On Sunday, our trio left bright and early to check-out the monument to Crazy Horse – a project begun in 1947 and still very much a work in progress. It has been a slow and gruelingly difficult process especially since the foundation accepts no government funding. The project is funded solely through private donations and money raised at the monument itself.

The sculptor first commissioned to head this project was Korezak Liolkowski – an amazing story well worth reading.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We took a bus tour to the foot of the monument, and our driver, George, told us about the Crazy Horse Project, Korezak and extreme hardships he faced during the early years of the project. As an example: One of the first things Korezak did when he began the project was to build a staircase to the top of the mountain – 142 steps which he climbed multiple times each day, year round despite the weather, hauling heavy tools, equipment and materials by hand. Think about South Dakota winters – I cannot even begin to imagine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After our bus tour, we went back to the main building and strolled through the museum.

When completed the large complex will also include a Native American university, a large Native American museum and cultural center.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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From here we headed toward our next destination – Colorado via Wyoming. So we bid a fond farewell to the beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and said hello to Wyoming. *I feel the need to add a short disclaimer here. All of my Wyoming pictures were taken out of the tinted glass, car window as we were zippppping along making very quick progress toward Colorado – thus the lack of stellar quality of the photos. Nonetheless, I they will give you a feel for the country we were traversing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We finally reached Fort Collins, Colorado and took the next couple of days to spend quality time with our elder daughter Christina and her husband Rich.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quality family time – the best.