From Deadwood, we cycled though Sturgis. Amazing just how empty a town seems when there’s not 450,000 Harley riders there. After buying the obligatory T- shirts, we turned south onto the Vanocker Canyon Byway. Ya know, there’s lots of hills in them there Black Hills. But also a lot of really cool towns, and oh, yea, a couple of national monuments. I stopped in Hill City at The Naked Winery and Microbrew to grab a quick pint to quell my thirst from the 90 degree day. I ended up getting a growler of their Panty Dropper Porter. Our goal today was to make it to the Crazy Horse Memorial, which we did, just find out they were having a special event that evening. The Monument Foundation only does 2 nighttime blasts per year. So Diane and I checked into the local Bavarian Inn, Custer City, showered, relaxed and ate before we joined over 10,000 people to watch the event. It was spectacular and informative, and we have never seen a syncopated nighttime (or anytime) blasting of a mountain.
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Community of the year before 450,000 Harley riders show up. Diane was amazed how pristinely clean the gutters were
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Sturgis seemed really quiet. Most of the lager bars and restaurants ONLY open up for the rally. That’s not a bad seasonal job.
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For Larry Simpson and Big Al.
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Heading south along Vanocker Canyon
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A great little find in Hill City. You gotta try the Panty Dropper Porter.
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Our goal for the day was to make it to the Crazy Horse Monument. We had no idea we were joining over 10,000 others for a rare nighttime blasting.
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This is how far they have gotten since 1948
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What the memorial will eventually look like. But at this rate, it won’t be in our lifetime.
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The Bronze Statue of Crazy Horse with the Monument in the background
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What a difference a decade makes…and a little face lift!
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The Bavarian Inn and Restaurant. Your closest Schnitzel to home.
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Only twice a year do they do a nighttime blast. Of course we were here during one of them.
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Seriously, Over 10,000 people came to the event.
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Crazy Horse lit up. Check out the blast video
Night Blast at Crazy Horse Video