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[LixyChick]

This is so cool! Crazy Horse Memorial (www.uwsp.edu/geo/projects/geoweb/participants/dutch/VTrips/CrazyHorse.HTM)

Due to his type of work, Mr. Lixy has been interested in this project for quite some time now. We've never taken the trip to see it but we definitely will someday!

The night blasts are his favorite! He's particularly interested in the geology aspect because the rock isn't indigenous to our area. He has to know and understand all the rock he is working with in order to do his job without incident. He'd love to hang out with the blaster's on this project!

Has anyone been to it? Walked on it? Seen a blast?

Tell me your stories!

For those who may never see it (from other countries or for whatever reason), check out the site. The pics are astonishing and the story is incredible!

[Cheyanne]

Wow! That is sooooooo cool! I knew that a sculpture was in the works but hadn't seen how far along it had gotten. What a treat to see something like that after hiking thru the beautiful area! Thanks Lixy!

[LixyChick]

Wow! That is sooooooo cool! I knew that a sculpture was in the works but hadn't seen how far along it had gotten. What a treat to see something like that after hiking thru the beautiful area! Thanks Lixy!
It's been "in the works" since about 1948 even! It's not funded by the government and so the process is ever so slow and very costly!

I work with a woman who made the trip last year. She said that the arm was just now starting to take shape (had been working on it for several years) and you could walk on it. The pics show that. They still have his headress, body and the horse to add. The horses head is painted out on the rock to show where it will be. I think it's shown in one of the pics.

When you hiked through the area Chey, didn't you catch a glimpse of the head?

[dicksbro]

I'd love to go see that, too. What a fantastic sculpture.

[sodaklostsoul]

Well.......being from South Dakota yes I have seen it, but at the time I went you could not get very close to it and work was at a stand still then too. It's really cool to see, worth the trip, also catch Mt. Rushmore and the BadLands too. Beautiful place!!!

[LixyChick]

Here's another link that'll show what the sculpture will look like when finished (a scale model), tell the story of why it is being sculpted, and give dimensions of it's full erection (<---I said erection :rofl: )...

Memorial Story (www.blackhillsbadlands.com/go.asp?ID=320&utm_source=Overture&utm_medium=PPC&utm_term=CrazyHorse&utm_campaign=Spring05)

[LixyChick]

Well.......being from South Dakota yes I have seen it, but at the time I went you could not get very close to it and work was at a stand still then too. It's really cool to see, worth the trip, also catch Mt. Rushmore and the BadLands too. Beautiful place!!!
Thanks soda! I'm guessing you saw the monument before the arm was walkable? Did you live close enough to hear the blasts when they happened?

Mr. Lixy said they are such tiny blasts (so as not to blow anything away that is going to be part of the finished sculpture), but that they do quite a few at once. And then they have to chisel, secure and clean up the blast area before they can go on to another part. It sound tedious, to say the least!

[sodaklostsoul]

Nope...did'nt live close. Would have liked to see them work on it. The first time we went you had to stand behind a fence really far away. The second time you could walk up closer but not get to close.

[LixyChick]

Nope...did'nt live close. Would have liked to see them work on it. The first time we went you had to stand behind a fence really far away. The second time you could walk up closer but not get to close.
So the arm wasn't walkable at that time? If so...may I ask what year that might have been? I'm just trying to get a time frame for when it might be complete. They had hoped for the Spring of 2005 as far as I can tell. But we can see that that didn't happen. Hmmmmmmm...also...do you know why, at the time you saw it, they weren't working on it? Was the project shut down for lack of funding or something? Or was it just the time of day that they let people close enough to look that they didn't do any work?

I ask because, I think now you can watch the blasts from their "safe distance" area. But I am not sure about that either. I think I read that somewhere in all the links I've visited about the memorial.

[Steph]

Incredible! His eyes are so beautiful. Thanks for the goosebumps, Lixy (and I'm not just talking about your latest pic thread *chomps cigar like Groucho*)!

[LixyChick]

Incredible! His eyes are so beautiful. Thanks for the goosebumps, Lixy (and I'm not just talking about your latest pic thread *chomps cigar like Groucho*)!
ROFLMFAO! I can't stand the pic in my head of you with those glasses, fake nose and mustache costume...yet I won't be able to get that out of my head for hours now...TYVM!

"Say the secret werd and the duck will drop down"

BTW...Crazy Horse, in his later years (maybe not necessarily his youth) wasn't as pretty as the sculpture might indicate. But yes Steph...they did him honorably and made him similar to our American stamp of Elvis...the young, cute version...not the wrinkled, old, fat one! Um...not that Crazy Horse was ever fat. OK...shutting up now!

Oh geezzzzzzz...did I just type that out loud?

[Oldfart]

Yes, Lixy, you used your loud finger.

[rockintime]

I don't remember WHEN I saw it, but it was quite a while ago and like, sdls, I had to look from a long way off and it seemed more conceptual than visually identifiable (I probably didn't have binoculars during that visit), but the concept was FANTASTIC and INTRIGUING. Now that I've seen the pictures you've provided, I'm ready fill my car with the near $3/gallon gas and head for South Dakota!

slds...were you visiting the SAME day that I was? :D

[fredchabotnick]

Wow. Last time I saw it was 15-20 years ago and I don't really think any of it was done. That's awesome.

[Steph]

Yep, we've got to realize dude had a chisel and a drill bit and some dynamite and plugged away at it for years!

I can't believe I didn't know about this until today tho' I'm not surprised that Lixer elixer was the one who showed me this brillance.

[sodaklostsoul]

Hmmm 2nd time I saw it was 7 years ago. Don't remember if they were working on it or not. I assume they were.

1st time I saw it was about 28 yrs ago.

Does that help any Lixy?

[scotzoidman]

From what I've heard about it over the years, a big factor in what's holding up the completion of the project (other than the usual lack of funding) is the hugely ambitious scale of the project...supposedly, you could fit all 4 heads from Rushmore onto Crazy Horse's forearm, or something along those lines...in any case, it IS a really big dig, & as was pointed out, takes some finesse in terms of controlled demo work to blast away the excess w/o taking off too much...

[Aqua]

I've been checking the progress on this monument for quite some time now. A friend told me about it around '97/'98 and I check the site every few months to see how things are coming. It's damn cool!

[lakritze]

What great pictures.I would love to see it when it is complete some day.Very impressive. I'd like to also see the Marx Brothers in granite.

[LixyChick]

Oh man! I am SO glad you guys are diggin' this! It's something close to both Mr. Lixy's and my hearts! He being a blaster, and me of [partial] native American decent.

Oldfart...Make me stop doing that! I dunno how...but you gotta find a way to make me stop it! *giggle*

rockintime...I hear ya hun! Though I abhor long drives anymore (driving back and forth to Fla. 3 x's killed my yippee's)...I'm thinking a planned trip isn't out of the question in our very near future vacations!

fredchabotnick...They musta had something done on it when you saw it, since it's been going on since 1948. Maybe, like some of the other's said, it just wasn't visually defined as yet. Looking pretty cool now though, huh?

Steph...Mr. Lixy told some stories about back in the day, and how they used to "drill" holes to prep the rock for blasting. One guy would hold a "pin" and another would hit it with a sledge hammer. The first guy would spin the "pin" really fast as the second guy raised the hammer and brought it down again for another hit. Can you imagine being the guy holding the pin? Holy Fuck, what trust! Was wondering if that's how this monument got started? Lixer Elixer? Oh shit...don't make me feel a need to change my nick! Glad you are loving the site! :x:

soda...That helps...TYVM hun! Was just curious as to with each time you saw it...had it changed much? Sorry to badger you, but you are from there and have seen it twice on diverse occasions! I suppose I could find a "time-line" thread...but I love the banter here!

scotz...Yep! The scale in comparison to Mt. Rushmore is quite an endeavor to take on. And...all the monies come from private funding and that's gotta be painstaking too! Also heard that at one point a native American group wanted to halt the image forever, thinking it was disrescpecting Crazy Horse and the Indian nation...and that to capture an image is to steal a soul. Tis the reason during the frontier times, Indians didn't want their picture taken. This monument has a very interesting story behind it, indeed!

Aqua...If you ever get out that way to see it...ya know that Fla. and Pa. are only a hop, skip and jump from there! Hell...visit the whole east coast...K? :thumb:

lakritze...From what I can tell...it won't be done till around 2010. Unless, for some strange reason, they step up the process and shoot for an earlier date! OMG...the Marx Brother's would be a very...um...interesting monument too! LMFAO!



Try some other links for more info peeps! I don't remember the count but there is tons of other info out there on the www! I just typed in Crazy Horse Memorial and found a zillion links!

Again...so glad you are enjoying something near and dear to my heart!

[Steph]

Crazy Horse was an answer on "Jeopardy" last night, too. It was quick and I wasn't paying a lot of attention -- it was something about him being killed on the way to bring his sick wife somewhere? I'm suspecting you'll know more deets, Ms. Elixir. :D :x:

[fredchabotnick]

fredchabotnick...They musta had something done on it when you saw it, since it's been going on since 1948. Maybe, like some of the other's said, it just wasn't visually defined as yet. Looking pretty cool now though, huh?


I'm sure they had something done. I probably wasn't paying attention since it would have been on road trip. With my family. Through SD. While I was a teenager. So I bet I missed or didn't appreciate a lot of things.

[sodaklostsoul]

It's cool Lixy.

There is also a Big Bust of Sitting Bull up across the river by Mobridge. We use to party there in high school. Bad thing was someone always had a shotgun and would blow his nose off. Last I heard they quit repairing it. *very sad* I hate peeps that destroy things.

[scotzoidman]

It's cool Lixy.

There is also a Big Bust of Sitting Bull up across the river by Mobridge. We use to party there in high school. Bad thing was someone always had a shotgun and would blow his nose off. Last I heard they quit repairing it. *very sad* I hate peeps that destroy things.
Strangely, that reminds me of a quote from Emo Phillips..."She had a face like the Sphinx...they both had their noses shot off by French Legionnaires..."

[LixyChick]

Crazy Horse was an answer on "Jeopardy" last night, too. It was quick and I wasn't paying a lot of attention -- it was something about him being killed on the way to bring his sick wife somewhere? I'm suspecting you'll know more deets, Ms. Elixir. :D :x:
Here ya go Steph!


Crazy Horse
Tashunca-uitco
(1849-1877)
Celebrated for his ferocity in battle, Crazy Horse was recognized among his own people as a visionary leader committed to preserving the traditions and values of the Lakota way of life.

Even as a young man, Crazy Horse was a legendary warrior. He stole horses from the Crow Indians before he was thirteen, and led his first war party before turning twenty. Crazy Horse fought in the 1865-68 war led by the Oglala chief Red Cloud against American settlers in Wyoming, and played a key role in destroying William J. Fetterman's brigade at Fort Phil Kearny in 1867.

Crazy Horse earned his reputation among the Lakota not only by his skill and daring in battle but also by his fierce determination to preserve his people's traditional way of life. He refused, for example, to allow any photographs to be taken of him. And he fought to prevent American encroachment on Lakota lands following the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868, helping to attack a surveying party sent into the Black Hills by General George Armstrong Custer in 1873.

When the War Department ordered all Lakota bands onto their reservations in 1876, Crazy Horse became a leader of the resistance. Closely allied to the Cheyenne through his first marriage to a Cheyenne woman, he gathered a force of 1,200 Oglala and Cheyenne at his village and turned back General George Crook on June 17, 1876, as Crook tried to advance up Rosebud Creek toward Sitting Bull's encampment on the Little Bighorn. After this victory, Crazy Horse joined forces with Sitting Bull and on June 25 led his band in the counterattack that destroyed Custer's Seventh Cavalry, flanking the Americans from the north and west as Hunkpapa warriors led by chief Gall charged from the south and east.

Following the Lakota victory at the Little Bighorn, Sitting Bull and Gall retreated to Canada, but Crazy Horse remained to battle General Nelson Miles as he pursued the Lakota and their allies relentlessly throughout the winter of 1876-77. This constant military harassment and the decline of the buffalo population eventually forced Crazy Horse to surrender on May 6, 1877; except for Gall and Sitting Bull, he was the last important chief to yield.

Even in defeat, Crazy Horse remained an independent spirit, and in September 1877, when he left the reservation without authorization, to take his sick wife to her parents, General George Crook ordered him arrested, fearing that he was plotting a return to battle. Crazy Horse did not resist arrest at first, but when he realized that he was being led to a guardhouse, he began to struggle, and while his arms were held by one of the arresting officers, a soldier ran him through with a bayonet.

[LixyChick]

TY for your interest everyone!

*smacks scotz upside the head* BAD scotz!

LMFAO!

[Lost]

they just had an article about this today in the sioux falls ,SD paper..
heres the link to the story

http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060604/NEWS/606040340/1001

[campingboy]

I was there three summers ago. We did not get to spend much time in the Black Hills due to Sturgis bike rally. Not realizing that they would take over the whole area - and surround area too, we were only able to spend 2 day there. We did get to see Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse. We left and headed east to the Bad Lands then onto Sioux Falls. What I remember most about the trip - I did not know there were so many Harley's! Miles and mile of them all driving two abreast to the Black Hills. If anyone is thinking of going, find out when Sturgis is happening. Everything is booked for miles and miles around starting about a week before the event and then I would give it a week or two after. There is a lot of beer consumed, and you know the saying, 'The Great Outdoors is your Urnial'.

[Cjack]

I saw it the first time in 1989 and again in 2001. I couldn't get any closer than the highway and using glasses it still didn't look like much. The pictures on the web site are a much better view.
Thanks for showing the links.

[lizzardbits]

I lived out in the Black Hills when I was a kid, and celebrated my 10th birthday at a restaurant that had huge windows so you could see Crazy Horse. It was big news at that time that there was a hole through the mountain where the arm was supposed to span.

There was one point in my life that i was sick of the attractions out there, because every single time that we had family or friends visit, we would make the "tourist" rounds...I saw Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse, reptile gardens, Keystone, off-rally time Sturgis, the Mammoth Site, and Crystal Cave 10 times one summer...eh, my brothers and I had a better time playing with the yuccas and trying to play swords with them, or playing our on version of tour guide LMAO! I took swimming lessons at The Evans Plunge, the largest naturally heated indoor pool.

Last time that I was by it was for the Rally in '98, and that was just a drive by look and I remember that it looked pretty much the same as it did for my 10th birthday.....my! it has changed!

the only blasting that i ever heard while i was out there, was (i think) the Homestake Gold Mine, once when we were near it, and then when they were constructing the By-pass around Hot Springs. They had to blast through the mountains to try an make a fairly level highway for the truckers.

Seeing the pictures has really brought back the memories....those were some of my more idyllic childhood years :D Thanks Lix!

[LixyChick]

Oh...thought this thread was dead! Thanks for the link Lost!

Glad you all are still enjoying the pics and the memories that come with them.

I'd love to see it...and Sturgis too!

I really enjoy the stories everyone takes time to tell about their experiences. TY EVERYONE!

[dicksbro]

Lixy, the thread is just as interesting now as when you first started it. Had the pleasure of meeting a nun who works with the Lakota. They are an amazingly beautiful, strong and proud people.

Thanks again for having started this thread and say, "Hi," to Mr. Lix. ((( HUGS )))

[Bardog]

This Is so cooollll!!!!

I wish it wasn't 54376413768 miles from me.
I would love to spend some time camping and hiking around this.

[LixyChick]

When we went to Dallas this past winter, I saw a lot of footage on recent blasts on this endeavor.

In order for a film to be admitted to the seminar, a person or persons from that particular company had to be present. A culmination of all blasting companies (from around the world) came at the end of the conference.

We sat in awe to the music of AC/DC's "Thunderstruck" (a real fave of mine) when the company[s] who are blasting Crazy Horse presented their film of the most recent chisel's. It was like being at an AC/DC concert (I can only imagine)...more so even, with the blasts simultaneously hitting the beat of the drums!!! I got goosebumps personified!

I did shake the hand of a man who presented the film...but I don't know his part in the sculpture.

Thanks for still being interested Pixie peeps! Gawd...I love you all!














JHCOAB Bargog!!!!!!!! That fuckin av still makes me pee my pants!!!!!!!!!!