Native Spirits

Today we just had two items on the list: Devil's Tower and the Medicine Wheel.  We hiked at both.

The Devil's Tower is thought to be a lava plug that was originally a mile and a half below the surface.  Over the millenia the mile and a half of soil plus another 900 feet eroded away, leaving the tower to dominate the landscape.  

The loop trail around the tower is one and a half miles long, at 5,000 feet above sea level.  

We then drove through rain for three hours, but the skies lifted as we reached the Medicine Wheel.

As at the tower, prayer cloths and other offerings, such as bags of tobacco, had been left by natives who were continuing the tradition of reaching out to the Great Spirit.

                                           

The hike here was three miles round trip at 9.600 feet above sea level and I must confess that it was much more difficult for me this time than the first time that Mardi and I visited the wheel.  Lung capacity isn't what it used to be - damned if I can figure out why.  While I paused for breath a few times, Ewen found prairie dogs, marmots and pikas 

(no pics of the latter - they're too small and too fast.  But, picture a mouse built like a rabbit.)

Prairie Dog

Marmots

Tomorrow we tour Yellowstone and Grand Teton Parks.  It will be a busy day!

The Black Hills

We're at the eastern end of the Mountain Time Zone so the sun came up early.  Breakfast on the motel patio and we're on the road just after 7 a.m.

The Black Hills are beautiful, albeit with a garnish of tacky spots thrown in.  But you quickly get past that and just soak in the awesome geography.

First destination is Mount Rushmore.

Impressive yes, but better is yet to come.

Crazy Horse Memorial Mountain has become a pilgrimage site for me. The Black Hills were, by Presidential Decree, deeded to the Native Americans in perpetuity.  And,as we know, that piece of paper wasn't worth anything. So, after Mount Rushmore was completed, Oglala Lakota Chief Henry Standing Bear commissioned the creation of a monument to recognize that the natives had some heroes too.  Work had been ongoing for about 30 years before I saw it for the first time.  On that visit the hole below his arm was there and we met the artist Korczak Ziolkowski in his home/studio/gallery.  That had to make the trip between 1977 when the hole was completed and 1982 when Korczak died.

This is how it looked then:

If it wasn't for the horse's head painted on the mountain you wouldn't know what you were looking at.

This is how it looks today:

People wonder why it is taking so long.  The four faces on Mount Rushmore would fit on the side of Crazy Horse's head.  Millions of tons of rock have been blown off the top and sides of the mountain beyond what was done at Rushmore.  This will be the largest stone sculpture in the world when completed.

They are currently removing rock from below the horse's head on the front side and this should be completed by the end of this year.  Next year they start on the hand and the front of the horse's head, working their way back so they don't "paint" themselves into a corner........they need a flat spot on top to work from.

They front side will be completed first, in the next 30 or 40 years, and then they will carve the back, taking another 30 or 40 years.  Ewen figures that he will bring his grandchildren to see the finished product.

This is my sixth visit to Crazy Horse and it's always an awesome sight.

After leaving Crazy Horse we drove the Needles Highway and the Iron Mountain Road......both are recommended for any Black Hills visit.

We visited Deadwood and got caught up in the middle of a gunfight, but my cameraman was so engrossed in the action that he forgot to take pictures.  However, we can tell you that the good guy killed the two bad guys (deja vu three times a day, at 2, 4 and 6 p.m.)

Ewen did manage to score a couple of good animal shots during the day: there were three herds of bison along the road, each having taken over a nice field of mown grass.

Tomorrow we do more native spiritual sites.

Reporting from Wall, South Dakota

We were on the road by 7:30 again today.  Light drizzle for the first hour and then a beautiful day.

On previous trips west, we took I-80 directly west from Chicago, through Illinois and Iowa before heading north to South Dakota.  This time we took I-90 north through Illinois and then west through Wisconsin and Minnesota to South Dakota.  A much nicer route with less traffic and less cornfields (thank you Wisconsin).
In the process we crossed the Mississippi, which separates Minnesota from Wisconsin.

Near the Wisconsin Dells we saw two Sandhill Cranes in flight, and Ewen saw another two on the ground. Probably enjoying their summer vacation away from Florida's heat and humidity.

One of the projects for Ewen and me on this trip was to find some "Big Stupid Things".  Yesterday was pretty much a wash, unless you count the wind turbine farm being built east of Sarnia courtesy of the big stupid Liberal government.  Nuff said!

Today was somewhat better.  Our first catch was this bull's head at Porter's Scupture Field.  It is made up of thousands of railway spikes as you may be able to make out in the detail below.  Note also his other whimsical/crazy pieces in the field.


Farther up the road, we missed a picture of a stagecoach and horses being chased by three robbers on horseback,and the skeleton of a man leading the skeleton of a dinosaur, done in steel as well.  But we got these.

And how about this?  Well, only one of them is big and stupid.

Even our major sightseeing stops verged on being big and stupid.

The Corn Palace is undergoing renovations so only part of it has been "painted" with corn this year.  It's corn by colour rather than paint by numbers.

And here's how it turns out.

Today was another 12 hour day, but we covered about 1,200 kilometres and finished about 4 hours past our original planned stop.  It gave us a chance to enjoy Wall Drug tonight, and we can use the extra time for a more complete visit to the Black Hills tomorrow.

To be continued..............

The Adventure Begins

We left Grimsby at 7:30 this morning.  Ewen's family were all on hand to say their goodbyes.

They weren't all fully awake however!

OK, that's better!

A good part of the afternoon was rainy, but that didn't stop us from checking off an item from Ewen's bucket list for the trip.................lunch at Taco Bell.

We finished up at the Comfort Inn in Edgerton, Wisconsin after driving 1,024 kilometres in 12 hours.  The Interstates in Illinois are all now toll routes, and all seem to be under construction.  Between that and the rain it was a boring day for Ewen.

We'll have another grueling day tomorrow, and then the fun begins as we take time to explore the Black Hills. 

Ewen the Mountain Climber

Thought that everyone might enjoy Malcolm's e-mailed documentary account of his brother's achievement. Thanks Malcolm......especially for the last two paragraphs!  Great picture Sue!

I think we're ready!

Subject: Malcolm's status report on Ewen

On Wednesday we went on a 6 hour trip to the peak of Silver peak,  Ontario's 3rd highest mountain. It all started with a 45 minute canoe ride,  followed by a 2 hour hike to the top. At the top we had a picnic while enjoying the view. We then went back the way we came.  There were scattered showers, but they only made the expedition more thrilling and unique from the past 2 times that we took this trip. Ewen gracefully strolled up and down the mountain without a problem.

This leads us to believe that Ewen is well prepared for his upcoming trip with the legendary hiker........ GRANDPA BUD!!

However it was Malcolm the great who carried most of the water and all of the food up to the top, and it was Malcolm who went on the majestic Grand Canyon trip with the legend first.

"Yardwork"

A guide/screener from Wildland Trekking has been following up to make sure that Ewen and I are in shape for the big hike.  During one of our e-mail exchanges I tried to get credit for the work I do at the greenhouse, but she wouldn't go for that.  Perhaps I didn't explain the "yard" that I work in.

David has about two acres of grass in front of the greenhouse and another four behind it.   A couple of weeks ago, the garden tractor was temporarily out of commission, so I spent three hours pushing the old gas mower.  Walked about six miles I figure.

Today, I sprayed the lawn  for weeds.

Empty, the back pack weighs 7 pounds.  Full, it's 50!  Carried it for three hours today, average weight would be 29 pounds.  Filled and emptied it three times.  I think that should count!

The signature garden at Trillium Hill.

And the view from the road to the greenhouse.

August 1st Training Hike

Eight miles today with temperatures around 30C and high humidity.  Ewen and I added another brick (five pounds) to our packs.  The trail was wet and slippery in spots which added another element to the challenge. There were also more ups and downs today.

My navigators found the Bruce Trail app so we had a very nice lady telling us where to go :-).

Crossed another version of the Welland Canal - this is either the first or second canal.

There are moments when you wonder why you took on this challenge.  Then there are other moments that make it totally worthwhile.  Check out Roger's video on the link below.

 http://youtu.be/MIGQKtPt9so

Had a great day with my brother and grandson.

This is our last "official" training hike.  Next week, Ewen is off to Killarney Provincial Park with his family for a few days of camping.  They plan to hike to the top of Spring Peak, the third highest mountain in Ontario - for the third time.  For me it's back to "yardwork".  More on that later.