(Part 9 of “Mum and Nat’s Rockin’ Road Trip”)
I checked my tires after the ‘scary epsiode’. They held the air pressure I had infused in them in Keystone. Phew!
After that, I needed an easy day, so Natalie and I had a leisurely breakfast and then took a walk, avoiding the bison patties in the field. With the easy-day theme in mind, we took our books and read on the verandah, before the chilly weather and rain forced us inside to a spot by the fireplace.
After awhile, we got back in the car and went back into Custer. I checked my tires again, to ensure they were officially OK, not just with my hand held tire pressure gauge. They were, so we celebrated with an ice cream at the Purple Pie Place. This place had some really interesting flavors, but we went classic. Best part though was sitting down to people watch.
Despite the rain, we decided to go to Crazy Horse Monument. It is a memorial dedicated to all Native American tribes. The museum was really interesting.The perseverance to building this monument, refusing Federal funding to complete it, is amazing. They also provide a unique place for Native Americans to sell them wares. I love this, It’s so honorable. I think I enjoyed Crazy Horse much more than Mount Rushmore. It had more information about the reasoning behind the monument than Rushmore and more meaning to it. Rushmore seemed more commercial than Crazy Horse. We took what photos we could, and as it turned out, the face I saw a few days before was Crazy Horse. Natalie wasn’t calling me crazy then!
I’ll be interested to watch the advancements of Crazy Horse Monument as the work is complete over the next few decades. It was still rainy and foggy when we left, and even though we didn’t get the ‘up close and visual’ as we did at Mount Rushmore, I think we took more away from this monument.
We returned to the lodge and decided to play some cards. We had a great time playing, enjoying a nice glass of wine (for me) and orange juice (for Nat) while the rain continued to fall outside. Eventually we moved into the dining room for a nice dinner and my ‘try something different’ was the Indian fry bread, topped with applewood smoked bacon, sautéed chicken, tomatoes, herbs, wild forest mushrooms and fried leeks. It was divine!
While we did not see a lot today, we enjoyed the downtime.
October 5, 2011
U.S. Adventures