Day 44 - July 28 Gilette WY - Kadota SD

Day 44 - July 28 - Gilette WY - Kadota SD

Rolling hills and flat, flat land. No trees except along the rivers and streams, which are few. The land, however, is brilliant green, yellow-gold, with deep, rich, black dirt, and hay bales everywhere, even on the sides and center median of the freeway.  The land is scattered with herds of black cows and the occasional brown one. 

Deadwood, SD

Leaving WY we decided to traverse through the Black Hills and avoid Sturgis SD and the annual Harley-Davidson motorcycle rally which was gathering there. We passed many, many cycle riders going to and fro in the Black Hills. Our goal in the Black Hills was to see the Crazy Horse sculpture, which is the largest stone sculpture in progress at this time in the world. When completed it will be taller than the Washington Monument, 5 times as wide as Mt. Rushmore. In fact, all of Mt Rushmore will fit within Crazy Horse's hair alone. Crazy Horse was chosen because he is considered one of the greatest heroes of the Indian nations.

The sculpture was requested by the Lakota Sioux tribal elders in 1939. Work actually began on the mountain in 1947, and the face was completed in 1998. It alone is 22 stores tall. The next portion to be worked on is the horse's head and it will take 15 years to completed. The original artist died in 1982, and the work is carried on by his wife and 10 children. All funds for the project are privately provided; no government funds at all. There is a visitors center on the grounds with a wealth of information on the Indians and their history; and it is planned to add a college and medical training center for the Indians, as well. 

1/32 Scale Model

Leaving the Black Hills, we saw a huge herd of buffalo - maybe 150 total.

By the way, the Black Hills are not black, but look that way from a distance because of the solid mass of deep green pine trees that cover them. 

Our day ended in a little RV park in Kadota SD called Ponderosa RV and Campground. The town of Kadota has a population of 700+. This was one of the quietest places we've camped thus far. Although not the most charming of sites, it was one of the better ones.