Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, and Jewel Cave

We started off our day today at Mt. Rushmore. It's alot more involved than just the four heads of Presidents. They have a film and many artifacts and exhibits pertaining to the creation of the monument. A Danish immigrant, Gutzon Borglum and his son Lincoln, were the primary sculptors of the monument. Originally, Borglum invisioned to carve alot more of the Presidents' bodies, but it didn't work out. In the photos, you'll be able to see how his model differs from the finished product.

Later, we went to Crazy Horse Mountain. A Polish sculptor was commissioned to create a giant mountain carving of the famous Native American in the Black Hills of South Dakota. He is to be on a horse pointing out into the distance. This represents how when asked, "Where are your lands?" Crazy Horse replied, "My lands are where my dead lie buried." It was started in 1948, and so far, all that is complete is his head, which could fit the whole Mt. Rushmore carving inside of it. We don't think they'll finish it any decade soon. There was a cool museum that had artifacts from Native American tribes, such as the local Dakota, Lakota, and Nakota.

The last place we traveled was to Jewel Cave. It pretty much puts Laurel Caverns in PA to shame. It has all these calcite crystals inside of it that are really shiny, but apparently brittle and not worth any money. When you see the photos, you will see all different types of rock. Some look like popcorn, others look slimy, due to moisture in the cave. Jewel Cave is the 2nd longest cave in the world. As you may see in the photos, outside, you could climb through an example block of tunnel. This is what some of the volunteer cavers have to climb through to explore other parts of the cave that the regular public wouldn't dare. Our tour consisted of lit paths and stairways with nice railings. No worries. I was small enough to fit, but Greg was not.

CHECK OUT OUR PHOTOS!

Now we're in Dubois, Wyoming. We are at a cool little motel that is right on the Wind River. We ate at the Cowboy Cafe, which had great food. Greg ate buffalo sausage, which tastes deliciously like keilbasi. I got the chicken fried steak, which was also great. Tomorrow, we're off to Yellowstone!