Wednesday, July 14, 2004
Keystone Town turned out to be the ultimate in bad kitsch. Compared to Wall Drug, it was beyond cheesy, it was riddled with lousy merchandise. The big thing to do there was to dress up in old, stinky costumes of the mining era and take pictures in them. If you had more than six people in your group, you would get a discount. Great!
Keystone was our first stop in the Black Hills. It turned out to be a quick one en route to the glorious Mount Rushmore. As we drove closer to the legendary mountain, we passed a sign, "This is the site where North By Northwest was filmed", which we got very excited about. That flick is decadent, tops when it comes to Hitch films. I just love the climax scene, when Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint are being chased on top of the heads of Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln. The piney trees depicted in the movie escorted us to the site of the four famous rockheads.
The rain let up and we enjoyed the wonder of the site. I liked the idea of someone having the imagination to come up with such a project on such a huge scale. It was a great moment, seeing the four presidents carved in rock, much like that of a school field trip that actually ruled. It was a busy tourist site, most likely due to the day before being July 4th. We did a 'strenuous' hike that looped the base of the mount and smelled yummy pine trees while stretching our aching legs.
After Mount Rushmore, we headed through the Black Hills toward Deadwood.
Deadwood, South Dakota comprised of saloons called Miss Kitty's, bars called Cody's, and casinos (are they different than saloons and bars?) called Stockade. Deadwood is the home of Wild Bill Hickok, a famous frontier-gunman. It was a beautifully restored strip which resembled the shoot-em-up bars and rivalries of old mining days. I thought of Vegas, the carnival of theme hotels and casinos, and how Deadwood would be a great idea to depict there.
Keystone was our first stop in the Black Hills. It turned out to be a quick one en route to the glorious Mount Rushmore. As we drove closer to the legendary mountain, we passed a sign, "This is the site where North By Northwest was filmed", which we got very excited about. That flick is decadent, tops when it comes to Hitch films. I just love the climax scene, when Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint are being chased on top of the heads of Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln. The piney trees depicted in the movie escorted us to the site of the four famous rockheads.
The rain let up and we enjoyed the wonder of the site. I liked the idea of someone having the imagination to come up with such a project on such a huge scale. It was a great moment, seeing the four presidents carved in rock, much like that of a school field trip that actually ruled. It was a busy tourist site, most likely due to the day before being July 4th. We did a 'strenuous' hike that looped the base of the mount and smelled yummy pine trees while stretching our aching legs.
After Mount Rushmore, we headed through the Black Hills toward Deadwood.
Deadwood, South Dakota comprised of saloons called Miss Kitty's, bars called Cody's, and casinos (are they different than saloons and bars?) called Stockade. Deadwood is the home of Wild Bill Hickok, a famous frontier-gunman. It was a beautifully restored strip which resembled the shoot-em-up bars and rivalries of old mining days. I thought of Vegas, the carnival of theme hotels and casinos, and how Deadwood would be a great idea to depict there.
