Rapid City, South Dakota

Downtown Rapid City.

I decided to ride to Rapid City to see Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse. Unfortunately I couldn't get a host so I booked 2 nights at the Holiday Inn. This was a pretty nice hotel - it had a waterfall and everything!

I did managed to get in contact with Kyrah, a local who couldn't host but was happy to hang out. The night I arrived she and I met up in a bar downtown. Just like my host in Cheyenne, Kyrah served in the Air Force. However she was much younger than Kendra (21 from memory). She had a lot of plans to see the world some day, but seemed rather content to be living in Rapid City for now.

Kyrah and I at the hookah bar.

We both had a couple of beers at a place called "The Firehouse" (a fire station converted into a microbrewery), then went to go meet some of her other Air Force buddies at another bar. They were a pretty cool bunch; what I was coming to realize is that people I meet in the forces over here are not as conservative as you'd expect. They had especially liberal views on issues such as the Iraq war and were almost embarrassed by some of the military actions taken by the US. I'm guessing these liberal viewpoints might be because I haven't met any front-line members yet, everyone so far seems to treat the military like a regular job.

All of us had a few beers then headed down to a hookah bar. These seem popup sporadically around the US (I guess states that allow smoking in bars). The last time I had hookah was in Berlin so I was excited to do it again! It's pretty awesome if you've never tried it, it's like smoking really smooth tobacco but with awesome flavors. It has no discernible "hit" to it as far as I can tell.

We got a flavor called "Pikachu" and took turns taking hits from waterpipe. Every now and then a staff member would come around and replace the hot coals, making sure the "flavor was still good". We also were given detergent so we could blow sweet-ass smoke bubbles.

Micheal (left) and what's-his-face (sorry terrible with names!)

Me attempting to blow Pickachu (...flavored smoke bubbles).

My full day in Rapid City was used to go and do the mandatory Mount Rushmore Monument and Crazy Horse Memorial run. This was, after all, the only reason I was in South Dakota. The Mount Rushmore Monument is pretty cool, you can see it above as you drive up to the park. You then have to pay to get in, I think it was about $10. 

After that it was certainly a case of a "Super Touristy" attraction, I parked in a multi-story lot, walked a short distance through a giant granite walkway flanked by state flags out to a massive viewing platform. There were tourists everywhere. A small wooden walkway could take you out closer to the monument. At the end there was a massive gift store (as you'd expect) and large cafeteria.

Rushmore walkway.

Rushmore and Squints  McGee.

The Eiffel Tower.

The Crazy Horse Memorial.

I then rode down to the Crazy Horse Memorial, a massive monument to the famous Native American figure. The sculpture when finished will be the largest in the world (nearly 200 meters tall). The problem is that none of us will be alive to see the final product! The face is done, but at the current pace of development the horse's head will be completed in 25 years.

The sculpture was started by one dude in 1948, and work is now continued by his descendants. All funds for the work are sourced from tourists and donations. What I liked about Crazy Horse was that it had a free 15 minute introduction movie that gave some background on the sculpture, what it was about and the progress, and there was a pretty decent museum there. As a pretty pragmatic guy, what irked me a little was that the Ziolkowski family refused government donations of $10M to complete the work faster. Apparently the original dude believed in "free enterprise", so all government contributions are off limits. But I say take the money and get it done faster!

Crazy Horse Memorial and what it will eventually look like.

That night the "Hot Summer Nights" festival was on in downtown Rapid City. It was pretty much a street party with live music and market stalls. There was an interesting alleyway that had some "alternative" people playing music and selling homemade goods. It was like a weird modern hippie community, and the only place in Rapid City were people were legally allowed to graffiti the walls. The police seemed to walk up and down there a lot.

Later on I met up with Kyrah at the festival and went out drinking again with her some different friends. That night I really didn't feel like partying, so after few drinks I went back to my hotel and had an early night. Oh, one of them was "Reaper" pilot - he was less fucked up than I would've thought someone with that occupation would be. Kind of a really cheery guy really.

Hippie alleyway at the Hot Summer Nights Festival.