The evening of our 30th Wedding Anniversary, after the gourmet Buffalo filet mignon dinner at the STATE GAME LODGE, in Custer State Park, we drove over to CRAZY HORSE MOUNTAIN, via Rt. 16A to Rt. 87N to The Needles and Sylvan Lake. We then turned south on Rt. 16/385 South to Crazy Horse Mountain. We had been advised that June 26th was a special day at Crazy Horse Mountain. It was in fact, one of two days when there is a NIGHT BLAST, each year. June 26 was selected to celebrate the birthday of Ruth Ziolkowski whose husband Korczak Ziolkowski was the Sculptor who started the carving of Crazy Horse on June 3, 1948. After his death, Ruth took on the task with several of their children, of seeing the image completed.
We arrived at Crazy Horse Mountain about 8:25PM, and donated a collection of canned goods which would go to the local Food Pantry. This was an exception to the usual $10 admission per person, because it was a Birthday Blast to honor Ruth. This project is totally Visitor Supported, with no state or federal funds accepted. It is a 501(c)(3) organization, and tax deductible under IRS rules. For information, please visit their website at: www.crazyhorsememorial.org
The Lazer Show began at 9 PM, followed by the BLAST at approximately 10 PM. It was cool enough that evening that I slipped into the sweater I had brought along. We had seating to watch the Show on a grassy knoll outside the Visitor's Center, against a railing that gave our backs nice support. I know the Lord blessed us with that spot because it is reported that there were 8,000 people there that evening. We had a place to park that conveniently had a Shuttle service that took us up to the Mountain. How great is that! Here are a few more pictures I took while there. Literally, celebrating our 30th Wedding Anniversary was a BLAST!
First Profile image we saw as we arrived.
Oglala Lakota College
Quilt in Visitor's Center
The first of many Blasts
Profile of Crazy Horse Head during Blast
Happy Birthday Ruth Cake and Blast
Sounds like you hit the area at just the right time despite the rather hot weather.
ReplyDeleteSky here near Winner today was hazy blue and smelled of smoke. Wind is blowing smoke from the Black Hills forest ires into central SD. We got your "Cowboy Prayer" card. Thanks.