A Heady Experience

Bill Hickok's grave

We did more than expected today.  In Deadwood, we visited Mt. Moriah Cemetery where Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane are buried.  There was a nice view of the town from the hill where the cemetery is. 

Homestake Mine

Then, we went over to Lead (pronounced Leed), another mining town next to Deadwood.  Here we briefly visited the Homestake Mine, which was the oldest, largest, and deepest gold mine in the world until it closed in 2002.  The mine was over 8,000 feet deep  This one mine produced 10% of the world's gold for 125 years. . The mining claim was bought in 1877 by George Hearst, father of William Randolph Hearst for just $70,000. The Black Hills Gold Rush began following the 1874 Custer Expedition.

Beautiful Lake in the Black Hills

Our next stop was the Mount Rushmore National Memorial (a.k.a. the Heads).  The idea of carving a mountain was to promote tourism in the state.  Originally, the thought was to sculpt colorful figures of the West on the Needles (another area which we visited).  The artist, Gutzon Borglum, thought it should be grander and chose to sculpt presidents representing the first 150 years of U.S. history.  He chose this site because it was more conducive to carving.

It took 400 workers, 14 years (1927 to 1941) to complete the sculpture .  They ran out of funds and declared it finished about 5 weeks before Pearl Harbor.  About 90 percent of the work was completed by dynamite. Each head is about 60 ft tall.

In 1998, they completed 10 years of improvements to the facilities at the site so the Visitor Center, pathways, and exhibits there were well done. It was a great experience seeing this memorial.

As originally designed, the presidents were to be carved from the waist up, but only enough money was appropriated by Congress for the heads.

What Mt. Rushmore looked like before

 Pigtail Bridge on Norbeck Byway

We drove the Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway into Custer State Park after our visit to Mt. Rushmore.  These small roads spiral through the Black Hills National Forest taking you though pigtail bridges, six one way rock tunnels and up on top of mountains.  We have now learned that scenic means steep grades, sharp curves, no guardrails and barely enough room for too cars.

A section of the road is known as the Needles Highway.  This takes you up to see the Needles, which are eroded granite pillars and columns which were to be the original size for the carving that is now on Mt. Rushmore. 

The Needle

The needle is one spire that has eroded in the shape of a needle's eye.

Needle Tunnel

Sylvan Lake in Custer State Park

After an eventful day we had dinner at the Ruby House Restaurant in Keystone near our hotel.

Ruby House