It was a fun, laid back kind of day. We got up and checked out of the motel. We then drove into the Black Hills. Our goal was to drive the Iron Mountain Road and the Needles Highway to get to the Crazy Horse Memorial. We found out about 1 mile down Iron Mountain Road that it was a bad idea - cause the road was closed for the winter. Alas, we had to back track and drive a more tame highway over to Crazy Horse. On the way, we stopped at the "profile view" of Mount Rushmore and then a little further on we stopped at a little lake - Horsethief Lake (more about that later).
We liked the Crazy Horse Memorial. We went into the Visitors Center and looked at all of the exhibits and watched the movie and generally found out about it. It is much different from Mount Rushmore. There are no government funds being used and the pace of work is a lot slower. It was actually commissioned by the local Native American tribes. For a long time, there was only one man working on it. And in the end, it will be so much bigger than Mount Rushmore. It will be the biggest carved monument in the world. But the end is not in sight. Still it is a beautiful place to be.
This is the Nature Gate at the Crazy Horse Memorial. See if you can find - dinosaurs.
We then went down to Custer, South Dakota, and tried another path to get to The Needles highway. Alas, it was closed six miles in, but we saw some more beautiful country. One place was called "Hole in the Wall".
Our trip back to Rapid City took us through Custer State Park, were we had a number of sightings. Then we checked into a new motel and went out and did a little bit of Christmas shopping. These are pictures of the inside atrium of the motel from the fifth floor - a bit more fancy than the other motel. Thank heavens for off season prices.
Speaking of sightings:
We saw herds - I mean flocks - of wild turkeys. The question is, why doesn't Colorado have any herds of wild turkeys?
We saw our first ever wild big horn sheep in the wild. They were just grazing on the yummy green grass at a ranger station. There were two bucks. Mar's pictures look like she got them fighting, but really they were just playing, but we did their horns crack.
We saw buffalo - sorry - bison. We had almost given up on seeing any of them, then there was a herd - really a herd this time. We sat and watched them as the crossed the road, hung up traffic and then went to graze - in a children's playground. They are magestic animals.
We saw skunks, and a lynx, and a moose and a rattle snake.
Oh, sorry about that - that was just a trip to Cabelas. We also saw bears - but that was as we drove past Bear Country USA.
Now this part is going to sound strange. It is our experience at Horsethief Lake.
When we stopped at Horsethief Lake, I got out of the car to just take a picture. As I did, I heard something across the lake. It was an animal sound - or not. Then I heard it again - no it was different - I almost thought it might be a turkey - but no - that was not right. I told Mar to turn off the car and come listen. We stood there by the side of that frozen lake and listened. It sounded like sonar - no not that mechanical. It sounded organic - but not really. It sounded like a flexed saw - but not that rough. It was mysterious and mystical and mythical and totally indescribable. And sometimes it came from there and sometimes it came from somewhere else. And it never sounded the same, as if something was having a conversation in a beautiful foreign tongue. And just as we figured out what it was, a moan came more intense and loud and long - enough so that Mar grabbed my arm from fright or startlement or surprise (I had fright and statement and surprise also) - it was a big, deep echoing whisper or sigh or moan or song from over the lake. In older days I could see people thinking it was the Spirits of the dead who make the Black Hills sacred. It was for us, a sublime moment in our lives. We had never heard anything like it - but I dearly want to hear it again. (We went back again on Saturday - but the Spirits were gone - mostly.) Do you think you know what it was? It was - - -
The ice. We talked to an ice fisherman and he said that when ice is new and not too thick, it sings as it freezes. Ice expands as it freezes and the pressure makes vibrations that sound other-worldish. Mar and I got there just as the conditions were perfect. By the next day, with another night of freezing, the ice was too thick. I don't ever want to forget that, and next year, when the lakes start to freeze, I will spend time waiting for the ice to sing. Waiting for the Spirits to speak.
2 comments:
That is cool and kind of creepy that the ice was singing to you...
huh...who knew. pretty cool.
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