The day began peacefully with some warm coffee, a little tetherball, a clothed visit with the ranger, and some cereal. Then we were off for our first real hike on this adventure..
After wandering through the campground looking for the trailhead sign we saw the previous night on the way in, we arrived at the edge of the campground. Confused and a little defeated, we let Rubi wader through the tent camping sites as we doubled back to the host station. Finally finding the sign, we continued up the campground road on our way to Centennial trailhead.
Forty minutes later, we still hadn’t reached the trailhead. Instead, we found brief cell tower reception, a boat dock, more deserted (or, more accurately, closed) campsites, and a well-worn unofficial trail leading around Sheridan Lake. Rubi thoroughly enjoyed being off leash, sniffing the grassland and trees, investigating more deer poop pellets, and romping along the lake’s edge.
We packed up camp as 3 new campers arrived. Happy at our luck of having the campground to ourselves for the night, we ventured off to the Crazy Horse Memorial.
Everyone we spoke to raved about Crazy Horse and enjoyed it more than Mount Rushmore. Liz and I would agree.
The memorial’s scale is huge as is the mission to promote better understanding and appreciation of native people.
Currently, only the face and part of the arm are completed. They have removed 6 million tons of stone, but still have 1.5 million left. It’s unclear how long the project will actually take to finish. Since the project refuses to take any state or federal money, it relies entirely on private donation, visitor’s fees, and sales at the gift shop and restaurant for funding. If you’re in the area, head over and support the project.
The story of Korczak Ziolkowski, the sculptor, and his life’s dedication to the project is quite moving. The fact that his wife, until her death this year, and 7 of his 10 children continue to work on the memorial after Korczak’s death in 1982 speaks to the family’s commitment and dedication.
After Crazy Horse, we took a short drive to Custer State Park. It was relatively quiet, with a few other RVers on the property. We plugged in, took hot showers, and enjoyed a bowl of matzo ball soup to warm up before turning in for the night.
