l-r Washingon, Jefferson, T. Roosevelt and Lincoln
Mt. Rushmore is one of those American icons that everyone knows what it looks like before actually visiting in person, sort of like the Statue of Liberty or Disneyland. We made this pilgrimage for my daughter, but also because my husband and I think it’s one of those places you have to see in your lifetime as an American. I had low expectations, and I’m glad I did otherwise I would have been sorely disappointed in the tourist trappings around this institution. That and we got yelled at by some crazy old man for pausing long enough to allow some folks to take photographs of the monument before blocking their view with our car going through a narrow tunnel.

I wanted to yell out of the car, “Hey, we’re on vacation and trying to have fun here, dammit!”, but refrained. Though his outburst did put a damper on the energy building towards the climax that would be a full frontal view of Mt. Rushmore memorial. But, in the end, I had to admire Mt. Rushmore Memorial from a technical point of view: a scupture so huge was designed and sculpted before Photoshop and Autocad were invented. I’m not quite sure how Gutzon Borglum and his army of 400 workers executed their work, but they did so in a matter of 14 years.

It was rather anti-climatic after making our pilgrimage to Mt. Rushmore, to not actually stop in for a visit, but we didn’t. We did another drive by. Why you ask? Because of the 3 million visitors that visit the park annually making it quite a zoo.

Frequently Asked Questions – from http://www.nps.gov/moru/

• Who created the sculpture? Gutzon Borglum and 400 workers.
• How much did the sculpture cost? $989,992.32.
• How long did it take to build? 14 years, October 4, 1927 – October 31,1941
• Are the faces eroding? No, The estimated erosion rate is 1 inch every 10,000 years.
• Who is the mountain named after? Charles E. Rushmore, a New York City Attorney, in 1885 who was out here on business.
• Were there any deaths during the carving? No.

We missed out on some of the educational background that we would have gained by entering the memorial, and a chance to walk on Washinton’s head (yep we saw people walking around on top of his head on what looked to be a fenced area overlooking the Black Hills), but somehow I think that would have ruined it for me. Instead, we were rewarded with the side view of Washington’s head when we rounded the corner on our way to visit the Crazy Horse Memorial.

The Crazy Horse Memorial was less crowded and with an interesting side story. It was begun in 1948 by Sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski and Lakota Chief Henry Standing Bear. Ziolkowski was a self taught sculptor who dedicated his life to this endeavor who died in 1982. Now 7 of his 10 children along with his widow Ruth have continued working with Korczak’s vision along with the Native American community. Read their story here.

A disturbing feeling struck us during our travels through Wyoming and South Dakota – a feeling of terrible inequality and injustice served towards the Native Americans. We passed through two Indian Reservations – the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming and the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation 70 miles east of Rapid City, SD, which are the 1st and 2nd largest reservations respectively in the US.

While the Badlands and the surrounding grasslands are spectacular at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservatoin, it is a god forsaken place weather wise. I can’t imagine that the Lakota Indians are able to manage a sustainable agricutural practice. The Lakota do help manage the Badlands, but I doubt it’s enough to employ the entire tribe. Needless to say, Pine Ridge is in the poorest county in the US with an average income per family of $3,700 annually.

On the other hand, according to the Wind River website, this reservation was chosen by the Eastern Shoshone Indians and is much more lush, with varying terrain – mountains, streams, prairie and yes, even a little badlands.

It was really an eye opener for me to see the disparity of the landscape and prosperity levels between the Black Hills and the Pineridge Indian Reservation – and especially an eye opener for my daughter, who was complaining that her batteries wore out for her iPod and her Gameboy! Why weren’t the Lakota placed in the Black Hills? Well, there was money to be had there of course.

At any rate, I’ll get off of my soap box now….

Meanwhile, before I left on vacation I received 100 sheets of traditional decal paper that I had ordered from Ceramic Supply Co. out of New Jersey. The decal paper is not on their website, but it is available if you call them directly. I still need to order some ceramic overglaze colors to make my own screen printed decals to fire onto my ceramic ware.

I hope to have some new work started soon,