Blast #10-015 happened on the afternoon of February 23rd. It removed 2,385 tons of rock from the 300′ bench. (Video taken & edited by Mike Morgan)

Here is video showing the beginnings of the building that will become Crazy Horse Memorial’s student living & learning center! (Video shot & edited by Mike Morgan)

Winter 2009-2010 flipped from record cold in October to being unseasonably warm in November. The change enabled our mountain crew to continue making significant strides in roughing out the colossal horse’s head. And whether warm or cold, the weather has not deflated the holiday spirit here. Special thanks go out  to: Anne Z-Christensen and the maintenance crew for setting up these decorations, Mike Morgan for taking and editing the video and finally Chip Davis, founder of Mannheim Steamroller for letting us use his music as the soundtrack!

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South Dakota is home to the world’s only two mountain carvings; Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse Memorial attract millions of visitors each year. Officials from those tourist attractions are now teaming up in hopes of increasing traffic at both sites.

The four Presidents are no doubt the Black Hills’ most famous faces, but just 17 miles away, there’s another mountain carving that represents the Native American heritage of the region. While you may think the tourist attractions compete for business, they’ve actually teamed up.

“Each of the memorials tells a part of history and both sides need to be told,” Ruth Ziolkowski at Crazy Horse said.

To help visitors learn both sides, staff members at Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse are handing out the same rack card, promoting both attractions, aptly titled ‘Facing History.’ The proximity and likeness of the sites made the collaboration an obvious choice.

“There are no other places in this country where there are two other memorials of this scale so close together,” Nav Singh at Mt. Rushmore said.

Around 3 million people come to see the famous faces each year; three times as many visitors than at Crazy Horse. Officials say this type of cross promotion will help increase traffic at both places.

“It’s going to help everybody because what’s the only thing that South Dakota has that nobody else has? That’s two mountain carvings. And that will help the entire state, it really will,” Ziolkowski said.

Helping attract more tourists to both mountains by reminding them of how close they are.

It was with great sadness that we learned of the passing of our dear friend, James Whitmore, on February 6, 2009. The Emmy and Tony winning actor was a strong supporter of Crazy Horse Memorial and told the story of the Memorial, and of the American Indian, with passion and conviction. He visited

Crazy Horse a number of times over the years and his distinguishing features and approachable manner made him a crowd favorite. Members of his family were often with him on these visits, including children and grandchildren, and his wonderful wife Noreen was always at his side. An unknown author once said “Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Others stay, leave footprints on the sands of our hearts, and we are never, ever the same.” James Whitmore was that kind of person and we are blessed to have been able to call him our friend.

James Whitmore and Crazy Horse archivist Mike Morgan