. While heading toward Custer I noticed signs for the Crazy Horse monument and wondering what it was I took a left and drove up. It was $15 to enter, but I was in travel mode so I went for it. After passing through the gate’s I realized what I had stumbled on was the massive statue of crazy horse being carved out of a mountain. I had passed it on my way toward the campground but was so focused that I hadn’t even noticed the massive undertaking and I had completely forgotten about it in general. If you don’t remember that this exists either I do not blame you. They finished the head of the statue in 1998 which I vaguely remember hearing about, but since then they have carved out most of the hand and have a long way to go. For those of you unfamiliar with this memorial, here is a brief history of it. In the 1940’s following the completion of Mt. Rushmore, Chief Running Bear of the Lakota natives found sculpture Korczak Ziolkowski to carve a similar memorial of one of the most famous natives in American history, Crazy Horse. Korczak would then spend the rest of his life, growing a family in the hills and carving the memorial with their help. Throughout the slow going process Ziolkowski was offered money from the federal government to help with the completion of the project, include 2 separate 10 million dollar offers, but he refused. He simply did not believe that the federal government would maintain the commitment to the celebration, continuation and education of native culture that the memorial was intended to be. The man was wild, but with a strength that I highly admire. Now 70+ years later we have a head and the top of an arm, but learning the story, seeing the Ziolkowki home/work shop and exploring the native heritage museum on the grounds in a wonderful experience. Of course not everyone believed so. I do recall overhearing the matriarch of a family remark “Costs you to get in and then if you want to go see it you have to pay again”. I’ll remind you that the current cost is as follows:
$15- 1 person
$30- 2 people
$35- 3 or more people (which I’m pretty sure here pale family of 5 fell into)
You can also re-enter at one within 3 days. Not a bad deal to me.
The bus ride that takes you closer to the memorial, which I passed on because it seemed too busy for me by the time I got through the exhibits, is $4 a person. I couldn’t help but be annoyed by her annoyance at the low price to support a beautiful project that I think is important for the history and healing of our nation in many ways. I should really work on that.
After the memorial I headed into town for some food and reception. I made the bold choice of eating Mexican food for the first time since leaving San Diego and I have to say that Maria’s Mexican Restaurant did a good job. Their salsa and beans in particular were on point. After this I wandered into the bar I had “accidentally” parked in front of, The Gold Pan Saloon. This spot, one of the oldest bars in town, was also apparently a total shithole until recently, but it was still just as charming. A pool table a patio and some drinks. I shared mystery shots (roll a dice and take the shot from a wrapped up bottle in the corner) and shared some information with fellow travelers heading east toward glacier. It felt really comfortable and would become a frequent stop throughout the weekend.
I headed through the town to Big Rock Park, where they have a disc golf course. The course was a pretty walk through a cool park, but it was yet another hard to navigate trek. I still enjoyed myself and even went up to the top of the “big rock” the park was named for which gave an amazing view of the city. Custer has some charm to it for sure.
The next day I headed out toward Mt. Rushmore. I am a big fan of both artistic and engineering endeavors and therefore Mt. Rushmore was a must. We have all seen pictures of the grand statue, combining natural beauty and history in ways that man has not attempted in centuries and it truly is a marvel. However, I will say in that in my own personal opinion you can get the same experience simply driving past east past the monument as you would paying the $10 for parking. I’m not complaining about the price, just didn’t seem like it was worth the time. There are some exhibits about the creation of the monument and a trail that goes below the sculpted head themselves, but I really didn’t think that it was anywhere near as interesting as the history behind the Crazy Horse project. That being said, if there was ever a concert in the massive amphitheater they have below the statue I would gladly attend it.
I decided to continue north to explore more of the surrounding areas and passed through the town of Keystone. I did not stop in Keystone, but saw some interesting sights like a giant wood carving of a sasquatch and a patriotic stand selling numerous Trump flags. I really am confused as to how these flags are still a thing. Eventually, I found a tourist trap that I just couldn’t resist… The Reptile Gardens. I saw the sign and I just couldn’t help but pull in to see what it was all about. The admission price was $20 and it was a fascinating place. A tall yellow wall surrounded a kind of zoo with various animals, flora, rock exhibits and a arcade area. Of all of these I’d say the chance to feed alligators and a cute little prairie dog exhibit stood out the most. The real interesting part was in the middle of the complex. They had a decent sized glass domed botanical garden full of tropic al plants and actual animals that you could walk around. Surrounding this were two levels of terrariums full of venomous snakes, spiders, and large reptiles. This included a 16’2” alligator called “MANIAC”. It was an impressive animal for sure, but I was delighted to know that I was not alone in thinking this. On the wall there was a poster for the movie National Treasure. Now one would think this was because the “zoo” had something to do with the movie, but you would be wrong. This poster was on the wall, because at some point American treasure Nicholas Cage visit the place and saw Maniac leap from the water during a feeding to which he said “I have been to Africa and Australia, but that is the most majestic thing I’ve ever seen”. It was wild. It reminds you of why you must stop at tourist stops sometimes.
I stopped in Rapid City for lunch at decided to order a regional delicacy called an Indian Taco. I based on the description I figured it would simply be a flat bread taco, which I personally enjoy. No sir, this was a pile of lettuce, ground beef, olives, tomato and shredded cheese covering a piece of flatbread. Not particularly tasty and not easy to eat. Sorry I can’t recommend it. I also visited the Dinosaur park which is a walk around some large poorly made dinosaur statues that is now on the historical landmark registry. It reminds me that we may use the concept of an historical landmark a little to liberally sometimes.
Now full of “food” I decided it was time to take a hike and I headed out to Custer state park. The park was located close to my campground and was highly recommend by Chuck back in Glacier. It was $20 to enter the park which gave me entry for 7 days and it was beautiful. From the direction I entered you first come upon a very pretty lake with lots of hiking trails. I chose to drive further into the park down what is called the needles highway through some fascinating hoodoo like rock formations on a very narrow road. I stopped at the trail head for the Cathedral spires trail. It was a nice hike with a quick elevation gain, but ended in a bowl surrounded by spires of rocks. After spending a bit of time climbing rocks and taking in views I decided to continue on upward to the Little Devil’s tower. This section was not a bad approach hike, but it did require a bit of a scramble up to the top. Make sure you have the right shoes for such an activity. The top of this rock was an amazing view looking out over the entirety of Custer state park and the sweeping pine laden black hills. The hike back was simple as pie, but I did get the honor of sharing some encouraging words with people heading upwards who were worried they couldn’t do it. I hope they two made it up and found it as worth it.
I got back to the Gold Pan, my now hometown tavern, and played some pool. While playing I overheard a family discussing their plan to watch the fireworks at Mt. Rushmore the next day. Ever helpful as I try to be I interjected and shared that I had read an article earlier that day stating that there would not be a fireworks display at Mt. Rushmore this year. In fact they hadn’t had fireworks there since 2009 due to the fire hazard in the surrounding forest. They were so crest fallen and understandably so, in 2020 during the pandemic the government allowed the fireworks display to take place despite concerns by all that this was not safe. It seem like an odd coincidence that this happened during a pandemic, a couple months before an election and 4 years of drastic cuts to national park funding, but what do I know. Anyhow, after crushing their dreams I let them know that their would be fireworks in big rock park near by (how do I become a tour guide so fast?) and we chatted about their trip and my own for a while. The father told me about a book called the longest beer run about a man taking beer to his buddy’s out in Vietnam during the Vietnam war. He then suggest I write a book about my experience. Maybe I should. I said my goodbyes to them and the bar staff and headed back to camp to rest up for my last day in this oddly beautiful place and that most of days sacred day… The 4th of July.
