Picture This

It's only a coincidence that I picked the shortest weekend of the year to visit South Dakota. I'm not that good of a planner.

I didn't come here with a long list of things to do -- but I sure did a lot today.

First I visited Mt. Rushmore. It's very impressive. But I especially enjoyed learning about the politics behind the sculptures. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but the project was conceived primarily to bring tourists to the Black Hills. The sculptor, Gutzon Borglum -- who got the commission because of his work on Stone Mountain in Atlanta, was especially strong willed. He offended President Calvin Coolidge by rejecting the inscription for the monument Coolidge spent two years writing.

Apparently early visitors mistook the Jefferson sculpture for a bad version of Martha, next to George Washington.

They have some great photos of Dwight Eisenhower addressing the 1953 Young Republican National Convention, which was held at Mt. Rushmore. I also enjoyed the photos of Alfred Hitchcock filming "North by Northwest."

I thought it was very American that they make a big deal out of there being no charge to view Mt. Rushmore, but you have to pay $8 to park your car.

From Mt. Rushmore I drove through the Custer State Park. Lots of wildlife was out and about. I watched some "Begging Burros" earn their nickname. You're supposed to bring some carrots or apple slices to feed them alongside the road. I didn't, but I watched them swarm a lady who did. There were also hundreds and hundreds of buffalo along the road. One buffalo was walking right on the side of the road and I came up real close to it so it's eye on the side of it's head was looking right at me. If it sped up, I sped up. If it slowed down, I slowed down. I wanted to see if it would ram my rental car or something. But it just got bored of me and walked away from the road.

Next I went to the Jewel Cave National Monument. I guess I've never been in a cave before. I didn't really know what to expect. My only point of reference was the Mine Train Ride at Knott's Berry Farm (one of my childhood favorites). So I guess I was expecting technicolor stalagtites followed by a narrow escape from a dynamite explosion.

So it was cool underground, but not as dramatic as I was expecting. At the end of the tour our Park Ranger Guide announced we were his last tour ever. He got a little choked up as he explained that while he loves taking people into the cave, he "has to pay the bills" and is moving on to a more lucrative job. So of course I asked him, "How long have you been doing this?" His answer of "three weeks," certainly took some of the emotion out of situation for me.

Next it was time to visit the in-progress sculpture of Crazy Horse. When finished it will be the largest stone sculpture in the world. But I changed my mind when they wanted $9 to get in. I'll wait until it's finished.

Finally I drove north to the town of Deadwood. First I visited the Mt. Moriah cemetery to see the gravesites of Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane (whose last wish was to be buried next to Wild Bill).

Then I stopped by several of the casinos in Deadwood. They all are tiny little places along the three blocks of Main Street. The casinos are the caliber of something you would see in Minden or Gardnerville, Nevada outside of Carson City. But Lady Luck shined on me and I stopped by the Deadwood Wells Fargo to deposit my winnings before leaving town. (That's a great feeling.)

Now that I've been to Deadwood I really want to see the HBO series by the same name. The TV show has become notorious for the volume of foul language in the script. In my 5 hours in Deadwood I didn't hear cuss word one. But like I wrote, I was winning.

I would have had some excellent photos to post from today's adventures but my camera is still undergoing the world's slowest repair at the Casio factory following my unfortunate slip-and-fall in Cape Town in January.

Tomorrow it's off to the world famous Wall Drug Store and the Badlands National Park.