On September 6 we also visited Mt. Rushmore. Designed by sculptor Gutzon Borglum, work on this massive project took 6 1/2 years on and off between 1927 and 1941. Highly skilled workers used dynamiting techniques Borglum had developed carving the confederate memorial carving in Stone Mountain, Ga.

An amazing view of Presidents Washington, Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Lincoln! Another must see!

That same day we drove to the Crazy Horse Memorial. Sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski had worked as an assistant to Borglum at Mt. Rushmore in 1939. That same year he was asked by Chief Henry Standing Bear of the Oglala Sioux to carve a giant sculpture dedicated to the American Indian.

Ziolkowski agreed and dedicated the rest  of his life to this enormous project. He spent several decades alone on Thunderhead Mountain, drilling and blasting the sculpture of Crazy Horse on his steed. Ziolkowski died in 1982 and since then the memorial has continued to be built by his wife Ruth and 7 of their 10 children. We couldn't get close enough to get any good pictures of the sculpture. Here is a photo of a 1/34-scale plaster of the sculpture. I hope some day to see the completion of this massive project.

More later, Cappy