The Black Hills of South Dakota has two gigantic carved mountains:

The Mount Rushmore National Memorial and The Crazy Horse Memorial.

They are about only 8 miles apart (13 Km) and are both spectacular.

This presentation shows the

Mount Rushmore National Memorial is shown in part 1

Crazy Horse was a young American Indian who tried to stop the American army from invading Indian territories. He was one of the leaders at the battle of Big Horn where Colonel Custer and all his troops were killed. By the end, he was forced to surrender and when he resisted arrest, he was killed in 1887 at the age of 28. He is remembered as a great Indian war hero.

In 1948, seven years after the work stopped at the nearby Mount Rushmore, the American Indians from South Dakota decided to build a memorial for their heroes.

They selected K. Ziolkowski as the sculptor for this monument. This artist worked as an assistant at the Mount Rushmore sculpture. He worked on this memorial for 34 years until his death in 1982. The work is still ongoing under the supervision of the artist's wife, working together with seven of his ten children.

The Thunderhead Mountain was selected for this sculpture. The sculptor chose Crazy Horse on top of his horse as his subject for the Memorial.

At this time in 2009, the Memorial is not finished. The progress is very slow and it will take many more years until completion. The work is not subsidized by the Federal Government and funds are limited.The excavation is made mostly by blasting.

August 2009--- the Monument as seen from far away.

A view from a closer distance.

…..and closer.

View from the visitor complex.

The model of the statue can be compared to the work accomplished so far.This model was built on a scale of 1:34.

The progress of the work during the years.

2009

Very little progress in the last years.

A road was carved in the mountain for heavy equipment.

The monument's basic dimensions. When finished, it will have a height of 563 feet and a length of 641 feet, making it by far the biggest statue in the world.

The Egyptian Sphinx at same scale

The mountain is made of heavy granite.

Washington's head at Mount Rushmore at same scale.

The monument is much bigger than Mount Rushmore.

Only when you see how small the workers look, you realize the size of the project.

Every year, on the first weekend in June, visitors are allowed to walk the 6 miles to the base of the head.

Crazy Horse does not look too happy to see them so close.

On some nights, the Monument is illuminated by fires.

During tourist season, the statue is illuminated at night and a laser show is presented.

Touring information.

The Crazy Horse Memorial is open every day of the year. There are extended hours in summer.

Entrance is charged for each carload. The ticket allows reentry if you plan to revisit for the night show.The visitor center offer views from about three-quarters of a mile away from the statue.

The Monument is located 30 miles from Rapid City, which can be reached by many airlines. The nearest big city is Denver, Colorado, which is 309 miles away or a 50 minute flight.

There are several other big attractions in the area, like The Mount Rushmore National Memorial, The Badlands National Park and The Devil Tower in Wyoming.

The name "Crazy Horse" is used in many other places.

One of them is a rock band best known for its long association with the singer Neil Young.

Another use is a famous cabaret in Paris that features nude dancers.

Here at the Crazy Horse Paris, Pamela Anderson, famous from the show Baywatch, performed a strip act for a Valentines Day celebration.

Not to be outdone, the MGM hotel in Las Vegas mounted a Crazy Horse show and presented Carmen Electra, another Baywatch celebrity, for one of their nude performances.

Last look at Crazy Horse

Bye-bye

Presentation and pictures (a few from Internet) by Dan Calistrat dcalistrat@aol.com August 2009