South Dakota: Crazy Horse Memorial & Jewel Cave National Monument
6/15/23 – 2 Miles
According to Google, synonyms for serendipitous are “lucky, fortunate, fortuitous, chance, accidental, random, casual, unexpected, unintentional, and inadvertent.” All these words describe my carefully-planned-and-then-upended trip to South Dakota. (If you're new to this blog, start here to see where the twists and turns of this adventure took me.)
My last full day before returning home to NC went like this:
Thunderstorms dominated the weather forecast, so no hiking for me. I had booked a guided tour of Jewel Cave National Monument for late in the afternoon, but what else could I discover in the meantime? I perused the map while enjoying breakfast at Black Hills Bagels in Rapid City, great coffee and a delicious light fluffy “everything” bagel with cream cheese. I definitely could get used to being a local…
My original plans did not include the Crazy Horse Memorial. To be honest, I didn’t know much about it, thought it was a non-native exploitation (*Mount Rushmore*). But several people I encountered during my travels told me to be sure to visit, so today was the day.
Along the way I passed the CCC Museum of South Dakota (part of the Visitor Center at Hill City, SD). I’m familiar with the Civilian Conservation Corps work during the Great Depression, particularly in creating Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Blue Ridge Parkway, so I turned around to check out this museum.
What a find! This gem is packed with artifacts from the era (1933-1942) including photographs, clothing, documents, and rosters of enrollees in the program (more than 30,000 men). I chatted with the volunteers on duty, folks who moved to South Dakota after retirement. (Note: many senior citizens volunteer in visitor centers and museums here.)
Below is a brief description of my experience at the Crazy Horse Memorial, not intended to be comprehensive or objective. Please check out the referenced links for more information.
Crazy Horse Memorial is a sculpture carved on Thunderhead Mountain, about 5 miles from Custer, South Dakota, to honor the Lakota leader and warrior. It is privately owned by the Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation which manages the Visitor Complex (located .75 miles away from the mountain). There is much to see and experience at the complex, starting with an introductory film about the project’s origin, its purpose to honor the living heritage of North American Indians, the role of Henry Standing Bear, and Korczak Ziolkowski, the sculptor who supervised the project. The history is complicated and at times contentious.
The Visitor Complex includes several buildings - The Indian Museum of North America, The Native American Educational Cultural Center, and the Indian University of North America – filled with art, crafts, sculptures, writings and artifacts. Daily cultural programs led by Native American performers and storytellers are an integral part of education. If you’re going, be sure to check the schedule and enjoy a performance!
I was enthralled by a Sicangu (Rosebud) Lakota Sioux woman named Starr Chief Eagle performing a ring dance with a total of 22 rings! Check out a video of her here.
In total, I spent 3+ hours exploring the Crazy Horse Memorial, taking my time to walk through all the buildings. My visit was well worth it, educating me on the history, the suffering, the resilience and the beauty of Native American people.
I didn’t pay extra money to get closer to the monument, but the semi-annual Volksmarch sounds intriguing…next time?
In the United States, a national park encompasses large areas of land that protect resources, including natural and historic features, and is established by an act of Congress. A national monument is an area reserved because it contains objects of historic, prehistoric or scientific interest, and is established by presidential proclamation. Jewel Cave National Monument, 13 miles west of Custer, is the fifth longest cave in the world (!) full of unique and amazing geologic formations, but it was of special interest to me because of the story of two people who helped mapped the cave.
Herb and Jan Conn were avid rock climbers in the Needles area of the Black Hills in the 1940’s and 1950’s, naming many of the peaks they scaled. Climbing was a love they shared, using simple equipment (a rope tied around the waist) and a respect for the natural wonders all around them.
One of Jan’s significant accomplishments was being the first woman to free-climb the Devil’s Tower in nearby Wyoming. Herb climbed with her on that occasion, but after criticism of whether he helped her, Jan decided to set the record straight and climbed again with a female partner, calling it the first “manless” ascent of Devil's Tower. Read the story here in Jan’s own words – it will make you laugh!
The Conns learned about Jewel Cave in 1959 and their rock climbing skills descended below ground. Over the next 22 years, from 1959 until the early 1980’s, Herb and Jan explored the cave, mapping 65 miles of connecting tunnels and “rooms.” (Currently more than 200 miles are mapped.)
Herb passed away at age 91 in 2012. Jan passed away at age 99 just one month before I visited Jewel Cave.
Go ahead, spend a few hours being inspired about Herb and Jan. You won’t regret it! Check out these links to learn more about this fascinating duo, their skills, and their humility towards their accomplishments.
The Story of Jan and Herb Conn – South Dakota Hall Of Fame article
“Ups and Downs of Herb and Jan Conn” – YouTube video
Jan Conn’s Obituary – Hill City Prevailer News
All tours of Jewel Cave are ranger-guided, very popular, and I booked in advance. There were 30 people on the 90-minute tour (a long time to be confined with people sticking close together in the dark.) Wait a minute…we have to descend 300 feet in an elevator to start the tour?
As expected, the cave was cold, upper 40’s, a maze of small rooms and spaces, many stairs up and down, metal walkways around curved walls, purposefully dim lighting, hopelessly unphotogenic. The rock formations are calcite crystals in clusters on the walls and ceilings, a feeling of being in an underwater coral reef. As I walked I tried to picture the Conns exploring, but I couldn’t imagine going down into that utter darkness again and again. They often spent several days at a time deep in Jewel Cave. What type of tools did they have to measure? How did they stay spatially oriented? Did they pack “everything” out?
I was glad to return to the surface and explore the Visitor Center exhibits. At the gift shop, I bought the last copy of Herb and Jan’s book The Jewel Cave Adventure that was autographed by Jan. (The gift shop employee said, “There won’t be any more.")
Brimming with stories of my day, I returned to Bridget’s house around 6:00 p.m. Like me, Dani was staying one more night. Lynn had departed and a woman named Sherry had arrived to start hiking the Centennial Trail the next morning. Bridget made dinner for us (again!) and we enjoyed a fast-paced free-flowing conversation about gear, travels, and the CT: a memorable evening of 4 adventurers coming together in this hiking life that I will never forget.
L/R: Me, Bridget, Dani & SherryAnother surprise: I told Bridget about my interest in Jan Conn, and she shared that she and Jan were close personal friends since Bridget was a little girl! She told heartwarming stories about their friendship and travels together.
The next morning I flew back home to Charlotte, heart filled to overflowing with the serendipity of my time in South Dakota – and my backpack arrived safe and sound!
“Then one day, when you least expect it,
the adventure finds you.”
~Ewan McGregor
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