Black Hills and Beyond

“There used to be a thing or a commodity that we put great store by. It was called the People…. Maybe they never existed, but if there ever were the People, that’s the commodity the Declaration was talking about, and Mr. Lincoln”. ---Steinbeck

Steinbeck often talks of not living in the past, but also is very fond the old ways and often sees them as the better ways. I think the west is full of evidence of the good old days, and Lincoln and Jefferson, larger than life, are there to look upon the People they spoke of. Roosevelt and Washington, the action heroes, join these men of deep thoughts and important words on this South Dakota mountainside. One of the truly iconic American landmarks, it was impressive to see, and to move around. In some spots you can focus on all four men; in other places the angles of the carving and the tough pine trees will leave you one-on-one with a former president. If you thought too long when you stood in those spots, you could feels quite small, and a little scared.

Mt Rushmore had a sign that said clearly, "NO PETS." Luci has little tolerance for this type of discrimination, but it turns out Mt Rushmore may be the most pet-friendly pet-prohibited place on Earth. At the gate, the ranger pointed me to the areas where you can take your pet for a walk, then directed me to the shaded parking, and then pulled out two dog treats for Luci, which she accepted, and thus forgave the park its announced position against Canine-Americans.

On this day the featured guest in the gift shop was an original granite carver. He wasn't there when I walked through. This thing was finished during the FDR administration.......I suspect he was napping.

From there we went to see the Crazy Horse statue. Envisioned as a 500 foot giant granite version of the great chief charging his mount into battle, work on it began when McCain was but a lad. 60 years into the work, the man commissioned for the job is long dead and a beautiful visitors' center gives you a distant glimpse of the Indian's face cut from the rock. And a hole under his arm. I don't know enough Native American culture to know if their perspective on time takes a long view, like some Asian cultures. But if I had been involved in asking for this work, I think my patience may be wearing a little thin as I try to picture the horse, the pointing arm and the 150 foot torso in the remaining rock.

As a child, Crazy Horse was nicknamed "Curly."

From there we traveled to a Sonic Drive-In in Rapid City. I have never lived where Sonic had set up shop. When I was studying at UH in the late 90's, one of the groups in my class, with John and Jodi and others, presented a case study about Sonic. As an old burger flipper, I had long been curious this throwback hamburger joint. It is a brilliant piece of marketing, and a good combination of old and new styles. Unfortunately, where they were not as impressive was in the food quality and value department. The burger was mediocre and a bit pricey (It was summer in a tourist town). And the condiment girl didn't stop by until I was mostly done with my sandwich. But hey, they actually had a condiment girl, slinging ranch and ketchup like a cigarette girl at a supper club in the 40's.

From the time I hit Hot Springs south in the Black Hills, I had seen an increasing presence of motorcycles. I saw a news report about how many people were vacationing this way to lower their gas bills, but I think my timing, a week before the festival in Sturgis, was probably the biggest thing drawing this thundering herd to the area. Luci had pointed out to me that morning at the hotel her general dislike of loud motorbikes; barking ferociously as one rider after another fired up their Hogs, with their distinctive acoustic signature. But I figured this close to Sturgis and this close to their big dance, we had to take a quick drive though.

Even a week a early, the down is decked out and bike-filled. I had a Star Trek-like feeling that I had entered into the alternative universe version of the Ann Arbor Art Fair, the version where Captain Kirk really needed a shave. The tents were everywhere, as were the crowds. But everything for sale in this town was black and silk screened, or it was leather. Luci stayed on high alert as we passed through, and we did stop at very nice community center and park to take care our needs. People here were friendly and the park well kept. I wondered what kind of clean up would be starting two weeks from my visit.

Our day was sliding by and we had a long way to go, so we bypassed Deadwood (of the HBO series), which I heard is still a neat town despite its growing commercialization. From here I did some horrible, as-the-crow-flies guess work on distance, and my four hour plan to Jackson took nine. Next time I'll tell a bit of the beauty there is to be seen in Wyoming.