No.

12

South Dakota - April 25, 26, 2012

May 16, 2012

Custer, South Dakota

Captain George Armstrong Custer laid out the city which was named for him. He also led the expedition that explored for gold in the Black Hills. The deer grazed outside of our motel room.

Mount Rushmore
As the sky begins to darken, the lights illuminate the sculpture in the Black Hills near Custer. The sight is moving and people tend to almost whisper in this near-sacred place. Parts of the mountain shine from the twisting roads below.

The Black Hills near Custer,

South Dakota is a breathtaking place to visit. The roads twist through rocks and tunnels and

the switchbacks control the speed. Piles of cut dead trees are throughout the area tas an effort to kill the Pine Bark Beetle that is destroying the magnificent pine forests.

Custer State Park in the

Black Hills is a safe haven for wildlife. Buffalo graze contentedly and tourists stop along the road to photograph them. Precautions must be taken to stay a distance away from these beauti-

ful but unpredictable beasts. Custers discovery of gold in the Black Hills led to an invasion of prospectors. When the mines were tapped out, they left their donkeys. The descendents of those left are cute and friendly as they mooch treats from visitors.

Chief Crazy Horse in the Black Hills

is being carved from a mountain as a memorial to the Indian Nations. It has been under construction since 1935 when Lakota Indians hired sculpture Korczak Ziolkowski to create the monument. The Ziolkowski family continues the privately-funded project.