Sept 5/08 - Iron Mountain & Crazy Horse

Friday, Sept 5th/08

Today we decided to do the Iron Mountain Scenic Byway. The Iron Mountain Road spirals up the Black Hills of South Dakota, passing through several tunnels that frame Historic Mount Rushmore. We were treated to zigzagging switchbacks and breathtaking scenery the entire way. Beginning in Custer State Park, the Iron Mountain Road is most popular for its series of pigtail bridges which bear a corkscrew shape, and it’s single-lane granite tunnels that perfectly frame the faces of Mount Rushmore in the distance. The pigtail bridges enabled road engineers to reduce elevation without needing to build a switchback. The road comes off the bridge, makes a circular turn, and continues below the bridge.
There are many wildlife that reside near the scenic road. We were treated to views of mountain goats, bison, deer, elk, antelope, and wild flying turkeys. I think the only thing we haven’t seen this trip are bear. At the entrance to the park live a herd of donkeys that have become so used to all the ‘visitors’ they come right up to the car windows to see if they might look cute enough to get something to eat. As with all wildlife the babies are particularly endearing.
Ping! I look up. Ping! Ping! Ping! Oh great – now it’s starting to hail. Time to get a move on. We ride down to the Peter Norbert Visitor Centre, have a look around and head down to the general store for a coffee. The hail has ceased but the rain is surely coming. You can smell it heavy in the air and the sky is black and ominous looking. Rod brings our rain gear inside so we can at least put it on in the dry. Unfortunately I just had to be right and the sky opened up and let loose a deluge. We stand on the covered porch of the general store looking out at the downpour. I keep saying – let’s just wait a few minutes – maybe it will let up. As we look out a huge buffalo comes ambling down the centre of the street like he owns the joint. Oh for the time when you don’t have your camera handy. The owner joined us on the porch and was telling us that that bull is particularly ornery and just yesterday 2 Japanese tourists got a little camera happy, got too close and he charged them. A few days earlier he took on a Dodge Ram pick-up truck. I asked him why he was in such mean spirits. He grinned and said “Oh, I don’t think the rut went very good this year”. Oh. The rain does let up after a bit and we head out in a light shower that soon dries and wonder of wonders we even get a bit of sun. Well momentarily at least.

We decide to take in the Crazy Horse Monument which has been 60 years in the making and its lofty goals will take a number of years (generations) to complete. It is the world’s largest mountain sculpture, carving a memorial to the spirit of legendary Lakota leader Crazy Horse and his culture. The Memorial's mission is to honor the culture, tradition and living heritage of North American Indians. Plans are to include an American Indian University and Medical Training Center.
We leave in the late afternoon and head back to our hotel in Keystone. Chilled to the bone AGAIN and headed straight for the hot tub. We haven’t felt much like the ice cold Corona for the past couple of days so we switched to a nice red wine.