Going to Madison

Heather and I are traveling to Madison, Wisconsin. I am taking her to graduate school there. As we journey across the country, we have seen some amazing things. The first picture is the Indian Memorial at the Battle of the Little Big Horn, even though Sitting Bull won this battle against Custer, it was the beginning of the end for the plains Indians. While Heather and I were worried that Custer was going to be made out to be a hero, we were pleasantly surprised to find that the story at this National Monument was balanced and told both sides of the historic battle. Mt Rushmore was very impressive . Heather and I were able to hike right to the bottom of the talis pile. The day was beautiful, even though we shared the road with thousands of bikers going to a huge bike rally at Sturgis, South Dakota, it was funny to see these tough looking, tattooed, bearded, and leather-clad bikers eating ice cream and looking up at Mt Rushmore with he same awe that Heather and I felt.

Heather and my journey across the country gave us plenty of time to think about the implications of our country's Western expansion and the cost to the Native American's who lived here. The Crazy Horse Memorial really honors that experience. The artist and his family's dedication in creating this monument is an amazing story in itself. Even though the original sculpter has died, his wife and 7 of his 10 children are still working on this mammoth undertaking. No government funds are used in its construction. Crazy Horse's face is completely finished. To get an idea of the scale, the hole that you see is over 10 stories tall.