Monuments of Granite

Today we biked about 50 miles south on Rt. 385, stopping at beautiful Lake Pactola which is a reservoir that supplies water to the entire area. We were all in a great mood leaving there and barely a mile down the road the traffic started backing up - there had been an accident.

Of course my lovely wife and kindest soul I know jumped off the back and moved to the front to offer her help as a nurse. The paramedics had it all under control at that point as it seems a woman on her husband's bike had a heart attack and caused them to wreck. He had only a broken clavicle but their bike was a real mess. The truck driver who saw it all happen was so shaken and relieved at Cheryl's offer for help that he hugged her when it was all over. That's just the kind of woman she is . . . .

A few more miles and we came to the Crazy Horse memorial. If you're unfamiliar with this, you should Google it on the net because it is truly impressive. The Okala Lakota tribe commissioned the first place sculptor from the 1939 World's Fair to build them a monument in the Black Hills to show the white man that the red man had heroes, too. And what a monument it will be when it is finished at some unknown point in the future.

It is simply awe inspiring. The entire Mount Rushmore monument would fit on the cheek of Crazy Horse's head. And, he'll be riding a horse with his hand pointing to his lands where his dead ancestors lie. I remember being awestruck by this when we visited in 2008 but this time we actually boarded a bus and went out to the site. And, after we returned, a quick hot dog for lunch where we were joined by a 73-year old retired Marine from Vietnam who we made sure to thank for his service. He had ridden by himself all the way from west Texas . . . a man's man for sure.

From there, we went to Mount Rushmore which is a magnificant national memorial. Its flags were flying at half mast for the 30 service men killed in Afghanistan over the weekend, and it added a somber tone to the visit. My nephew, Jim, remarked that he had wanted to see Mount Rushmore since he was a little boy so his dream was fulfilled.

Our last stop for the day was Black Hills Harley Davidson in Rapid City. Both Cheryl and I were tired so we didn't have the urge to spend any money, but Sturgis and all its many opportunities to do that is coming tomorrow. Jim split from us to have dinner with some church friends from Findlay who moved out here, and Tom went to Buffalo Chip to see a show.

Having a great time and the weather was more cooperative today. Only had two brief spits of rain and we survived both. See you tomorrow!