Carved in Stone

View from KBarS Lodge

Carved in Stone Day #7

Breakfast in Keystone, SD report –

Plastic utensils of a better quality , paper instead of Styrofoam plates, a premade mini-egg omelet with cheese , better than the usual , fresh fruit, Douwe Egbert (?) coffee which is a plus. No TV. And we watched wild turkeys out the window. Highly recommend the K Bar S Lodge for accommodation.

We contemplated a flyby of Mt. Rushmore- the faces visible from the road, a quick photo and on we go. But we paid the $10 parking fee and went in…..wonderful video on the carving and small museum that was terrific – I almost became patriotic.

They’ve gone a little over the top with the entrance – granite columns, arches and flags on way to viewing area.. I think the majesty of Nature paired with the creative and noble efforts of Man need no embellishment. A gravel path would have been nice. The vision and determination of the sculptor something to ponder.

You can imagine the photo-taking at the viewing area. The Chinese/Asian visitors put on quite a show, posing in front of the faces. I was hoping for a busload of Japanese tourists.

Then down the road we find Chief Crazy Horse emerging from a similar block of granite – only bigger – much bigger. This “project” became the passion, the reason for living to Ziolkowski a sculptor from Boston , who was asked by a Lakota if he would honor their chief. … .maybe to restore Native American honor after all the insults heaped on them by the White Man. With no money he started dynamiting and chiseling, mostly by himself – raised a family of 10 children – who are involved today in finishing the project. They will not accept government money, because the sculptor believes government should not spend taxpayers money on such a project. …that those who care about it should support the project. The next part to emerge will be his horse. They work on it as money comes into their private foundation.

A Lakota quote: “When legends end, dreams will end, and when dreams end, there will be no more greatness.”

Lewis and Clark entering unknown land, beyond the edge of territory that the French trappers have traversed. ..more or less just into Montana. They describe huge herds of all manner of animal and are hunting-crazed. Each of the expedition’s men is eating 9 pounds of meat a day, meaning the hunting parties they send out must bring back 300 pounds of meat. The Indian woman with them is proving her worth, finding berries and Jerusalem artichokes to supplement their diet. To get the artichokes (it is a wild sunflower, still growing along the roads) she finds the burrow of a prairie mouse, who collects and stores these for winter. The Native tradition is to leave something in return – some other food item.

Fox news – 4 of 4

Mozz stix – 3 of 5

Local Miles City Star (MT), population 8,000 - The paper picks a garden of the week and publish photo and a short gardening philosophy.