On this day we visited the Crazy Horse Memorial and walked around Sylvan Lake by our cabin.
I woke up early and was the first one ready, so I walked down to Sylvan Lake for some photos. The lake was formed in 1881 when a dam was built across a gulch, and is most recognized as a location from the movie National Treasure: Book of Secrets.
The morning was brisk and still and beautiful.
Heading down from the cabin
A variety of watercraft are available for rental
A shot through the trees before reaching a clearing
Did I mention it was a still morning?
Panoramic view
Gorgeous mirror of a lake...
...and crisp, clean air. If I only I could build my house on this spot.
You can walk all the way around the lake, although there's a little bit of hiking involved over and around the rocks. This photo shows the path on the west side.
Walking along the eastern trail. You can make out some of the Sylvan Lake cabins through the trees in the center left of the photo.
Continuing around the east side, it becomes apparent that the rocks in the lake are not one all connected as they appear to be when viewed from the south.
Satellite view from Google Maps
Looking from the northeast to the south. The cabins, general store and meeting hall are behind the trees in the center right of the photo.
I walked all the around the east side side of the lake to just behind those rocks in the photo (where there was a very active chipmunk colony). In the 10 minutes it took me to walk back to the southern edge the wind had picked up, removing the mirror effect of the water.
After my morning constitutional I walked back to the cabin where everyone was getting ready to go. We had breakfast at the lodge and then drove to the Crazy Horse Memorial.
Take the tunnel
Wow, that's big
A closer look. As you can see, the memorial is a work in progress (has been since 1948). Built on private land, it is a non-profit funded endeavor and receives no state or federal money. Aside from fundraising efforts and donations, the funds for the project come from admission fees to the monument area and sales from the gift shop and concessions.
The sculptor's model for the mountain. In the previous photo you can see (3-foot wide) white lines painted on the side of the mountain to give an idea of where the horse's head will be.
Model and mountain together
The sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski and his family lived on the property while he worked on the mountain. The visitor center connects to the property and you can tour many of the buildings including a portion of the home. While he and his wife has passed, his 10 children continue the project and I believe all are involved in operation of the foundation, facilities and construction in some fashion. One of the exhibits on display around the property.
For a small extra fee you can take a bus ride nearer to the base of the monument - so we did.
No blasting was scheduled for today, so we were ok to proceed
At the furthest point the bus was stopped and we were given time to get off and take photos. Voila.
Our band of adventurers
We left Crazy Horse and drove into Custer City for a late lunch and provisions. We couldn't agree on a restaurant (though I thought the Purple Pie Place and Buglin' Bull both sounded good), so after exploring all the aisles at Lynn's Dakotamart we took our groceries back to the cabin and made sandwiches for lunch.
After a short sandwich coma we all walked down to Sylvan Lake and made the loop all the way around. The weather couldn't have been better - warm, but not hot, with a light breeze.
Hello again
It's a lake-y sort of afternoon
The north end of the lake
A rocky island
A lot of people were out enjoying the lake - hiking, paddle boating, fishing, etc. I unintentionally caught this cast just as it hit the water.
Sunlight on the water
After a short but steep scramble over some rocks we came to these stairs leading down
Better like this...
...or better like this?
Hey, wait for me!
The path to get from behind the rocks back to the lake
Hopefully these rocks aren't going anywhere soon
Todd, look out!
He's clearly terrified :)
Heading back to the cabin and looking at the east side of the lake
There was plenty of daylight left when we got back to the cabin so we decided to go for a drive to Legion Lake. Well, a wrong turn derailed that until the next day but we still had a good time.
Only one car at a time here. Looks clear for us...
...proceed at warp speed!
Love this photo :)
And this view...amazing.
To borrower a quote from librettist Alice Goodman (from John Adams's opera Nixon in China): "This country is so beautiful. One fine day, you will see it all."
Gorgeous
Looks like they're waiting for us...light speed again!
While we didn't make it to Legion Lake today, we did discover the brand new Custer State Park visitor center which is excellent and the staff are so friendly and helpful.
At the visitor center there's a fantastic Kevin Costner narrated IMAX film about the park that runs throughout the day. We would catch it when we went back the next day.
As the daylight faded we drove back to the cabin and cooked a pizza in the oven for dinner. It had been another great day!
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