Day 6
I wake up way to early to finish up yesterdays blog, and do the usual three S's. The breakfast
buffet is open a hour early as the poor lady had to fill in for the regular girl. So I decide to reorganize
the trailer as it sways a bit. Even small trailer must still follow the trailer rules of heavy stuff up front.
Up early again, but little did I know this was the before the fog was going to roll in.
The reorganized bike made some extra room, surprisingly.
The Best Western in Sturgis was a good, reasonably priced room, with lot's of extras. Though the
hot tub was getting repainted :-(. The breakfast spread was above average. I had an inside room
facing the pool.
Anyway, I'm packed up, and on the road by 7:00 am. It's about a hour and 1/2 to get down to
Crazy Horse. But the fog has moved in, though it's not bad enough to stop driving, just the kind that
leaves you kind of moist. Since I've been down most of these roads yesterday, there were no
surprises, except the temp dropping down to 48 degrees. It was a little cold for the layers that I had
on, but I was to lazy to stop and add some layers. I got down there at around 8:30 am. Since the
Crazy Horse Memorial is out in the middle of nowhere, it was quiet. It's $7 for me and the
motorcycle to get in, which is more than reasonable.
It's an additional $4 if you want to take the bus up to the base of the Memorial
You head inside the Welcome center, and watch a short video about the beginnings and
history of Crazy Horse.
The story and history of Crazy Horse
After you leave the theater, you are presented with a great view of Crazy Horse.
This is where it all started.
I took this pic so I could go online and get the video to watch tonight at the motel, available on both
Google and Apple at their respective stores.
Another great picture.
The bigger scale one done later. 1/34 scale
A map of the layout.
All the facts that you wanted to know, but didn't ask.
Some of the original tools used
Korczak Siolkowski never took any money for all his work on Crazy Horse. He would do pieces
like this and sell them.
This gives you an idea of what it will look like when finished. This is also the first project that I know
of, that will not be finished in my lifetime. It kind of makes me feel old and questioning my own
mortality.
A layout of what the park will be like when finished. They are slowly getting there piece by piece.
Does this mean the I just missed it by one day?
The progression of the Memorial, I know you'll have to bounce around the photo's, but it's worth it!
The first piece of equipment used on the project, and some funny stories to go with it.
On the bus getting closer
Getting there!
Some great shots at the base, from here you can see some of the arm and hand coming close to
completion.
They do have sponsorship's where you can actually go up to the top of the mountain and jackhammer
a piece off, etc. They start at around $250 and go up. I thought about it, and we'll leave it there.
Since they are a charitable foundation, they can't sell the stone for souvenirs, so they give it away.
They're not that small either, but they are still dirty, so hence the sign. Here's a pic of mine washed
and cleaned at the hotel later on. (Nope, so hopefully I'll edit the blog and add it later.)
Cleaned and added, a couple of days later.
I spent 2 hours at the Memorial, but it's time to go. I'm going to try and make Denver tonight. So the
drive over to Interstate 25 is a whole lot of nothing. Though I do go by the town of Custer, which is
where I thought General Custer was killed, but I looked into it and found out in was at Little Bighorn,
so I'm glad I didn't stop. Then out of the Black Hills of Dakota and down to the great plains of
Wyoming. This is where I get a rather great cross wind, that lasted all the way down to Cheyenne,
Wyoming. As I was riding highway 18 down to the Interstate, you realize on how much you are in
the middle of nowhere, and I pray the bike does't break down. Besides Custer, there is only one other
town on the 2 hour drive to the Interstate. I finally get to the Interstate after a 2 hour ride, the bike
needs gas and I'm hungry, but gas station food isn't appealing. I'm finally on Interstate 25 and heading
south, but I'm still getting that nasty cross wind. It's not to bad, but just bad enough to make riding
not so enjoyable. A hour later, I stop for lunch, the funny thing is, there are not that many more towns
and services of the Interstate, then there were on highway 18, about 1 small town every 1/2 hour.
I end up stopping at Burger King and getting 10 chicken nuggets for $1.49 and the clerk ended up
giving me a free drink. So lunch for $1.58. Though thinking about it, I was wondering if I look
scraggly enough that he thought I was homeless and took pity on me. Whatever, cheap is cheap and
the nuggets are ok, and way better than their tacos. While I'm there I use the wi-fi to book my hotel
in Denver, (or outside of it anyway), and to Download the google maps to the smart phone. I'm still 3
3 hours away from the hotel, as I've booked a hotel west of Denver, to avoid Denver's notorious rush
hour traffic.
Once I get south of Cheyenne, WY the cross winds stop and I can bring my speed up to 80 mph.
About a hour later the gps starts going off about thunderstorms coming from the west. I can see the
clouds to the west and I'am hoping to beat them. The cross winds took a toll on the gas tank. So time
to fill up. The area looks ok, but there's some sketchy people hanging about. One guy is buying a
knife
at the gas station, really, who buys a knife at a gas station? The other was some meth/crack head
asking for donations. Anyway back on the road.
The rain starts, I pull over for 20 minutes and I'm back on the road again. 15 minutes down the road
but it really starts coming down so,
I need to get off at the next exit. Luckily for me, there's a Starbucks sign and
I pull off and park at Starbucks, for a coffee and to wait out the Passing thunderstorms.
Just before the heavy stuff.
Rain, rain, go away
Since I'm stuck here, I might as well catch up on the blog, as I've got around a hour and 1/2 to wait
out the passing storms. We are spoiled now, as to back in the old days to where you would just look
up and decide to leave, the weather app tells you the rain will be ending at 7:09 pm and you can go.
I hop back on the bike for that last hour and a bit ride. Since it's a Sunday night, traffic isn't too bad,
compared to what you would get in Toronto. As I finally see the Denver downtown landscape, it
becomes dark. I still have about 40 minutes to go. I turn on to Interstate 70 west and start the long
climb out of Denver. I wish I could have done this during the day, it is beautiful to see, but there's still
lots more to see, and if I can avoid that rush hour traffic Monday morning, it will be worth it. I take
the exit for Black Hawk, as that's where I'll be spending the night. The road to Black Hawk is a
dream, that is, if it was daylight and I've been down it before. At night, not so fun. Though, when I
leave in the morning I'm looking forward to it.
I took these the next morning, just in case you were wondering. I check in, but they can't find my
reservation, but that gets quickly sorted out. I find I'm at the wrong hotel and the building I'll be
staying at is at the other side of the Casino. So after a long walk through the Casino, I find the right
building. If you've ever stayed at the Golden Nugget and been given a room at their far away tower,
will know the long walk. They did however give me a nicely newly renovated corner room. Which
by the way, is nice. I'm back down stairs to check out what there is to eat, and move the bike over to
the parking garage at the Lady Luck tower. There was nothing at the snack bar, and I didn't want
the Buffet, so I just had some snacks that I carry. I'm tired so off to bed.
Today's miles 490 or 789 km A high for this trip and it felt like it.
Total for the trip 2186 miles or 3518 km
the trailer as it sways a bit. Even small trailer must still follow the trailer rules of heavy stuff up front.
Up early again, but little did I know this was the before the fog was going to roll in.
The reorganized bike made some extra room, surprisingly.
The Best Western in Sturgis was a good, reasonably priced room, with lot's of extras. Though the
hot tub was getting repainted :-(. The breakfast spread was above average. I had an inside room
facing the pool.
Anyway, I'm packed up, and on the road by 7:00 am. It's about a hour and 1/2 to get down to
Crazy Horse. But the fog has moved in, though it's not bad enough to stop driving, just the kind that
leaves you kind of moist. Since I've been down most of these roads yesterday, there were no
surprises, except the temp dropping down to 48 degrees. It was a little cold for the layers that I had
on, but I was to lazy to stop and add some layers. I got down there at around 8:30 am. Since the
Crazy Horse Memorial is out in the middle of nowhere, it was quiet. It's $7 for me and the
motorcycle to get in, which is more than reasonable.
It's an additional $4 if you want to take the bus up to the base of the Memorial
You head inside the Welcome center, and watch a short video about the beginnings and
history of Crazy Horse.
The story and history of Crazy Horse
After you leave the theater, you are presented with a great view of Crazy Horse.
This is where it all started.
I took this pic so I could go online and get the video to watch tonight at the motel, available on both
Google and Apple at their respective stores.
Another great picture.
The bigger scale one done later. 1/34 scale
A map of the layout.
All the facts that you wanted to know, but didn't ask.
Some of the original tools used
Korczak Siolkowski never took any money for all his work on Crazy Horse. He would do pieces
like this and sell them.
This gives you an idea of what it will look like when finished. This is also the first project that I know
of, that will not be finished in my lifetime. It kind of makes me feel old and questioning my own
mortality.
A layout of what the park will be like when finished. They are slowly getting there piece by piece.
Does this mean the I just missed it by one day?
The progression of the Memorial, I know you'll have to bounce around the photo's, but it's worth it!
The first piece of equipment used on the project, and some funny stories to go with it.
On the bus getting closer
Getting there!
Some great shots at the base, from here you can see some of the arm and hand coming close to
completion.
They do have sponsorship's where you can actually go up to the top of the mountain and jackhammer
a piece off, etc. They start at around $250 and go up. I thought about it, and we'll leave it there.
Since they are a charitable foundation, they can't sell the stone for souvenirs, so they give it away.
They're not that small either, but they are still dirty, so hence the sign. Here's a pic of mine washed
and cleaned at the hotel later on. (Nope, so hopefully I'll edit the blog and add it later.)
Cleaned and added, a couple of days later.
I spent 2 hours at the Memorial, but it's time to go. I'm going to try and make Denver tonight. So the
drive over to Interstate 25 is a whole lot of nothing. Though I do go by the town of Custer, which is
where I thought General Custer was killed, but I looked into it and found out in was at Little Bighorn,
so I'm glad I didn't stop. Then out of the Black Hills of Dakota and down to the great plains of
Wyoming. This is where I get a rather great cross wind, that lasted all the way down to Cheyenne,
Wyoming. As I was riding highway 18 down to the Interstate, you realize on how much you are in
the middle of nowhere, and I pray the bike does't break down. Besides Custer, there is only one other
town on the 2 hour drive to the Interstate. I finally get to the Interstate after a 2 hour ride, the bike
needs gas and I'm hungry, but gas station food isn't appealing. I'm finally on Interstate 25 and heading
south, but I'm still getting that nasty cross wind. It's not to bad, but just bad enough to make riding
not so enjoyable. A hour later, I stop for lunch, the funny thing is, there are not that many more towns
and services of the Interstate, then there were on highway 18, about 1 small town every 1/2 hour.
I end up stopping at Burger King and getting 10 chicken nuggets for $1.49 and the clerk ended up
giving me a free drink. So lunch for $1.58. Though thinking about it, I was wondering if I look
scraggly enough that he thought I was homeless and took pity on me. Whatever, cheap is cheap and
the nuggets are ok, and way better than their tacos. While I'm there I use the wi-fi to book my hotel
in Denver, (or outside of it anyway), and to Download the google maps to the smart phone. I'm still 3
3 hours away from the hotel, as I've booked a hotel west of Denver, to avoid Denver's notorious rush
hour traffic.
Once I get south of Cheyenne, WY the cross winds stop and I can bring my speed up to 80 mph.
About a hour later the gps starts going off about thunderstorms coming from the west. I can see the
clouds to the west and I'am hoping to beat them. The cross winds took a toll on the gas tank. So time
to fill up. The area looks ok, but there's some sketchy people hanging about. One guy is buying a
knife
at the gas station, really, who buys a knife at a gas station? The other was some meth/crack head
asking for donations. Anyway back on the road.
The rain starts, I pull over for 20 minutes and I'm back on the road again. 15 minutes down the road
but it really starts coming down so,
I need to get off at the next exit. Luckily for me, there's a Starbucks sign and
I pull off and park at Starbucks, for a coffee and to wait out the Passing thunderstorms.
Just before the heavy stuff.
Rain, rain, go away
 |
| I never thought I'd be one of those people working on their computer at Starbucks, but here I am. |
Since I'm stuck here, I might as well catch up on the blog, as I've got around a hour and 1/2 to wait
out the passing storms. We are spoiled now, as to back in the old days to where you would just look
up and decide to leave, the weather app tells you the rain will be ending at 7:09 pm and you can go.
I hop back on the bike for that last hour and a bit ride. Since it's a Sunday night, traffic isn't too bad,
compared to what you would get in Toronto. As I finally see the Denver downtown landscape, it
becomes dark. I still have about 40 minutes to go. I turn on to Interstate 70 west and start the long
climb out of Denver. I wish I could have done this during the day, it is beautiful to see, but there's still
lots more to see, and if I can avoid that rush hour traffic Monday morning, it will be worth it. I take
the exit for Black Hawk, as that's where I'll be spending the night. The road to Black Hawk is a
dream, that is, if it was daylight and I've been down it before. At night, not so fun. Though, when I
leave in the morning I'm looking forward to it.
I took these the next morning, just in case you were wondering. I check in, but they can't find my
reservation, but that gets quickly sorted out. I find I'm at the wrong hotel and the building I'll be
staying at is at the other side of the Casino. So after a long walk through the Casino, I find the right
building. If you've ever stayed at the Golden Nugget and been given a room at their far away tower,
will know the long walk. They did however give me a nicely newly renovated corner room. Which
by the way, is nice. I'm back down stairs to check out what there is to eat, and move the bike over to
the parking garage at the Lady Luck tower. There was nothing at the snack bar, and I didn't want
the Buffet, so I just had some snacks that I carry. I'm tired so off to bed.
Today's miles 490 or 789 km A high for this trip and it felt like it.
Total for the trip 2186 miles or 3518 km
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