Visiting South Dakota on for July 4th

Life in the time of covid means domestic travel to avoid the need for covid tests and the fear of travel lock downs and quarantines. I have both been missing the adventure of travel and the chance to spend long quality hours with travel companions soaking up and discussing what we're experiencing. Since my travel bucket list is long and varied, this seemed like the perfect time to finally visit a travel friend who I had met on tours of Palestine and Iran.  Next stop, Rapid City, South Dakota timing to coincide with July 4th and the Black Hills Roundup, a small town rodeo that has been occurring for 102 years.  My friend grew up on a ranch and seemed like the perfect person to learn the local traditions from.

I had been to South Dakota once before when I drove across country after college. I remembered it fondly. Flat land melting into the Badlands and then the dramatic Black Hills with Mount Rushmore. I figured another trip years later was worth it and surely there was more to see. Man, was I right. I had a jam packed trip of picturesque things! Animals, landscapes, tourist kitsch, dinosaurs, dancing, abandoned towns and buildings, and a lot of food for thought about some of the many things that make up America.

One reason I went back to South Dakota is when I went the first time in 1991, the envisioning of a Crazy Horse Monument was just beginning, though the carving started in 1948! I always knew I would need to return to check on it.  Now many years later the huge head is carved but there is still a long way to go. I guess I’ll be going back in 30 years to see it again. 

The Crazy Horse Memorial is a mountain monument under construction in the Black Hills, in Custer County, South Dakota, near Mt Rushmore. It will depict the Oglala Lakota warrior, Crazy Horse, riding a horse and pointing to his tribal land.  

The sculpture's final dimensions are planned to be 641 feet (195 m) long and 563 feet (172 m) high. The arm of Crazy Horse will be 263 feet (80 m) long and the head 87 feet (27 m) high; by comparison, the heads of the four U.S. Presidents at Mount Rushmore are each 60 feet (18 m) high.

It was quite impressive, standing out on the horizon and while we were there a Lakota told the story of her people and gave me a lot of food for thought.

When I travel now, I try to find an event that I think will bring out the locals. Seeing the tourist sites is good, but seeing real life is better. And visiting Belle Fourche, the center of America, on July 4th on a rodeo day was GREAT! 

Got up bright and early to get up to Belle Fourche, in time for the July 4th. It was sure different that my usual CT ones. Lots of horses and tractors. My favorite were the the ladies on horseback from Miss Rodeo South Dakota. They had some amazing chaps! All in all it was a wonderful way to experience small town life in another part of the country. 

After the parade, we headed off to the Black Hills Round Up Rodeo which was taking place for the 102nd time. Rodeos in South Dakota are the real deal and I tried to soak it all in. That meant horses and pop up paddocks, lots of different competitions where some of the best cowboys in the world were competing. It also gave me a chance to observe the various items for sale, like women's purses with special pockets for guns, which I later learned exist so you won't accidentally pull the trigger when digging around for a piece of gum or lipstick. As you can all imagine, I enjoyed reading all the t-shirts and even had my first Qanon in person glimpse when I took a picture of a women all dolled up in red white and blue. At one point the rodeo announcer even made a derogatory comment about New York.  I was in my red white and blue disguise, so I don't think anyone suspected they had a blue state traitor in their midst.

The final tradition of rodeo days is to bring carnival rides and live music to the downtown so everyone can revel together. My biggest takeaway is that we need to do more two step in the Northeast. Its just so fun to watch people dance together and know the steps!

Another great thing to do in Rapid City, the City of Presidents, is walk the streets of downtown and search for all the Presidents. A series of life-size bronze statues of our nation’s past presidents stand along the city’s streets and sidewalks. Many of the sculptures capture special aspects of the President they represent.

And of course you can't come to South Dakota to see Presidents without visiting Mount Rushmore

My friend and I decided to take a road trip to Nebraska to see Carhenge, another thing on my Roadside America bucket list! Set up in practically the middle of nowhere, it was worth a three hour drive through rolling hills of Nebraska grasslands to see this quirky creation. 

The details: In the summer of 1987 Jim Reinders built a replica of Stonehenge in Alliance, Nebraska. Carhenge consists of thirty-eight American-made automobiles, all painted gray to match the stone with dimensions and layout to mimic Stonehenge.