80 Miles of Pomposity and Environmental Rape

Well, how do I begin. I'll start with the fact that I didn't feel all that well yesterday, anyway.

Our first destination was the Rushmore Borglum Story - the precursor to Mount Rushmore. If you want to know a lot more about a real pompous ass, here's a link... www.rushmoreborglum.com Anyway, from there on to the Mount. The actual physical topography and natural beauty of the Black Hills is unparalleled; really breathtaking and in some ways, completely reminded me of the forest (very few and well protected) outside of Jerusalem... it was also coincidental that I was listening to Zingualla by Yehuda Poliker, so the ambiance and eye candy were a perfect match.

Getting to the Mount was easy, and the visitors center there is quite nice. There's a loop trail of about a mile that gives you some great views - and in our twisted sensibilities, Marge and I were the only ones excited about the low lying clouds and mist that intermittently obliterated any view, or let one face peek out. Like I said, the forest and hills are beautiful; I found myself not very moved by the large white men faces and the ridiculous idealization and hero-worship of these historic figures. The actual technical stuff and the work involved is interesting, but I'm left with a feeling that the Black Hills were beautiful enough and didn't need to be blown up and made into a Billboard for Democracy. Here's some gratuitous photos, anyway - we are itinerant tourists and have a responsibility to take photos...

The donuts we bought at Wall Drug were great!!! I wanted to say something nice - there you go; Molly, if you are reading this, I'm calling Ari Zingerman today and telling him his burnt-ass donuts are pieces of shit.

The things we missed out on doing that were momentary disappointments: GLOW N' PUTZ Indoor Blacklight Mini-Golf and the COSMOS MYSTERY SPOT - which is very well billboarded, and says you'll feel it, see it and be amazed by it, but we cannot find out what "it" is?!!

So, onward through another incredible scenic drive where we spotted Mountain Goats and many Mule Deer, we headed to the Crazy Horse Monument. Here's the link: www.crazyhorsememorial.org and here's a photo of the model for the mountain scuplture, with the face (the only completed part of the mountain) visible through the arm opening.

Okay, so the story goes that the Lakota Oglala - that would be Sioux, or as Jenna Bush might say, Sigh-Oxe - got the idea to commemorate one of the Native leaders, to show the white culture that they, too had great leaders and heros.

A group of 5 Lakota elders got together, commissioned this sculptor and decided that Crazy Horse symbolised the Leader they believed represented the entire Native culture - this is where I got lost... I'm not sure how the Hopi, or the Seminole, or the Inuit, or the Cree feel about Crazy Horse, but he was pretty much an experienced killer and hunter of every other tribe in his area. His kill history is impressive in its volume and indiscrimination.

The 'heroic' acts that he is lauded for are 1) never signing a treaty and 2) never relocating to a reservation. He was murdered by a white soldier while under flag of truce.

From this, I got that he was principled and maintained his values in the face of ultimate adversity. He was a strong voice for his people (but, I wouldn't say he spoke for the tribes he attacked and warred with).

During his long list of kills and attacks on other tribes, we find that he really is a 'good guy', as witnessed by this tale: after he discovers that he 'accidentally' kills a woman (she was crawling through the grass to escape his killing spree in her tribe's lands), he was humiliated, but he dealt with that by not taking her scalp.

Now, before you get me on culture bashing or whatever, I'm not excited about the Slave Owner, or the man who called war to protect Northern investment and property rights getting idealized on mountainsides, either.

Rather, I would ask you, what other cultures in this world, historic or contemporary, have created monumental figures (geometrically life-sized) of human leaders and how do we feel about them. If you miss my point, think about Mao, Stalin, Lenin, Marx, Hussein... think about it. Marge and I wasted hours thinking about it and came up with nothing better...

If I have a point, it would be that we should idealize values and concepts, not individuals. People are faulty beings, with their own concerns and attitudes, who construct their morals as they see fit or to accomplish their goals. In the long run, we find too much humanity in humanity, and rarely the idealized hero we wish to see. Better to appreciate honesty, than George "I cannot tell a lie" Washington - by the way, the story of the ax and the cherry tree has been conclusively debunked, yet there is a lie based on a person that we all like the conceit of. Enough of that, I'm on vacation.

2 things of note about the Crazy Horse Monument - they have collected an incredible collection of Native artifacts, objects and items and display them. They could really use a curator, as there is very little organization, nor specific groupings or themes (like Hopi pottery in with Tlinglit, hmmm)... Red Elk, if you're reading, I'm putting in a photo of the Leech Lake flag, you were represented. The other photo I'm attaching purports to be 16 of the original beads for which the island of Manhattan was traded; they were an anonymous donation, and have been authenticated in materials and time period. You decide.

We spotted several wild turkeys and on a completely mist-enshrouded drive through Wind Cave NP, we spotted a bison.

Roadkill:

Skunk

Chipmunk

Unidentifiable flattened object

No plates today, for at least 30% of the day, we were the only vehicle in sight; it was really cool and otherwordly.

Saturday night we gave up and on the way to the Kampground, we stopped and ate the Saturday Night Special at the Victory Steakhouse, outside of Hot Springs. It was a cultural experience to say the least... Finally, to the Kampground, where we partied for Saturday night - as in beers, wine and a DVD (which was so scratched we got kicked out of the best part of the movie!!!)

We only drove a total of 80 miles today, so no fuel stats and that alone makes up for all the pissiness above!

Thanks to the faithful reader who missed Saturday's post early Sunday morning!

Today, we are on to general area of Fort Collins, and maybe a WFM refilling. I feel better, and ready for some action today!!

Harve