The Long & Winding Road Ahead - Day 4
- Ash Collins
- Sep 21, 2020
- 4 min read
Today would begin with a much anticipated visit to the Crazy Horse Mountain Memorial located in Custer State Park along the Avenue of the Chiefs. This memorial often gets compared to Mt. Rushmore, and even though it’s not yet completed, it just might be the cooler of the two. It’s certainly a great deal larger, yet there is less fanfare around it, so the experience of seeing this mountain-sized monument appear out of nowhere in the distance could be far more epic an experience?
The memorial creator, rock carver and sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski said of his work: "By carving Crazy Horse, if I can give back to the Indian some of his pride and create a means to keep alive his culture and heritage, my life will have been worthwhile." - well they certainly profit from the creation. Unlike Mt. Rushmore that asks no entry fee, the Crazy Horse Memorial stings the punters at every opportunity. The single most annoying penalty is the mandatory, must buy bus ticket to get up close and personal with 641 feet long and 563 feet high Crazy Horse carving. You cannot walk to the memorial...buses leave (only) every 30 minutes which becomes a trap for young players when time is of the essence. Caveat Emptor peeps...suffice to say we did not stick around waiting 45 minutes for the next bus.
With the disappointment of this visit well and truly behind us, my faithful navigator punched in the coordinates for our next location...the Center of the Nation Monument in Belle Fourche, South Dakota. Albeit the the actual center of the nation is located on private property, the geographic Center of the Nation Monument is a 21-foot diameter structure made of etched-SD granite marks Belle Fourche as the town closest to the center of the 50 (United) states. Along with a very interesting museum on the site, there are gardens and a small period cottage for visitors.
Our next landmark would finally take us out of South Dakota and across the State line into Wyoming. I ask for very few creature comforts these days...one of those is a decent cup of coffee in the morning. Would we find the elusive expresso making machine at our next stop in Sundance?
The quick visit to Sundance was of course to pay homage to Harry Alonzo Longabaugh better known to us all as the Sundance Kid. The Sundance Kid was an outlaw and member of Butch Cassidy's infamous Wild Bunch gang. Folklore would have Sundance likely meeting Butch Cassidy (Robert Leroy Parker) after Butch was released from prison around 1896. Together with the other members of The Wild Bunch gang, they performed the longest string of successful train and bank robberies in American history. The memorial is located next to the Crook (ah ha) County Courthouse along the main street in downtown Sundance. Everyone loves an outlaw and that great cup of coffee that was had in a cosy little cafe across the road from the Courthouse.
With my caffeine fix taken care of, I fired up the Durango as we plotted a course North on the I-90 to our next landmark location...the Devils Tower National Monument.
Devils Tower is a geologic feature protrudes out of the rolling prairie that surrounds the Black Hills. The site is considered Sacred to the Lakota and other tribes that have a connection to the area. Hundreds of parallel cracks make it one of the finest traditional crack climbing areas in North America. Devils tower is a neat stop. however you should be prepared for some weird SH1T as you drive up to the tower. The crazies are all over this site with its rich history of cryptozoological mythology. If you do go, make sure to drive the scenic route on the north side of I-90 to get a great view of the tower for about 20 miles.
With a little over 200 miles completed, it was time to think about a location to stop for lunch. Trace survey the local map and decided that our best option would be Gillette...a short 60 mile burst down Hwy. 24 and back onto the I-90 west. With our course confirmed, we felt that the Gillette Brewing Company provided the best options to cure our cravings. Located in an old bank building, popular in these parts, our hostess led the way to our seats complete with the bio-secure, throw away menus. Pizza and a pint of your finest ale for the driver and a sandwich and red ale for the navigator thanks madam...excellent food n' drinks. No hesitation in coming back if ever we are in this neck of the woods...
A good feed and refreshments were an essential requirement in readiness for the 200+ mile drive on the I-90 NW to the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument across the state line into Montana.
The Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument preserves the site of the June 25 and 26, 1876, Battle of the Little Bighorn, near Crow Agency, Montana, in the United States. It also serves as a memorial to those who fought in the battle: George Armstrong Custer's 7th Cavalry and a combined Lakota-Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho force. Custer National Cemetery, on the battlefield, forms part of the national monument. Unbeknownst to me, having entered the site at precisely 15.32pm, we avoided the entrance fee for the memorial. As drive along the narrow road way leading to the main cemetery and memorial, you can see lines of red and white headstone markers honoring the combatants who fought at Little Big Horn. The red markers, camouflaged by the rustic red grasslands, denoting where certain Indian warriors fell include those of Crazy Horse, and the Cheyenne warriors, Lame White Man, Wooden Leg and Noisy Walking. The white granite memorial markers that dot the ravines and hillsides represent where soldiers of Custer's 7th Cavalry fell throughout the two day battle. The most famous of which is the marker signifying the location where Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer fell in the much romanticized 'Last Stand'.
With our emotions kept in check, we headed out of this historical and saddening site for a well earned stop over tonight in Billings, Montana. Well that's day 4 concluded...stay tuned for our day 5 adventures as we head South through the Bighorn National Recreation Park and down to the town of Powell, Wyoming.
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