Big Heads and an even Bigger head.......

Thursday week two
Of  course one of the sites that Jo and I have always wanted to see was Mount Rushmore, so up early finish the Custer State Park wild life loop and off we go. Driving through the park towards the mount we entered through some tunnels which framed the monument perfectly, apparently this was done by the engineers on purpose, and a fantasic feet considering the resources available at the time.

A few shots of the heads.

Very impressive, finished in 1941 but the originally sculptor never saw his finished work, his son completed what he could with the funds available.

Teddy president.

 

Framed in tunnel by design.

We heard a lot of controversy over Crazy Horse Memorial, its a rip off, don't go and so on. We were only going to take a picture from the road but some how we ended up at the entrance, ok I took a wrong turn and we ended up at the entrance. But at only $10 each we did not think it a rip off, its a fantastic project that is starting to pick up momentum. It is going as fast as it can with only private funding, the family will not accept any money from the US government. It has the best American Indian museum in the USA and the passion can be seen. The original Sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski met with Lakota Chief Henry Standing Bear in 1948 and was invited too carve out of a mountain one of there hero's they decided on Crazy Horse, go to the following if you want more info.

http://www.crazyhorsememorial.org

 The face alone is 19 stories high, mount rushmore fits in the space of the head alone. Another feature of this memorial is its 3D. Started in 1948 expected to take 100 to complete. I hope not as I would like to see it complete in my lifetime.

 Model of the completed complex.

 Note the feather, in the model head.  The real life one will be around 40 feet high.

Find Crazy Horse Ted?