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 Thanks Lix!