The next stop was the Crazy Horse Memorial.
It is hard to fathom from this photo, but this monument is gigantic. When completed, this monument will be 563 feet high and 641 feet long. In comparison, all four 60 foot heads on Mount Rushmore would fit inside just Crazy Horse's head. Just his head.
In 1948, the first blast removed 10 ton of rock.
Today's blasts average 700 ton of rock.
The memorial is a private, non-profit undertaking financed only by admission fees and contributions. The memorial does not accept government funding. That is the primary reason for the slow progress in completing this memorial monument.
Crazy Horse face dimensions… his forehead alone is 32 feet!
Legends in Light is the laser light show that is displayed on the mountain.
It is pitch black outside and the images are continuously moving to music and a narrated story. It was very neat and one of our family favorites from the whole trip!
The next morning we were back to Custer State Park. We drove the long, winding path to Mount Coolidge Lookout Tower.
This is the highest point in all of Custer State Park. The historic Fire Tower was one of the last projects of the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s.
From the lookout you can spot Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse and the Needles. (you can't spot them in this photo, however).
Beautiful views!
Another tunnel...
and another view of the faces!
All wood bridge, still in use today.
The next stop was Bear Country.
Then we found a great ice cream shop called Armadillo's.
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