Continued from www.cullmantribune.com/2025/07/20/column-from-dinosaurs-to-devils
Have you ever seen one of our presidents? On June 6, 1991, on the 47th anniversary of D-Day, I saw and heard President George H.W. Bush in Atlanta, at the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention.
In 2007, I saw George W. Bush when he spoke at our annual convention in San Antonio. OK, that was not an in-person appearance, but a live feed via satellite and he was life size, so it seemed like he was there.
Then, a few weeks ago, I saw four American presidents…all on the same day and at the same place. From left to right there was George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. There they were, larger than life, and right in front of us. Each one’s head is around 60-feet long. George Washington’s nose alone measures 21 feet long!
OK, you’ve probably seen them, too, but if not, I hope you get the opportunity to visit Mt. Rushmore. That those giant-size stone images are manmade, and carved on the side of a rock mountain, is almost unbelievable. Why were those four presidents chosen? Washington was chosen because he was our first and the father of our nation; Jefferson because he drafted our Declaration of Independence and led the expansion of our nation through the Louisiana Purchase; Roosevelt because he led in the economic development of our nation and negotiated the building of the Panama Canal; and Lincoln because he led our nation through our only Civil War, during which he issued the Emancipation Proclamation.
In case you hadn’t noticed, I never finished telling you about our trip out West. I’ve had a few other things on my mind these last two weeks, but I couldn’t stop without telling you, (to quote Mr. Harvey), “the rest of the story.” We finally made the South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana and Wyoming loop and ended up right back where we started, in Rapid City, SD. We spent our final three days in that area. After we visited the presidents, we went to see the Crazy Horse Memorial, a few miles south of Rapid City. This great mountain carving that began back in 1948 is still a work in progress. I saw it 15 years ago, and we are still waiting for his horse to show up. When it does, it will be a colossal carving in the side of the mountain. There is a great Native American museum, movie and art gallery on the grounds as well.
We spent a good portion of the next day at Custer State Park. Custer Park is only about a 30-minute drive from Crazy Horse. I’m surprised those two memorials are located that close to one another. The last time those two men were that close together things did not go well…especially for General Custer. Custer Park is 71,000 acres of serene scenery in the Black Hills that is filled with protected wildlife in their natural habitat. The Wildlife Loop Road is an 18-mile paved road that is like a drive-through, free-range zoo. We saw prairie dogs popping in and out out of their burrows, pronghorn antelopes running and leaping, buffalo grazing as they paid absolutely no attention to us, and my favorite of all, wild donkeys they call the “begging burrows.” One walked beside me all the way to our car. No matter how much he and I begged, Jean would not let him get in. I really wasn’t going to take him home with me!
All good things must come to an end. Our trip did, and now my ramblings about it must, too. I hope you’ve enjoyed coming along with us.
Bill King can be reached at bkpreach@yahoo.com or 334-728-5514 (office).
