Headliners in South Dakota

Mike Yardley shares the enchanting fusion of art and nature found in South Dakota’s Black Hills.

Rising from the western South Dakota plains, the Black Hills region beckons like an emerald isle in a sea of prairie, serving up a swirl of headline experiences. Widely regarded as one of the man-made wonders of the world, Mount Rushmore is as much a work of art as it is an engineering tour de force. Its creator, Gutzon Borglum, who studied under Auguste Rodin, wanted to symbolise in stone the very spirit of a nation through four of its most revered leaders. Chiselled in granite high on a pine-clad cliff in South Dakota’s fabled Black Hills are the portraits of four of America’s greatest leaders. Since 1941, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt have gazed quietly across the Great Plains and a land they did so much to shape.

Dynamite was used to carve more than 90 percent of the memorial. Originally, the four presidents were going to be carved from head to waist, but that was scaled back to just head sculptures. All told, the monument was completed at a cost of about $1 million over a 14-year period, involving 400 workers. Remarkably, there were no fatalities. On a sunny, bluebird day, the memorial is a captivating sight. Plan to visit early, to avoid the hordes. Follow the Presidential Trail through the forest to gain excellent views of the colossal sculpture, or stroll the Avenue of Flags for a different perspective. If you’re visiting at night, the ranger-led lighting ceremony takes place between June and September.

Less well known as Mount Rushmore but arguably even more eye-popping, and only 30 minutes away, is the monumental work in progress, the Crazy Horse Memorial. Designed to be the world’s largest work of art (the face alone is 87 feet tall), this tribute to the spirit of Native American people depicts Crazy Horse, the legendary Lakota leader who helped defeat General Custer at Little Bighorn. A work in progress, thus far the warrior’s head has been carved from the mountain, as has his outstretched hand. His eyes alone are five metres wide. Self-taught sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski started this memorial in 1948, knowing full well that the immensity of the project meant it would not be completed in his lifetime.

After he died in 1982, his family carried on the project, with some of his children and grandchildren actively involved even today. Technological advances have given hope that the huge project will completed in several decades. The dimensions are staggering — nearly two rugby fields long and two rugby fields wide, all carved out of the granite cliff of Thunderhead Mountain, 1828m above sea level. When the sculpture is completed, Crazy Horse will sit astride his mount, pointing over his stallion’s head to the sacred Black Hills. So large is the sculpture that all four presidents on Mount Rushmore would fit in Crazy Horse’s head.

For a compelling wildlife fix, I then hopped over to Custer State Park. It is one of the most beloved and diverse parks in the United States, featuring knock-out natural scenery, diverse wildlife, and a woodsy, outdoorsy escape. If you’re short on time like I was, take a drive through the park on the Wildlife Loop Road, which traverses pine-covered hills, rolling prairies and red-walled canyons.

It’s home to 1500 bison (one of the largest herds in the world), pronghorn antelope, elk and a very friendly band of burros. Plus, I spotted some cute prairie dogs for the first time in my life. Take nature’s detox a step further and stay overnight at Legion Lake Lodge in a cosy log cabin. I half expected Smokey Bear to appear from behind a tree while I was having a vape.

The following morning featured a short scoot southwards to Hot Springs, where you will be blown away by the excavations at the Mammoth Site. While building a housing subdivision in the 1970s, workers uncovered an ancient sinkhole where giant mammoths came to drink, got trapped, and died about 26,000 years ago. The site has been protected with a high, dome-like structure so archaeologists can dig up and study the bones. It’s the largest known mammoth graveyard in the world. To date, the remains of over 60 mammoths have been discovered, and most have been left in place, partially excavated, for visitors to see.

You can watch the excavation in progress and take guided tours around the edge of the sinkhole. My big takeaway? Boys will be boys. The mammoths that slipped into the sinkhole found it difficult to escape. Researchers measuring the pelvic bones of the remains have determined that most of the victims were indeed young risk-taking males. Alongside woolly and Columbian mammoths, all manner of megafauna have been unearthed at the site, including the remains of the extinct American camel and the giant short-faced bear. These guys stood 11 feet tall — three and a half metres! They became extinct about 11,000 years ago. It’s an absorbing encounter with the prehistoric world being unearthed – a treasure chest of megafauna. https://greatamericanwest.co.nz