Americana.
I’m 20 minutes from Deadwood. I’m 80 minutes from Mount Rushmore. As I said regarding Devils Tower, I was last in these areas 11 years ago with my brother. Part of me thinks I should revisit them but without Steve or anyone else to share the experience with, I’m feeling uninspired.
So instead, I’m headed to Rapid City, SD, for two… I guess you’d call them “statue parks.”
You need to read this next part imagining my doing a terrible Sir Richard Attenborough impression:
“Welcome… to Dinosaur Park!”
Yes, Dinosaur Park. Built in 1936 as part of FDR’s New Deal via Rapid City and the Works Progress Administration, the park contains seven (7!!) dinosaur sculptures. Each dinosaur features an accompanying plaque which gives a bit of dino-lore, offering a bit of education with the entertainment.
Fun Fact: The Triceratops is South Dakota’s State Fossil!
Oh, and it’s open sixteen (16!!) hours a day. Imagine that — for two thirds of any day you could be hanging out with late 1930s era terrible lizards.
Seriously — welcome to Dinosaur Park:
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From there, I went downtown to wander Main Street… because at various intersections throughout Rapid City, one can find the City of Presidents! Yes, in tribute to the 43 men who have held the highest office in the land (Grover Cleveland was a non-consecutive office holder as President 22 and 24). Barack Obama is listed as “coming soon…” and since they’ve had 8+ years to get him a space, there’s obviously no word on man #44, President #45.
From the Official Visit Rapid City website:
The City of Presidents project began in 2000 to honor the legacy of the American presidency. Each of the sculptures is privately funded, and the pattern of placement was chosen to maintain a coherent structure and eliminate any sense of favoritism or political gain.
Eleven years ago Steve and I went to a giant presidential bust park… one that has since gone bust. But we went to each of them and snapped a photo, usually trying to evoke some beat of political legacy. So for example, with Truman we pantomimed holding a “Dewey Defeats Truman” newspaper. I don’t have those photos on my laptop or else I’d put one here. Suffice to say, it was a fun afternoon with my brother. And had he been with me on this trip, I have no doubt we would’ve posed with all the Presidents, Man, but flying solo I just snapped a few along the way. So here’s a tribute to all Presidents but mostly the ones I happened to stumble across. Would that I had a cellular or wifi connection on my phone and I could’ve downloaded the walking tour map.
But sometimes it’s better to just see who you come upon.
Harry Truman with the original #FakeNews?
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Warren G. Harding. I’m trying to make a call here.
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Hey! Jimmy Carter! High-five!
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Dutch and Me.
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Bush 41.
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Listen, TJ. I’m telling you — it should read “all men and women are created equal…”
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Andrew Jackson.
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Martin Van Buren.
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If there’s one thing I remember about Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln,” it’s that the bearded guy loved to tell parables.
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Teddy Roosevelt. We ride together, we die together. Rough Riders for Life.
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Silent Cal. This is a tribute to the pose I did in 2006 with Coolidge’s giant head.
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Ya know what, Ike? You’re ok. You’re pretty ok. I think people might not hate you.
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Ladies and gentlemen: Montgomery Burns… er, um, Richard Nixon!
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So that happened.