Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse Memorial

[Marshwheeling]

Hey, quit knocking Wall Drug! They know what they are, and are proud of it. When I lived in South Dakota 1980-85, we used to stop at Wall Drug for breakfast sometimes when headed east for antelope or pheasant. Nice folks. I'd like to have the money they've made off of jackalopes alone.

Loved Mt Rushmore; Crazy Horse, let me know when it's done.

If you go and do Custer State Park, be sure and take some binoculars, lot's of bird life to see in addition to the other animals.

Or heck, you could come this way and go to Stone Mountain. Heck of a laser light show at night, and Elvis sings Dixie while the horses start to move - or at least he used to, may not be correct enough anymore.

Wall Drug is what it is, which has always been a must stop for travelers across South Dakota.I always stopped there on my way out to college in the '60s. My rancher buddy went to school in Wall, through high school. More than just a tourist stop, it is a commercial center for surrounding ranchers.

When we were ranching, sometimes we would make the 18-mile drive into town for Saturday night fun. I remember one night when a couple of 30-somethings from Wisconsin were lining up shots of Beam rye for three of us fat old guys who had showed them a thing or two about wrestling a dirt bike around the cedar draws and Bentonite ridges of the breaks. We were fortunate to have a non-drinking driver, because we needed one.

Of course, if you want a beaded belt that says "Wall Drug" on it, there is only one place to go, just 554 miles from here.

 

[mc5aw]

I went out to Sturgis a few years back and visited Mt. Rushmore. It is impressive, and a place to definitely stop and walk around. I also planned to visit Crazy Horse, but the admission fee was crazy horse hockey. I'm quite certain far more people are put off by the oppressive price than those who actually pay. Sad really, as Crazy Horse should be Part 2 of the mandatory monument tour when visiting the area, but Mt. Rushmore is simply a better value.

 

[87supraman]

Going there this weekend. Good to know about the $26 fee. Have been once before, but just a quick trip driving through and skipped CH. You have to have some serious will power to not stop at Wall Drug if you are crossing SD.

Sent from my SCH-I645

 

[Ranger514]

I have been to Rushmore several times, I use the Golden Years Senior Card and it is Free. You pay a small fee for parking there. I enjoy the diarama down town of how they built it.

Also enjoed The Badlands and Wall Drug, a world wide known Tourist Trap. Food there is not bad and they have some very nice collections or guns and brands on the walls of the place.

To get the Golden Years Senior card, the next time you visit any national park just ask the Ranger at the entrance. I think it only cost $10.00 and is good for life.

For some very interesting motorcycles stop by Sturgis.

Deadwood and Devils Tower are both worth the trip.

As someone else posted the Black Hills are all encompassing in beauty.

The Golden Age Pass is good for free entry to National Park units that charge an "Entrance Fee." That includes bigger Parks like Yellowstone, Badlands, Grand Canyon, Yosemite, etc. You have to be 62 or older to be able to obtain the pass, and it's well worth the $10.

At Mt. Rushmore National Memorial, the Rushmore Society has a contract to maintain the parking structure, and they currently charge $11 per car or motorcycle as a "Parking Fee." Some of that money goes to help maintain the structure, and some goes toward new projects at the Memorial.

 

[reddogge]

In 2008 we took a bus trip to the National Parks and MR and CH were included. One of the parks was Custer but the bus only stopped at the last stand hill and the visitor center. I was dissapointed because I wanted to see the whole battlefield.

 

[photocosmo]

I took the family to see both of the aforementioned attractions last summer and found them BOTH to be inspirational and gratifying. I don't know where everyone comes up with the $26.00 per head price tag to see CH but for a family of 5, I can assure you all that I did NOT shell out $130.00! There are some tour buses that take you real close to the monument and maybe that's what everyone is complaining about. We went thru the visitor center saw a good movie about the memorial and got a fine view of it too, so I would definitely check Crazy Horse out! As has been mentioned the contrast between the two projects is quite striking. For one thing CH is about 10 times larger than Rushmore! Also the scenic route between the two is beautiful.
We drove from Keystone to Deadwood one full-moon night on a nearly deserted two lane road that passed a bunch of old ghost towns and visited the Deadwood cemetery overlooking town at dusk and THAT experience was PRICELESS. Three 20-something kids and no radio or I-pod; just good old fashioned conversation and at some points awesome silence. Overall I'd say "Do It All!"

 

[steveno]

there is a sign with the mileage pointing to Wall Drug in front of the train station in Amsterdam. this was back in the early 1970's and wasn't a place I would have expected it so I was a little surprised. I used to have a picture of it

 

[Ranger514]

there is a sign with the mileage pointing to Wall Drug in front of the train station in Amsterdam. this was back in the early 1970's and wasn't a place I would have expected it so I was a little surprised. I used to have a picture of it

Wall Drug mileage signs are posted all over the world. There's even one in Antarctica. As the story goes, any time one of the locals enlisted, they could write the Wall Drug with their posting location, and the owners would have a mileage sign made up and shipped to them for posting. Same went for foreign visitors who wanted to take a mileage sign back home to post, or locals who were going to visit foreign lands. The Heustead family got that enterprise going back in the Depression era by using signs to advertise Free Ice Water to travelers.

 

[Marshwheeling]

In 2008 we took a bus trip to the National Parks and MR and CH were included. One of the parks was Custer but the bus only stopped at the last stand hill and the visitor center. I was dissapointed because I wanted to see the whole battlefield.

Errr, the Little Big Horn battlefield is not in Custer park, it is a couple hundred miles away Montana.

 

[sheepdawg]

I've been to Rushmore and the Badlands and they are well worth the visit. Would have made Rushmore twice but my wife's job wouldn't let her off that week. We would have been there 9-11-01. I always think of that when Rushmore is mentioned.

With my wife working that week I painted the house instead. That's what I was doing when I heard the planes hit the World Trade Center.

 

[UncaGrunny]

"See Rock City."

 

[Marshwheeling]

The other thing you have to do in the Black Hills is have an Indian Taco (discussed on another thread). The best one is at the Cheyenne Crossing store, at the top of Spearfish Canyon. If you want a good burger, stop at Sugar Shack, on US385 right by the Nemo cutoff road.

 

[Dashriprock]

Rushmore is definitely worth the trip.

Once you've seen it, hie on over to Deadwood on 385 and put a posey on Wild Bill Hickok's grave. Then over to the No. 10 Saloon for a beverage in his memory. Great way to see the Black Hills.

Idea: make it a loop and include parts of northern Wyoming. Maybe see Devils' Tower, then on to Cody for the firearms museum. Best allow a couple days for that!

Maybe southbound after that for a soak at Thermopolis, then it's pretty easy to get back to I-25 and head south for home.

Lovely part of the country for a summer vacation road trip.

 

[ladder13]

Following this thread closely, we'll be flying into Rapid City in July. So far, the usual destinations are planned, but looking for recommendations.

 

[SmokewagonSD]

Crazy horse is best in the off season when you can get in for a donation of three cans of food for the local food bank. We live 40 miles away and stop in a couple of times a year. The visitors center is better than the monument.

 

[rwsmith]

Is it a donation?

Who does the CH money go? If it were going somewhere that had the will and the authority to finish it, it might be worth $26. As it stands now a person has to have a really vivid imagination to see anything at all.

 

[acco40]

Folks who live near and frequently visit the Blackhills region probably know better than me, but one of the largest Prairie Dog town's I have ever seen was on the way back from the Badlands to Keystone, SD via route 44 West. The road goes right through the scenic Buffalo Gap National Grasslands. As we approached Conata road, we came across a vast Prairie Dog town on both sides of the road. It went on for miles and was probably a 1000 yards deep. Even saw Burrowing Owls which make their homes in old prairie dog homes. And the best part, the entertainment is free!

As for Crazy Horse, I have tremendous admiration for Korczak Ziolkowski and what he has been able to accomplish. When you got to the memorial and read about how difficult and arduous the work was for him, you can't help but be impressed with the man.

 

[Maximumbob54]

I gladly paid The CH $26 fee if for nothing else but this reason:

Frequently Asked Questions - Crazy Horse Memorial

Why doesn't Crazy Horse Memorial take government funds?

Korczak believed that if the public accepted the goals of Crazy Horse Memorial, they would support it financially. He believed in individual initiative and private enterprise. Korczak wanted to ensure the long-range goals of the Memorial, not just the mountain carving.

 

[Gaffer]

I think most of you are cheap phonies. The Crazy Horse museum is worth the $26 dollars alone. As noted earlier this is a private deal and they are not making a lot of money on it. Their tribute to Crazy Horse is a huge project and expensive. They are trying to do it the American way, with free enterprise. I have been there twice and gladly paid what they ask so I could be a part of a great accomplishment. I am amazed at the cheapskates who post here. You all will pay half that to watch a terrible movie while this is a great lesson on free enterprise and western indian history. The reason this taking so long is because there are so many cheap people not helping a huge undertaking that will honor a great native American.

 

[vito]

Paying $26 to see an unfinished sculpture might be an act of supporting free enterprise, or might be an affirmation of a saying attributed to P.T. Barnum: "There's a sucker born every minute".