Posted by Dale Edsen on August 14, 2009 at 10:58 PM
One of the highlights of our week long stay in the Black Hills was an up close visit to the Crazy Horse Memorial. When they finish this carving it will be an amazing accomplishment. The detail in the finished head is great! Just like the view from the top of the arm. A big "Thank You" to Lon for his help and suggestions for the areas to see while there. There is so much to see it would take more than a week to cover it. Since I had the family with me this was more of a scouting trip for me and I am ready to go back already.
Posted by Lon Sharp on August 15, 2009 at 12:10 PM
Dale, I hope my list led you to some places you would not have found!
Posted by Dale Edsen on August 15, 2009 at 3:38 PM
It sure did Lon. My son had to hit both the Mammoth site and the Hill City museum the first day we were there.I am glad we did also because they were very interesting. Thanks again for the info.
Posted by Bill Dark on August 16, 2009 at 10:40 PM
Quite a sculpture, Dale! I never cease to be amazed at how artists can sculpt on such a grand scale as this. And what a tribute to the Native Americans who have lived here for thousands of years. I'm sure it will a beautiful work of art when it's finished. Thanks for sharing.
Posted by Brad Mangas on August 17, 2009 at 1:54 AM
Hi Dale,
Wow that's a big nose! I was up there a few years back but only went to the museum and never made it any closer. It's really neat to see such a close up of detail in the carvings. Sure wish they would get that crazy thing done.
Take Care,
Brad
Posted by Dale Edsen on August 17, 2009 at 9:59 AM
Bill, they use something called a jet torch to smooth out the rock and remove drill marks. There are several barrels of fuel oil up top that flows down to the torch to be combined with air to power the torch. The rock flakes right off leaving the finished product. If you ever do any soldering with a torch and get the flame too close to your concrete floor for too long you will see how this works. Just be sure to have those safety glasses on. All that framework on top is their plumb bob setup. They take a measurement from the same setup on the scale model and then multiply that by 10. Now they are using laser equipment to speed up the process.
Brad, the sculpture has a boxer's nose. If you look at it straight on it looks like it has been broken a time or two. You should see how big it looks in the image I took with the fisheye. They are getting more funding and some better equipment now so the progress should speed up now.
I have more shots of this in my pbase gallery. pbase.com/dedsen
Posted by Wayne Rhodus on August 18, 2009 at 6:47 AM
Sounds like a good trip Dale. I've never made it to SD yet but it's on my list of places to visit. This shot only wets my appetite even more. What an amazing sight this must be in person. Thanks for sharing.
Dale,
That shot is awesome! We are heading out in the morning for the black hills on our Harley's. 1,200 miles! I can't wait to get there! If I can walk after I get there, I plan on taking some pics also. Ha! Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Dottie
Posted by Dale Edsen on August 22, 2009 at 1:08 PM
Dottie,
The roads through Custer Park and Wind Cave park are very scenic. My two favorites were Iron Mountain Rd and Needles Rd. The both go through the hills with lots of curves and great views. There are several narrow tunnels through the rock so if you have a motorhome be sure you will fit. The narrowest tunnel was 8.5 feet but we did see a tour bus make it through somehow. Sylvan Lake is beautiful. If you are a National Treasure movie fan, this is where the lake scene in the last movie was filmed. We saw quite a bit of wildlife on the wildlife loop in the southern end of Custer Park and lots of Buffalo in Wind Cave Park. We saw the wild burros somewhere but I do not remember which park they were in. Deadwood is a fun town to wander around in. Lots of old buildings and lots of casinos if you are into gambling. We had lunch in Kevin Costner's casino. Of course there is Rushmore and Crazy Horse. Great ice cream at Rushmore. Something to do while waiting for the nighttime show. As for the commercial sites, I enjoyed Bear Country. It is a drive through park with lots of wildlife. I could not believe how many bears, BIG bears, they had there. After you finish the drive through section you park and walk through more exhibits. The grizzly bears are there and they make the other bears look small. The baby bears are located there also and they are worth the price of admission just to watch them. I thought the Reptile Gardens was a waste of money. So unless you just really love snakes I would recommend a pass on this one. Spearfish canyon is another scenic drive. There is a beautiful stream running though it with lots of picture ops there. I wanted to visit the National Cemetery near Sturgis but it was raining when we got there so we went on to Spearfish.
There are lots of this to do in the Black Hills. We kept busy the entire week and still did not get to all of it. have fun. Watch out for Lon. He hangs out there.
Discussion
8 repliesWow that's a big nose! I was up there a few years back but only went to the museum and never made it any closer. It's really neat to see such a close up of detail in the carvings. Sure wish they would get that crazy thing done.
Take Care,
Brad
Brad, the sculpture has a boxer's nose. If you look at it straight on it looks like it has been broken a time or two. You should see how big it looks in the image I took with the fisheye.
I have more shots of this in my pbase gallery. pbase.com/dedsen
That shot is awesome! We are heading out in the morning for the black hills on our Harley's. 1,200 miles! I can't wait to get there! If I can walk after I get there, I plan on taking some pics also. Ha! Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Dottie
The roads through Custer Park and Wind Cave park are very scenic. My two favorites were Iron Mountain Rd and Needles Rd. The both go through the hills with lots of curves and great views. There are several narrow tunnels through the rock so if you have a motorhome be sure you will fit. The narrowest tunnel was 8.5 feet but we did see a tour bus make it through somehow. Sylvan Lake is beautiful. If you are a National Treasure movie fan, this is where the lake scene in the last movie was filmed. We saw quite a bit of wildlife on the wildlife loop in the southern end of Custer Park and lots of Buffalo in Wind Cave Park. We saw the wild burros somewhere but I do not remember which park they were in. Deadwood is a fun town to wander around in. Lots of old buildings and lots of casinos if you are into gambling. We had lunch in Kevin Costner's casino. Of course there is Rushmore and Crazy Horse. Great ice cream at Rushmore. Something to do while waiting for the nighttime show. As for the commercial sites, I enjoyed Bear Country. It is a drive through park with lots of wildlife. I could not believe how many bears, BIG bears, they had there. After you finish the drive through section you park and walk through more exhibits. The grizzly bears are there and they make the other bears look small. The baby bears are located there also and they are worth the price of admission just to watch them. I thought the Reptile Gardens was a waste of money. So unless you just really love snakes I would recommend a pass on this one. Spearfish canyon is another scenic drive. There is a beautiful stream running though it with lots of picture ops there. I wanted to visit the National Cemetery near Sturgis but it was raining when we got there so we went on to Spearfish.
There are lots of this to do in the Black Hills. We kept busy the entire week and still did not get to all of it. have fun. Watch out for Lon. He hangs out there.