The Summer to Remember

The Black Hills, South Dakota

Ian:

Ever since I was a kid, I've wanted to go to this place called the Black Hills. My dad talked about them all the time when I was a kid because he used to go there a lot in his childhood. Our family never went there, and I never really knew why. To be completely honest, I think my sister was scared of all the stories my dad would tell us about ghosts in the hills. To ten-year-old me, it sounded like the coolest thing in the world, and even though I didn't really believe in it now, it was still probably the thing I was most excited for on this trip.

Anthony drove almost the whole eleven hours there while I read all about the Black Hills on my phone. I was so glad we were staying two nights, because there was so much to do. Mount Rushmore, the Badlands, Crazy Horse, Jewel Cave, Devil's Tower, and all these cool hikes where you can see hidden waterfalls and stuff. 

Our hotel was by far the nicest one yet. It was really small, but nice. And the way it was designed, we were in a sort of apartment complex with a few other hotels, while the main lobby and building was a few miles away. It was in a totally deserted area, but was still really close to everything. It was so quiet and peaceful, and we can't forget about the view. From our little bacony, it was absoltely remarkable. As far as the eye could see of reddish-brown mountians, forming the coolest little shapes and the perfect postcard moment. It was a billion times more unreal than the old pictures my dad had. 

*

Since we both fell asleep so early last night (who could forget how I fell asleep on Anthony and he put his arm around me), we had almost no problem leaving at seven o'clock this morning. That brought us here a little before six. We had already gotten Wendy's an hour or so ago, because we didn't stop for lunch out of pure laziness. So, we decided to visit Mount Rushmore first, because I heard after sunset they light up the monument and it looks really cool. And later, there was this sort of laser light show they put on at the Crazy Horse Memorial that looked entertaining.

Walking into the memorial, there were these giant pole things made of marble with every state's name engraved into it. I stopped in front of the one reading California, and laughed a little.

"It's just like we're back home," I remarked looking at it.

"Ha, yeah. This is way better, though."

I looked up at him and nodded a little. "I agree."

We made our way down, and then at the end of the entryway, we stood in front of a fence surrounded by a hundred other tourists, and there it was, directly in front of us. The creepily real faces of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln carved wonderously into one of the scenic gray-ish rocks. I'd seen tons of pictures of this exact view, but none of them were even half as miraculous as what I was seeing right now. I can't lie, I've never been much of a history fanatic, but this was simply amazing.

"This is awesome," Anthony breathed next to me, in complete awe.

I only nodded in agreement, because I couldn't move my eyes away from the sight. It just really made you think. How all those men risked their lives up there and spent all that time carving the exact faces of our greatest presidents, down to the exact pore. I really wished I could have gotten closer, been able to see every single carving. But this was still remarkable.

We eventually sat down on this ledge on a patch of grass a little to the right. We sat there for a few hours, just taking in the view and talking about a lot of stuff. The trip so far, the future of the trip, how much money we have left, how cool this is. And then the sun slowly set, and just before it was too black to make out the presidents' features, a series of lights under their chins switched on, and the whole scene was re-created. Their perfectly carved heads glowed in the light, just like before, but since the sky was now a dark gray color, they stood out so much more. 

"Jesus Christ, this is cool," I said, leaning over a little to see over the head of some tall guy in front of me.

"Like, how do they even get it so precise? If I had to do this, I wouldn't even be able to get one part of their nose right," Anthony said, laughing a little.

"I know. This is really, just... wow."

*

After Anthony bought a keychain for his brother in the gift shop and I called my dad and told him where we were (to which he was very happy), we headed back to Anthony's car and off to the Crazy Horse Memorial, which was only a few minutes away.

We parked on a large grassy area in front of it, where a bunch of other cars sat around us. The moument itself was lit up much like Mount Rushmore. Crazy Horse's big head was carved out in nearly perfect detail, also much like Mount Rushmore. Under his chin was a long strip of flat land, which later curved out and around. There was a hole in the middle, much like a doorway. Although it was barely visible in the lighting, you could just barely make out the white line where the monument would later be carved into a whole torso of the great Crazy Horse.

"Wait, so it's not done?" Anthony asked, ducking his head to see the very top of it.

"Yeah. I read somewhere that they're gonna make it into his whole chest and even a bit of his horse," I responded, unbuckling my seatbelt and slouching down a little.

"Oh, I didn't know that. That's pretty cool, actually."

The light show started at exactly ten o'clock. A ray of bright green light flashed right above Crazy Horse's head, startling me a little. Then, a red one flashed over it, and then a yellow one. Soon, they morphed into a cartoon version of Crazy Horse, which actually looked really cool. The lasers moved along the flat stretch of rock, as if his horse was galloping, and then a man's voice echoed from a few large speakers around the area, reciting the famous tale of the great Native American.

As much as I tried, I couldn't find myself to really focus on the story. I instead just watched the show, laughing and joking with my best friend about stupid things. 

The show ended with an outline in red of what the monument would eventually shape up to be, and it was actually really cool. By that time, I found my eyes longing for sleep, and as fun as the night had been, couldn't wait to get back to the hotel.

A/N: Woo woo! Sorry guys, I just had to include this part in the story haha xD I went to the Black Hills a few years ago, and everything I write about in this part of the story, I've been to :D Let me tell you, it's an awesome place. I would definitely recommend it ^_^ See ya latah c: