Sensory Overload

Wow! What a day yesterday! Highlights included a photo op from Crazy Horse's hand. In case you don't know -- this is the more-than-monumental statue that is being carved close to Mount Rushmore. The sculptor began it 60 years ago with just a small compressor and jack hammer. He died but his family is continuing the effort -- all without government funding. Crazy Horse's head is almost done and lots of the mountain has been blasted away for the rest of the statue which features him on his horse (emerging from the rock of the mountain.) This statue is/will be so large that all four heads from Mount Rushmore would fit in Crazy Horse's head! We got up close and personal with a view that costs the average traveler $125. What a sight! And that was just the beginning. There's a great collection of Indian artifacts, the artist's studio and a nice restaurant on the property with lots more planned. We met Ruth, the sculptor's widow (I can't spell the names right now -- got to look them up!) who said, "We have a lot of dreams and they're big!" She's an amazing woman.
Next came a drive on the Norbeck Scenic Trail and Needles Highway -- lots of wildlife, beautiful vistas and now I have to see National Treasure II again because some of it was filmed here.
The day ended with a visit to Prairie Edge -- a store with the most extensive and impressive aggregation of Indian art I have ever seen and a dinner at a New York-class restaurant. The owner/chef will be cooking at the James Beard House in a couple of weeks. The Corn Exchange has been written up in the New York Times, Gourmet Magazine and other prestigious pubs. Just goes to show -- great talent can flourish anywhere!