Location(s)

Mt Rushmore.  Named for a New York City attorney doing land title work in the Black Hills in 1884, little did he know the impact "his mountain" would have on future generations.

Today's itinerary includes Mt Rushmore, Custer State Park, Custer and the Rimrock Road with a brief stop to check out petroliana at the Motion Unlimited Car lot and Museum!  Claudia, when Gene takes you on this trip, make sure he buys you some Black Hills Gold jewelry(but more on that later).

Mt Rushmore is the world's largest piece of art.  The faces are 60 feet high(the Statue of Liberty's head is 17' high).  Many think the sculptor was the visionary on this project but the original dream came from Doane Robinson, the Superintendent of the South Dakota Historical Society who, in 1923, envisioned a mountain carving depicting the heroic characters of South Dakota from Crazy Horse to Custer.  Gutzon Borglum, a Rodin protegee', was ultimately approached and he envisioned "faces for the ages".  Key congressional support was obtained and in 1927 the sculpting began.  Fourteen years later the project was completed some seven months after Borglum's death.  To learn more of this fascinating story go to www.american parknetwork.com. 

S.T.Butler is widely recognized as the father of Black Hills Gold jewelry but this unique jewelry's actual origins are unknown.  It is surmised the design may have been imported from the 1849 California gold fields.  Whatever its origins a 1980s federal court ruled that to be called Black Hills Gold jewelry, it must be manufactured in the Black Hills.  No trip to the hills is complete without the purchase of such a piece for your significant other.Whether you believe the story of S.T. Butler or the frenchman who fell asleep under a tree in the Black Hills and envisioned this jewelry doesn't really matter, it is the experience of the place that comes to mind years later when you gaze on your souvenier. 

Now we travel to the banks of French Creek, where Custer's 1874 expedition

first discovered gold in the Black Hills.  Today this park is home to spectacular terrain and a large buffalo herd, as well as a diversity of other wildlife but in 1874 it was the sole property of the Sioux by virtue of the Ft. Laramie Treaty of 1868.  Custer's report of gold led to America's last gold rush.  Two years later the Sioux destroyed Custer's force at Little Big Horn thereby winning the battle but ultimately losing the war.

It is interesting that we have a town called Custer in the Black Hills but none called Sitting Bull.  History is written by the conqueror. 

We finish the day by traveling back to Rapid City by way of Custer and the scenic Rimrock Highway.  This will make for a very long day that could be broken into two days by staying at one of the Custer Park resorts but for now it is time for dinner at the Circle B Ranch Chuckwagon dinner and western music theater.  Tomorrow we head for Devil's Tower and points west.