Crazy Horse Memorial

Don't let X's beanie fool you, it wasn't cold here, just breezy in the morning. That boy loves a good beanie. Papa Ray Ray and Nan came to visit as part of their 2 week trek through this region of the country. We tried to cram in as many stops as we could while EZ was off work today. Crazy Horse was the first stop of the day. We also went to Mt. Rushmore and an adventure park, but I took plenty of pictures, so I wanted to separate them into different posts. I've been looking forward to this visit since my aunt told me it was one of her favorite places in the Black Hills. It did not disappoint. 

Crazy Horse Memorial is privately owned, so it is not a National Park and it is still under construction. If you're on a tight budget, you can see the monument from the road, but otherwise you pay about $30 depending on how many people are in your vehicle and their ages. After you park, they have a great museum with a 25 minute video that gives you the whole background story of the monument. The boys liked exploring the museum then going outside to view Crazy Horse. This wasn't their favorite stop, but I hope M still remembers our visit here when he's older because it is such an important story. There is a landing outside where you can view the monument and there are buses that will take you closer. We did not ride a bus today, but are considering it when we bring my mom back next week. Remember to pack your quarters if you want to use the viewers. There are so many places that we need quarters for an extra little adventure. They also have shows during the day, but we arrived too early and had to head to our other stops. X was also completely done with riding in the wagon. He is in the funny stage where he is too tired to walk, but doesn't want to be confined to the wagon, but we bring because he is heavy and will otherwise want to be carried. So we usually end up pushing an empty wagon around.





On the drive out we passed Horsethief Lake, and I had to snap a picture and toss it in here. The story of the name Horsethief is an interesting one!




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