Fantastic Trip for Allen Seniors
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30 members of the Allen Senior Recreation Center just got back from an unforgetable nine day trip to South Dakota.
Driving through Custer State Park, they saw Home, Home on the Range come to life. There were herds of wild buffalo, deer and antelope, all grazing side by side. It conjured up thoughts of how humanity might someday learn to live in harmony. After all, these creatures (different races if you will) are all competing for the same water and the same food supply.
Also at Custer, they came across a herd of wild burros living off the land 24/7. Now the word wild has to be redefined. These animals crowded them, as they got off the bus to photograph them. The burros were not timid, and acted more like oversized house pets. They wiped out everybody's pop corn, crackers, and other fast foods and would have climbed right onto the bus if the door was not shut.
But the big highlights of the trip were the Crazy Horse Memorial (a work in progress), Mount Rushmore, and the Badlands. The latter should be renamed the Goodlands because of the sheer, hypnotic beauty. This area is reminiscent of the Grand Canyon, but on a smaller scale. The erosion is different, with cone-shaped forms, but the colors are magnificent with tans, blacks, whites, browns, yellows, reds and greens.
Mount Rushmore is majestic and immense. All were in total awe, seeing sculpture on such a vast scale. The feelings were not just of awe, but of national pride and appreciation for living in such a great land.
The four Presidential heads are not just works of art, they're marvels of engineering! Sculpting is difficult enough when creating a life-size stone bust, but these busts are so large, they had to be created using jack hammers and high explosives. The Good Morning America camera crew was there on the same day , and some got to see their efforts the next morning on the Sioux Falls ABC station. (This is part of the ABC series on the Seven Wonders of America.)
The Crazy Horse Monument has been 60 years in the making, and may easily take another 40. It is so large, that it completely dwarfs Mt. Rushmore. (567' vs. 60') The orientation film at the visitors' center, shows a picture of Rushmore's four Presidents superimposed on the head of Crazy Horse. The completed monument will show Crazy Horse on his own horse, with the front end 'emerging' from the mountain.
Crazy Horse was started by Korczak Kiolkowski, a son of immigrants who were very proud of their new country, and is being continued by his wife and children as the first monument to honor all Native Americans.
