Custer State Park, Needles Highway and Crazy Horse

We had a very busy weekend with the kids visiting.  We went to Custer State Park and road the Wildlife Loop and some side roads looking for buffalo and deer.  We road the Needles Highway looking for a tight squeeze and then to Crazy Horse monument.  My Gosh this monument has been under construction for a life time and the only thing completed is the head.  It is the same as it was when I was here in 1998.  They are making a ton of money off tourist at the entrance.  It is $28.00 a car to enter and I am not sure how long that has been going on.  Why have a ponsie scheme when you can get a rock and claim to make a monument of a historic figure and charge people for 40 years.


Mt. Rushmore has changed a great deal since I was here last.  They have a new visitor center and new walkways and the biggest change is the parking deck.  There was not one when I was here last.  We had a great time here walking around the base of the monument and looking at all the history on the making of the figures.  Just in case you have forgotten the presidents represented are Washington (of course) and Jefferson and then Teddy Roosevelt and Lincoln. Oh shoot this is from the last post just go back and read it and it will make since!!

This is a shot of the Black Hills from one of the highest points in Custer State Park

This is a shot of two different Bucks from Custer State Park.  We did not see the second one until we had parked to take a shot of the first one and then the second one stood up.  He was in high grass right beside the rock in the photo.

This is a great shot of me that Cindy took while in Custer State Park.  We live here wild and roam the area as we please.

This is only one of the tight tunnels you go through on the Needles Highway.  And yes this is us thanks to Ashley jumping out of the car to get the photo.  This is a rental car that we were in.  I am not sure that my truck would have made it through.

These are the spires along the highway

Another tight tunnel on the highway.  Check out the traffic jam in the other photos near the bottom!!

This is the needle's eye

These are photos of Crazy Horse.  The top and bottom show the head which has taken over 40 years to complete.  The head that you see here was unveiled in June of 1998.  I was hear in August of that year and I swear it has not changed a bit but that family (whites and Indians) is cleaning up on the tourist traveling to the site.  If you are coming to the area do yourself a favor and take photos from the road outside the area, because you can see it from the road.  They do not allow tourist to go within a half mile of the monument.