Today's travel took us through Big Horn National Park into Cody, WY. There were stretches of road that were desolate and magnificent. Some of the more spectacular panoramic views were taken in and a fleeting glimpse of a moose (this time a wild one).
We went to the Crazy Horse Memorial this morning, just outside Hill City, SD approaching Custer. It was amazing. The sculpture will be the largest in the world and it has been under construction for nearly 70 years. Korczak Ziolkowski (good luck) and his family (wife, Ruth +10 children) have been working on it since the late 40's. He was an assistant on Mount Rushmore and was asked by the Lakota elders to sculpt this memorial to Crazy Horse. On a serious note, I had never thought of how degrading our Mount Rushmore is to the Native American culture. In my Anglo ignorance I had not put the Black Hills and these mountains in context. To the Native Americans these are very treasured lands, and for us to now have a tax payer financed monument with four heads of state carved into the side of their mountains...well, you can understand the sadness they must still feel. So, it was good conversation with the kids and I was glad we went to both memorials. The Crazy Horse Memorial is financed completely with private monies (hence the length of this project).
Near the top of BigHorn we had to get out of the car just to stretch and took the opportunity to pose.
*Evening sidebar (I have to get this off my chest)- So, if you're not familiar with the ways of the RV/Campground situation for showers and bathrooms let me help you out. If you've ever had to endure the community shower, it's not as bad as the Florence Y, but worse than college dorms at BSC. There are 4 basic types of bathers, as I've observed and self-identified after the first week on the road. Let me explain. The first type we'll call "the Resident". He lives here (4-5 days a week). He knows how to get the hot water just right in stall no.2 and where to find an actual towel in a paper-friendly floorplan. He's a little bit bothered that you are in the (his) bathroom and isn't afraid to show it with some unfriendly body language. Basically, get out. The second type is "the Camper". He's been in the woods for about a week and hasn't seen running water in as long. He's probably not even taking a shower because he didn't make it that far. He's bathing in the sink. He's also trying to be dirty. It's part of his badge of honor after surviving a week in the woods. He's the reason it looks like there was a busted pipe when you walk in the bathroom. He probably didn't even bring a towel. Just follow the trail of water down to the bus stop. The third type is "the Reluctant Dad" (me). There are actually a good number of these. We've got most of what we need, but are likely bathing with some J&J Tears-Free (or in my case some Whole Foods organic grass fed non-HMO honey suckle juniper juice). We are also probably trying to keep tabs on 2-3 other small boys in separate stalls so it's not really a shower as much as it is a race to finish before they're out of sight for more than 90 seconds. We are also modest (in contrast with the others). The last type is "Cousin Eddy". He relies completely on the kindness of strangers to complete the task. "Can I borrow your soap"..."Can I get a squirt of shampoo"..."How about a hit of toothpaste"..."Where's your RV, I'll bring your towel back when I'm done". You get the point. He's a bit too comfortable with the whole idea of a community bathhouse. He also has no filter. It's awesome.
1 comment:
Haha love the evening sidebar!
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