8 The Crazy Horse Memorial Mountain
This was the unknown gem of the entire trip. The Lakota Tribe’s intention is to honor its great warrior with a monument even larger than Mount Rushmore.
It has been under construction for decades, and clearly will take many more.
In the visitor center are exhibits about the monument, including a spectacular sculpture placed so that one can see the unfinished mountain as a backdrop. There are also many exhibits of famous figures in Native American history, clothing, rifles and other memorabilia.
I sent the drone out for two flights on different days, with different sunlight on the second flight at 7:00 A.M. The morning light on Crazy Horse’s face was spectacular to bring out the detail. It was a rather long drone flight, nearly 4,000 feet from the launch point, but the communications held up and I got the story I sought.
