(10-18-2026 09:20 AM)olliebaba Wrote:  

(10-17-2026 06:40 PM)TripleA Wrote:  Change of plans. Too much wind, cold nights, and curvy roads from Hot Springs SD to Moab, UT.

Instead, I'm going to drop straight south through Denver to Albuquerque NM, then cut west to Petrified Forest NP, then to Sedona, Flagstaff, the Grand Canyon, up to Page AZ (slot canyons) to the Mighty 5 in Utah, then back home.

Headed to Crazy Horse tomorrow, then The Mammoth Site, spending Sunday night in Hot Springs SD, then off to the south, thank goodness.

Watch yourself at Raton Pass, it is pretty treacherous and very steep. Don't ever do it in the winter with snow.

Yeah, there is no simple way to get from Custer SD to Moab UT without risk in or near the Rockies. I finally chose this route, b/c the northern route was worse, and I-70 from Denver to Moab is ridiculously hard in the first half. I have been reading up on ways to deal with Raton Pass. At least it's only 21 miles out of close to 1000.

(10-18-2026 12:05 PM)U_of_Elvis Wrote:  

(10-17-2026 06:40 PM)TripleA Wrote:  Change of plans. Too much wind, cold nights, and curvy roads from Hot Springs SD to Moab, UT.

Instead, I'm going to drop straight south through Denver to Albuquerque NM, then cut west to Petrified Forest NP, then to Sedona, Flagstaff, the Grand Canyon, up to Page AZ (slot canyons) to the Mighty 5 in Utah, then back home.

Headed to Crazy Horse tomorrow, then The Mammoth Site, spending Sunday night in Hot Springs SD, then off to the south, thank goodness.

If you are coming down 25 there are some cool places in northern new Mexico. Capulin Volcano National Monument is east of 25, you would want to drop your trailer and take the truck up to the top.

Cimarron, Eagle Nest, and Angel Fire are all cool towns. The St. James in Cimarron is a cool lunch stop with a ton of history. If you were ever a boy scout Philmont with their scouting museum is right there.

Thanks, E. They all sound interesting, but I'm working on a short time frame to be back in Memphis before Thanksgiving, especially since I want to visit Petrified Forest, Sedona, Flagstaff, Grand Canyon, slot canyons near Page, and most of the Mighty 5 National Parks in Utah, plus maybe Phoenix and the Texas Hill Country.

In less than 5 weeks. But I really appreciate the input. Thanks.

Yesterday was a good day. Went to the Crazy Horse Memorial. Didn't expect much, especially after being so impressed by Rushmore. Boy, was I wrong.

Crazy Horse was amazing, partly b/c it was so big compared to Rushmore, and partly b/c I think it was a bit more tourist friendly.

Can't really articulate why, but I spent more time there than at Rushmore. Three hours at Rushmore, 4 at Crazy Horse. Ate lunch both places.

They were both absolutely worth the effort. But my favorite thing up here so far is the wildlife drive at Custer State Park, with hundreds of wild bison walking right up to your vehicle, and dozens of wild burros sticking their faces in your hand looking for food. No food, they left and walked up to the next tourist. That was crazy.

Anyway, I left so late yesterday (11 am, usually more like 7 or 8), and I stayed so long at CH, that I decided to pass on Deadwood. Maybe when I get to Yellowstone or Glacier at some point, I can pass back that way.

Back to Crazy Horse. Different from Rushmore, which is owned by the government. Our gov offered to fund this one, too, but the private owners were concerned the government would cut the effort short, like they did with Rushmore. Rushmore was originally conceived down to their waists, but when WW2 started, they stopped work permanently.

Here is the difference in size. Rushmore took 14 years to get to where they stopped. Crazy Horse has been going since the mid-1940s or so, at a pace almost identical to Rushmore, yet they have been going 80+ years now. Estimates by the owners are that to complete it will take at minimum, another 100 years, and perhaps as long as 500 years.

Yikes. The original owner (the sculptor) was aware of this, but he and the Native Americans (who invited him to build it with their support) essentially said, "So what?"

Right after Rushmore being completed, they wanted a monument that gave praise to their people. Crazy Horse was the Indian chief who led the Battle of Little Big Horn, otherwise known as Custer's Last Stand.

You really can't understand the scope of that thing until you drive up to the base and look up.

Which is what I did today, on a tour bus, of course. Wow. Def worth the effort.

To understand the size and scope of the Crazy Horse Memorial, which was emphasized yesterday on the bus tour to the base, I looked up a comparison online:

"The Crazy Horse Memorial is vastly larger than Mount Rushmore, and the entire Mount Rushmore monument could fit inside Crazy Horse's head.

Size Comparison

• Overall Dimensions (Planned): When finished, the Crazy Horse Memorial will stand 563 feet tall and 641 feet wide. By comparison, the carved portion of Mount Rushmore is about 60 feet tall per president.

• The Face: Crazy Horse’s face alone measures 87.5 feet (87 feet 6 inches) tall, which is significantly larger than the 60-foot tall presidential faces on Mount Rushmore.

• Other Features: Crazy Horse's outstretched arm is planned to be 263 feet long, and his pointing finger is nearly 30 feet long.

Key Differences

• Status: Mount Rushmore was completed between 1927 and 1941, while work on the Crazy Horse Memorial started in 1948 and remains an ongoing work in progress.

• Funding: Mount Rushmore was government-funded, whereas the Crazy Horse Memorial is privately funded through visitor admissions and donations.

• Subject: Mount Rushmore depicts four U.S. presidents (Washington, Jefferson, T. Roosevelt, and Lincoln), while Crazy Horse honors the Oglala Lakota warrior Crazy Horse riding a horse and pointing to his people's land."

One last thing...

It wasn't clear to me when I visited yesterday as to how the land was first acquired to build the memorial, so I looked it up this morning:

"The land used for the Crazy Horse Memorial was originally public land managed by the U.S. government before it was acquired through a series of property swaps and private purchases.

The Original Owner

The mountain itself, Thunderhead Mountain, was part of the Black Hills National Forest and was under the control of the U.S. Forest Service. Historically, the broader Black Hills region was the sacred homeland of the Lakota Sioux, which the U.S. government broke treaties to seize in the late 19th century.

How the Land Was Acquired

When Lakota Chief Henry Standing Bear commissioned sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski in 1939 to create the monument, the Native leaders did not legally own the mountain. The acquisition happened in stages:

• The Initial Proposal & Swap: In 1939, Chief Henry Standing Bear wrote to the Department of the Interior, offering to trade 900 acres of his own fertile, private tribal land in exchange for the barren mountain site to secure government permission. The government agreed to issue a usage permit.

• Mining Claims: When Ziolkowski arrived in South Dakota to begin work full-time in 1947, he initially secured his footprint on the mountain by filing a mining claim.

• Private Purchases & Official Swaps: Ziolkowski subsequently used his own funds to buy adjacent properties. He later negotiated a formal land exchange with the federal government to swap his acquired properties for the deed to Thunderhead Mountain.

Today, the mountain and its extensive surrounding grounds are entirely privately held land operated by the non-profit Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation. Because the founders deliberately refused federal funding to avoid government control, the land remains completely independent of the national park system."

(10-19-2026 06:37 AM)TripleA Wrote:  Yesterday was a good day. Went to the Crazy Horse Memorial. Didn't expect much, especially after being so impressed by Rushmore. Boy, was I wrong.

Crazy Horse was amazing, partly b/c it was so big compared to Rushmore, and partly b/c I think it was a bit more tourist friendly.

Can't really articulate why, but I spent more time there than at Rushmore. Three hours at Rushmore, 4 at Crazy Horse. Ate lunch both places.

They were both absolutely worth the effort. But my favorite thing up here so far is the wildlife drive at Custer State Park, with hundreds of wild bison walking right up to your vehicle, and dozens of wild burros sticking their faces in your hand looking for food. No food, they left and walked up to the next tourist. That was crazy.

Anyway, I left so late yesterday (11 am, usually more like 7 or 8), and I stayed so long at CH, that I decided to pass on Deadwood. Maybe when I get to Yellowstone or Glacier at some point, I can pass back that way.

Back to Crazy Horse. Different from Rushmore, which is owned by the government. Our gov offered to fund this one, too, but the private owners were concerned the government would cut the effort short, like they did with Rushmore. Rushmore was originally conceived down to their waists, but when WW2 started, they stopped work permanently.

Here is the difference in size. Rushmore took 14 years to get to where they stopped. Crazy Horse has been going since the mid-1940s or so, at a pace almost identical to Rushmore, yet they have been going 80+ years now. Estimates by the owners are that to complete it will take at minimum, another 100 years, and perhaps as long as 500 years.

Yikes. The original owner (the sculptor) was aware of this, but he and the Native Americans (who invited him to build it with their support) essentially said, "So what?"

Right after Rushmore being completed, they wanted a monument that gave praise to their people. Crazy Horse was the Indian chief who led the Battle of Little Big Horn, otherwise known as Custer's Last Stand.

You really can't understand the scope of that thing until you drive up to the base and look up.

Which is what I did today, on a tour bus, of course. Wow. Def worth the effort.

They were still in the middle phases of the Crazy Horse monument when I was in Rapid City. I would love to see it but I'm not sure I'll ever get to it.

It sounds like you are having a great trip so far, brother. Stay safe, and I pray for your safety and that the rest of your adventure is equally thrilling.

Edit: I just looked up the monument, and it appears as if it could easily take another 100 years to complete it. For some reason I thought it was much farther along.

(10-19-2026 06:44 AM)TripleA Wrote:  One last thing...

It wasn't clear to me when I visited yesterday as to how the land was first acquired to build the memorial, so I looked it up this morning:

"The land used for the Crazy Horse Memorial was originally public land managed by the U.S. government before it was acquired through a series of property swaps and private purchases.

The Original Owner

The mountain itself, Thunderhead Mountain, was part of the Black Hills National Forest and was under the control of the U.S. Forest Service. Historically, the broader Black Hills region was the sacred homeland of the Lakota Sioux, which the U.S. government broke treaties to seize in the late 19th century.

How the Land Was Acquired

When Lakota Chief Henry Standing Bear commissioned sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski in 1939 to create the monument, the Native leaders did not legally own the mountain. The acquisition happened in stages:

• The Initial Proposal & Swap: In 1939, Chief Henry Standing Bear wrote to the Department of the Interior, offering to trade 900 acres of his own fertile, private tribal land in exchange for the barren mountain site to secure government permission. The government agreed to issue a usage permit.

• Mining Claims: When Ziolkowski arrived in South Dakota to begin work full-time in 1947, he initially secured his footprint on the mountain by filing a mining claim.

• Private Purchases & Official Swaps: Ziolkowski subsequently used his own funds to buy adjacent properties. He later negotiated a formal land exchange with the federal government to swap his acquired properties for the deed to Thunderhead Mountain.

Today, the mountain and its extensive surrounding grounds are entirely privately held land operated by the non-profit Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation. Because the founders deliberately refused federal funding to avoid government control, the land remains completely independent of the national park system."

It was the least we could do. There are no more deserving people than Native Americans when it comes to special treatment and privileges, IMO. We have stolen their homeland and almost destroyed their cultures. "Progress" sucks balls.

(10-18-2026 08:34 PM)TripleA Wrote:  

(10-18-2026 12:05 PM)U_of_Elvis Wrote:  

(10-17-2026 06:40 PM)TripleA Wrote:  Change of plans. Too much wind, cold nights, and curvy roads from Hot Springs SD to Moab, UT.

Instead, I'm going to drop straight south through Denver to Albuquerque NM, then cut west to Petrified Forest NP, then to Sedona, Flagstaff, the Grand Canyon, up to Page AZ (slot canyons) to the Mighty 5 in Utah, then back home.

Headed to Crazy Horse tomorrow, then The Mammoth Site, spending Sunday night in Hot Springs SD, then off to the south, thank goodness.

If you are coming down 25 there are some cool places in northern new Mexico. Capulin Volcano National Monument is east of 25, you would want to drop your trailer and take the truck up to the top.

Cimarron, Eagle Nest, and Angel Fire are all cool towns. The St. James in Cimarron is a cool lunch stop with a ton of history. If you were ever a boy scout Philmont with their scouting museum is right there.

Thanks, E. They all sound interesting, but I'm working on a short time frame to be back in Memphis before Thanksgiving, especially since I want to visit Petrified Forest, Sedona, Flagstaff, Grand Canyon, slot canyons near Page, and most of the Mighty 5 National Parks in Utah, plus maybe Phoenix and the Texas Hill Country.

In less than 5 weeks. But I really appreciate the input. Thanks.

Some things to think about:
Royal Gorge Bridge is pretty spectacular. Its a footbridge across the Colorado near Canon City (30 miles west of I-25 at Pueblo).

The Colorado Springs Zoo is great. It has one of the best giraffe exhibits in the world. Its pretty on that side of town.

And of course Pikes Peak is at Colorado Springs. There is an incline train up, so you could do that instead of taking the truck.

Maybe you will be heading back to Denver at some point on your journey. If so, these and the Denver National History Museum and Coors factory tour are very worthwhile.

I don't remember if you have been there before and its not doable with the trailer attached, but Rocky Mountain National Park west of Denver is my favorite national park.

(10-19-2026 08:27 PM)bullet Wrote:  

(10-18-2026 08:34 PM)TripleA Wrote:  

(10-18-2026 12:05 PM)U_of_Elvis Wrote:  

(10-17-2026 06:40 PM)TripleA Wrote:  Change of plans. Too much wind, cold nights, and curvy roads from Hot Springs SD to Moab, UT.

Instead, I'm going to drop straight south through Denver to Albuquerque NM, then cut west to Petrified Forest NP, then to Sedona, Flagstaff, the Grand Canyon, up to Page AZ (slot canyons) to the Mighty 5 in Utah, then back home.

Headed to Crazy Horse tomorrow, then The Mammoth Site, spending Sunday night in Hot Springs SD, then off to the south, thank goodness.

If you are coming down 25 there are some cool places in northern new Mexico. Capulin Volcano National Monument is east of 25, you would want to drop your trailer and take the truck up to the top.

Cimarron, Eagle Nest, and Angel Fire are all cool towns. The St. James in Cimarron is a cool lunch stop with a ton of history. If you were ever a boy scout Philmont with their scouting museum is right there.

Thanks, E. They all sound interesting, but I'm working on a short time frame to be back in Memphis before Thanksgiving, especially since I want to visit Petrified Forest, Sedona, Flagstaff, Grand Canyon, slot canyons near Page, and most of the Mighty 5 National Parks in Utah, plus maybe Phoenix and the Texas Hill Country.

In less than 5 weeks. But I really appreciate the input. Thanks.

Some things to think about:
Royal Gorge Bridge is pretty spectacular. Its a footbridge across the Colorado near Canon City (30 miles west of I-25 at Pueblo).

The Colorado Springs Zoo is great. It has one of the best giraffe exhibits in the world. Its pretty on that side of town.

And of course Pikes Peak is at Colorado Springs. There is an incline train up, so you could do that instead of taking the truck.

Maybe you will be heading back to Denver at some point on your journey. If so, these and the Denver National History Museum and Coors factory tour are very worthwhile.

I don't remember if you have been there before and its not doable with the trailer attached, but Rocky Mountain National Park west of Denver is my favorite national park.

Those are all good suggestions, but my dance card is pretty full and I have to be back in Memphis before Thanksgiving.

(10-19-2026 05:02 PM)TigerBlue4Ever Wrote:  

(10-19-2026 06:44 AM)TripleA Wrote:  One last thing...

It wasn't clear to me when I visited yesterday as to how the land was first acquired to build the memorial, so I looked it up this morning:

"The land used for the Crazy Horse Memorial was originally public land managed by the U.S. government before it was acquired through a series of property swaps and private purchases.

The Original Owner

The mountain itself, Thunderhead Mountain, was part of the Black Hills National Forest and was under the control of the U.S. Forest Service. Historically, the broader Black Hills region was the sacred homeland of the Lakota Sioux, which the U.S. government broke treaties to seize in the late 19th century.

How the Land Was Acquired

When Lakota Chief Henry Standing Bear commissioned sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski in 1939 to create the monument, the Native leaders did not legally own the mountain. The acquisition happened in stages:

• The Initial Proposal & Swap: In 1939, Chief Henry Standing Bear wrote to the Department of the Interior, offering to trade 900 acres of his own fertile, private tribal land in exchange for the barren mountain site to secure government permission. The government agreed to issue a usage permit.

• Mining Claims: When Ziolkowski arrived in South Dakota to begin work full-time in 1947, he initially secured his footprint on the mountain by filing a mining claim.

• Private Purchases & Official Swaps: Ziolkowski subsequently used his own funds to buy adjacent properties. He later negotiated a formal land exchange with the federal government to swap his acquired properties for the deed to Thunderhead Mountain.

Today, the mountain and its extensive surrounding grounds are entirely privately held land operated by the non-profit Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation. Because the founders deliberately refused federal funding to avoid government control, the land remains completely independent of the national park system."

It was the least we could do. There are no more deserving people than Native Americans when it comes to special treatment and privileges, IMO. We have stolen their homeland and almost destroyed their cultures. "Progress" sucks balls.

Stolen? Their? They got that land the same way American got it. So go tell that sob story to the families of people they butchered that had the land before they got it.

Back to the trip. Yesterday was a nightmare, today perfect. Yesterday, I missed the last turn into the campground, and my Nav took me on a 2 1/2 hour boondoggle out into no man's land. Next time Nav turns me onto a dirt road, I'm turning around.

Today was the opposite. Perfect. Early start, early finish. Smooth drive. No issues.

Boondocking at Walmart. Easy peasy. Free. I got 2 words out of my mouth asking for permission, and the manager said, "Sure," with a big smile. Those people sure love RVers.

Now in Scottsbluff, NE, on way to Hatch NM for chiles for my sister, since im going to Tucson after that, anyway.

(10-20-2026 06:39 PM)TripleA Wrote:  Now in Scottsbluff, NE, on way to Hatch NM for chiles for my sister, since im going to Tucson after that, anyway.

No pictures yet,

(10-20-2026 06:56 PM)Redbanksdog Wrote:  

(10-20-2026 06:39 PM)TripleA Wrote:  Now in Scottsbluff, NE, on way to Hatch NM for chiles for my sister, since im going to Tucson after that, anyway.

No pictures yet,

I have a bazillion pics already. But I have no clue how to post them here from my phone. I think you have to post them to some third party site, then download them from there, but I have no clue which or how.

Tell me how, or I can text them to you, and you post them.

(10-20-2026 07:13 PM)TripleA Wrote:  

(10-20-2026 06:56 PM)Redbanksdog Wrote:  

(10-20-2026 06:39 PM)TripleA Wrote:  Now in Scottsbluff, NE, on way to Hatch NM for chiles for my sister, since im going to Tucson after that, anyway.

No pictures yet,

I have a bazillion pics already. But I have no clue how to post them here from my phone. I think you have to post them to some third party site, then download them from there, but I have no clue which or how.

Tell me how, or I can text them to you, and you post them.

I'll try again ... my $$$ say you can take the reins from there...

https://csnbbs.com/thread-1030129-post-2...id20793118

(10-20-2026 10:10 PM)stinkfist Wrote:  

(10-20-2026 07:13 PM)TripleA Wrote:  

(10-20-2026 06:56 PM)Redbanksdog Wrote:  

(10-20-2026 06:39 PM)TripleA Wrote:  Now in Scottsbluff, NE, on way to Hatch NM for chiles for my sister, since im going to Tucson after that, anyway.

No pictures yet,

I have a bazillion pics already. But I have no clue how to post them here from my phone. I think you have to post them to some third party site, then download them from there, but I have no clue which or how.

Tell me how, or I can text them to you, and you post them.

I'll try again ... my $$$ say you can take the reins from there...

https://csnbbs.com/thread-1030129-post-2...id20793118

Thanks, stink. I recall someone mentioned it once, but I couldn't recall whom or what website they named. Right now I just started a long drive from South Dakota to almost the Mexican border (Hatch NM). I'm not going to fool with it immediately (too tired and otherwise occupied).

But hopefully, I can remember this for about a week. Or write it down and remember where. Or not go to bed at 9 pm and wake up at 1, as I just did this morning. Or not go to a repair shop, like today, to get something fixed.

(10-21-2026 04:20 AM)TripleA Wrote:  

(10-20-2026 10:10 PM)stinkfist Wrote:  

(10-20-2026 07:13 PM)TripleA Wrote:  

(10-20-2026 06:56 PM)Redbanksdog Wrote:  

(10-20-2026 06:39 PM)TripleA Wrote:  Now in Scottsbluff, NE, on way to Hatch NM for chiles for my sister, since im going to Tucson after that, anyway.

No pictures yet,

I have a bazillion pics already. But I have no clue how to post them here from my phone. I think you have to post them to some third party site, then download them from there, but I have no clue which or how.

Tell me how, or I can text them to you, and you post them.

I'll try again ... my $$$ say you can take the reins from there...

https://csnbbs.com/thread-1030129-post-2...id20793118

Thanks, stink. I recall someone mentioned it once, but I couldn't recall whom or what website they named. Right now I just started a long drive from South Dakota to almost the Mexican border (Hatch NM). I'm not going to fool with it immediately (too tired and otherwise occupied).

But hopefully, I can remember this for about a week. Or write it down and remember where. Or not go to bed at 9 pm and wake up at 1, as I just did this morning. Or not go to a repair shop, like today, to get something fixed.

no problemo ... it's easier if you upload to your cpu, then begin from there ... doing it on the phone is a kick in the crotch...

fwiw, I've really enjoyed reading the 'travails' (term of endearment) of the yin and the yang during your travels ... it beats the hoo-hoo out of all the other threads that also remind me of a former bud that once told me (about getting married), "everybody's gotta do it once, stink!" (yeah, that debil on the shoulder) ...

@livingVicarously

When you get to Hatch don't forget to buy their world famous long Chiles. They come in all hotness from Gringo mild to Mexican firebreathing. They freeze very well, I always buy them and then freeze them and they stay for as long as a year or more.

(10-20-2026 07:13 PM)TripleA Wrote:  

(10-20-2026 06:56 PM)Redbanksdog Wrote:  

(10-20-2026 06:39 PM)TripleA Wrote:  Now in Scottsbluff, NE, on way to Hatch NM for chiles for my sister, since im going to Tucson after that, anyway.

No pictures yet,

I have a bazillion pics already. But I have no clue how to post them here from my phone. I think you have to post them to some third party site, then download them from there, but I have no clue which or how.

Tell me how, or I can text them to you, and you post them.

"Tell me how, or I can text them to you, and you post them"

I was going to ask you. But seriously it's what Stink said. It's been a long time since I posted any pictures and it was on the Tiger Board. I was able to download pictures to a place called Photo Bucket or something like that and it was free. I think it was a couple of years ago they wanted to start charging a fee. I said screw that. All I know how to do now is put a Youtube video up on the Board.

I think I found a free site that you can use for free to load your photos to. I was going to try them out one day. They have a free account that's limited to 32Mb.That's about 32 pictures or more. After you put them on here you could delete them from the account to be able to store new ones.

Here's the Link to Postimages. https://postimages.org/

Free Account
Free image hosting
Upload images up to 32Mb
Hotlinked images up to 1280px
Ad-supported hosting
API access with 1,000 units per month

If any of these are nekkid pics please tell us cause I can't look at them.