Close Encounters with the American Soul
Speed Tourism and Wyoming into the Dakotas
Majestic snow-capped mountains in the rear view mirror, a vast expanse of rolling green hills (punctuated by conical, presumably volcanic hills) ahead, and 80 mph speed limit, almost empty roads, cruise control deployed, music blasting out… driving doesn’t get much better than this. Which is just as well as I have a busy day. I’m going for speed tourism and trying to visit the Devil’s Tower and Mount Rushmore in the same day.
I had not reckoned without the slow filter system into the Devil’s Tower, which wasted about 40 minutes but it is worth it. It’s quite a sight and worth spending time circumnavigating to check out from various angles.
Some people went a step further to get that good angle…
I manage some more wildlife sightings here - there are fields of prairie dogs around the base and chipmunks everywhere. I don’t bother to try and capture these but is snake garnered some attention. There was an “expert” (isn’t there always?) who insisted that it wasn’t poisonous, but I noticed that he made sure that there were a few children between the snake and himself. The golden eagles were somewhat harder to capture.
Of course most people (at least beyond a certain age) will remember the Devil’s Tower as playing a key role in Close Encounters of the Third Kind (if you haven’t seen it, go and do so, it is a Spielberg classic). This of course means that the gift shop has a whole other line in alien merch to peddle.
On to Mount Rushmore. What can I say, it is some big stone heads of dead presidents. Impressive enough, but once you have seen it there doesn’t seem much reason to hang around too long. There is a whole tourist industry centred around this, with lots of nearby attractions and a Gatlinburg (Appalachian Skegness for those not familiar with it) type village to drive through on the way up.
I think Mount Rushmore has a different effect on foreigners than it does on US citizens. There is almost a reverence from the American visitors (I actually saw someone pick up a child having a tantrum and take them away because they were not showing due respect, promising to bring them back when they were “ready”), and I think it represents something fundamental about the country for them.
It feels as though Americans almost make a pilgrimage here - although of course not without the comforts that they are used to in terms of entertainment, refreshments etc. There are no hair shirts or crawling over rocky paths to get here!
You can see for yourself if you think it inspires awe…
No disrespect to our American cousins, but you can’t not do this…
And so, having basked in the glory of four of America’s greatest presidents, I feel it is only fair, in the interest of balance, to get another perspective and head off to the Crazy Horse Memorial. This is a work in progress ( and has been since 1948 I believe!). They are hoping to finish it within the next 50 years or so! It is all privately funded though a non-profit and they are using the proceeds from tourists not just to fund the sculpture but are creating a University at the site to preserve indigenous knowledge and traditions.
It is on a scale which dwarfs the heads at Mount Rushmore (and in fact will eventually be the world’s largest sculpture), albeit long way from finished. Although this is apparently what it will look like when finished … just 34 times larger.
If you are interested, you can follow the progress at https://crazyhorsememorial.org/
From Crazy Horse and am heading to the town of Custer for the night. It seems weirdly appropriate (and I watched way too many Westerns as kid!)
I am once again on the budget hotel trail - today an Econo Lodge. Perfectly fine. The room even has a rocking chair! The bathroom was a bit small, but serviceable. With the exception of Motel 6 I would pretty much use any of the ones I have stayed in again. Occasionally you get one which is a little sketchy, either because of the area or some of the clientele. The Quality Inn that I stayed in last night was a little like that. I think it is no bad thing to see the other side of the US - those who are not fully participating in the American dream - rather than what is generally presented to tourists.
Unusually this room had a bolt in addition to the normal lock and deadlock on the door. I deployed them all!