Chainsaws, History And Presidents 07/10 thru 07/12/21

Southern Hills RV Park, Hermosa, South Dakota

The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was a quiet man, staying among the tents.  Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob. ~ Genesis 25:27-28        A recipe for disaster – showing favoritism with your kids.  Isaac’s favorite, Esau, seems to stem from the fact that Esau could assuage Isaac’s personal desire for meat.  Esau was “a manly man” and outdoorsy.  Arrr….Arrr….Arrr… (can I quote Tim Allen??)  Jacob was favored by Rebekah because Jacob liked the things she liked.  It’s easy for us to play favorites, human nature being what it is, but it’s not wise, and often breeds contempt between siblings; as we will discover in this case.

For two entire days (Saturday and Sunday), we took no pictures and did nothing noteworthy except to mention that we drove 25 minutes to attend First Baptist Church in Rapid City.  Remember, it’s ranch land around here, and the only church even remotely closer was a Lutheran church.  We’d hoped to find a church we could visit for several weeks in a row, but unfortunately that won’t be this one.  It’s a smallish church with a wide range of ages and full pews, but no one spoke to us other than a very few quick and barely audible “Hi’s or Good Morning’s” (four I think).  Not the four men at the front door.  Not the woman who sat beside me (who actually got up and left when I smiled and said hello to her).  Not any of those sitting in front of or behind us.  Not the two couples who came in and sat on either side of us.  And we smiled and spoke to them first.  Not one person even acknowledged us on the way out.  Very sad.  We prayed that they’d realize how inhospitable they are. 

By the way, no one seemed to have any trouble talking to the ‘regulars’.  I tell you all this in the hopes that those of us who belong to a church family won’t make the same mistake.  If you see someone you don’t know, smile and speak to them.  It’s not difficult.  I know sometimes we get caught up with friends and/or family, but it’s vital to the Church to welcome visitors.  In fact, I just spoke with a new Christian (one of our son’s friends who had moved away), who told me that he’d visited five churches seeking God, and not one of them welcomed him!  In fact, his words were, “They turned me away.”  At the end of his rope, the Lord guided him to the “last straw”, where he was welcomed into the family of God.  Praise God, someone made him feel welcome!

I’m done preaching now.  😊

So what did we do on Monday?  We had mail at the Keystone, SD post office to pick up, and then we spent the day sightseeing in town.

We had no idea this small town with a population of just over 300, would be such a tourist attraction!  I guess they built it up because it’s close to Mt Rushmore – which we actually got a glimpse of later today.

• 

• 

There were three things on the list I made of things to do here.  Little did we know that they’d be walking distance.

First, we drove to the History Museum because they’re supposed to have a self-guided historical walking tour and we wanted to see if they had a map outside we could pick up.  The website said they’re closed on Monday and Tuesday, and being as how it’s Monday . . .

Well, right after we arrived, a staff person pulled up and said he was opening the museum at 10am!  Wonderful!  We’ll be back!

Next, we drove over to find the Dahl’s Chainsaw place. (we could’ve walked from the museum, but we didn’t know where it was) I’d seen pictures online, but being there in person was remarkable!  They just make and sell these things – all shapes and sizes – and some are cranked out like an assembly line, I guess because the brothers can’t really make a living just doing custom work alone.  Oh.  Sorry.  Guess I didn’t mention – Jarrett and Jordan Dahl are brothers.  Here’s some information on how they began.  I borrowed it from their website:

Jarrett, at the age of 18, and his younger brother Jordan, discovered their chainsaw talent in the summer of 2004, while visiting Alaska. Scott Hanson, a successful chainsaw artist, gave Jarrett a carving lesson on his 2nd day in Alaska, and by the end of the day, he had carved seven stump bears and they sold quickly. He continued to carve, mostly bears and eagles, under the apprenticeship of Hanson. That same summer, 16-year-old Jordan, visited Alaska, picked up a chainsaw and carved a stump bear. Ever since, Jarrett and Jordan have passionately pursued chainsaw carving and have honed their skills beyond their wildest expectations. Jarrett and Jordan returned to Alaska for two more summers of carving.

Fourteen years later, the Dahl brothers have become award winners and known for their chainsaw carvings internationally. The brothers have developed their craft into a successful career; originally, setting up shop in Keystone, SD just two miles from Mount Rushmore. The two have expanded their business to Hill City, SD and Deadwood, SD. You can find their pieces all over the United States and have become a must-see tourist attraction. They each have developed their own styles as they both have focused on their own personal skills, which gives them together a real sense of uniqueness.

This Smokey the Bear is in Hill City, SD.  The brothers along with a team of artist friends from Wisconsin, Alaska, Kentucky, Minnesota, North Carolina, and California, created the World’s Largest Smokey the Bear in just 10 days! He is sitting at 30 feet tall and is 25 feet long.  We’re not too far from Hill City, maybe we’ll have to go see it for ourselves!

As you’ll see, it’s quite an amazing place, and they encourage climbing on, and taking and posting pictures!

By the time we returned to the museum, it was a little after 10am, and the curator of the day had the place open. It used to be the schoolhouse.  A huge building for a school!  And I took too many pictures. 

Pretty nice little museum, that also included some information on the real Laura Ingalls Wilder’s sister (Little House on the Prairie fame) because Carrie lived here at one time.  Cool beans!  One of the signs said she ‘took care of her sister Mary’, and I asked the guy why she had to take care of her.  Mary really was blind!  Although he said she was blind most of her life caused by a side effect of some type of meningitis that I can’t remember the name of.  Anyway, she never married nor had children, but still.  When you read the information here at the museum though, keep in mind it’s information on Laura’s sister, Carrie, because Carrie was the one who actually lived here.  They still have an annual festival to honor her, and some of the Little House actors make appearances.  By the way, in case you weren’t aware, the Little House nine-book series was written between 1932 and 1943 by Laura based on her very own family and experiences growing up.  Of course, Michael Landon (“Pa” in the TV series) took some creative license, but stuck to the children’s book series stories pretty well.  😊

Once we finished the museum, we grabbed a map and did the historic walk, where I took too many pictures.  Can’t help it!  It’s history!

When we finished that up, we ate lunch on the back stoop of the school, then drove to the National Presidential Wax Museum.  At only $11/person, it was a great bargain!  Great museum!  Although we thought some of the figures didn’t quite measure up – see what you think.  And I took too many pictures.  Good grief!  Just to give you an idea of who the culprit was today, Blaine only took eight pictures – that’s the total for the entire day!  The rest unfortunately, are all me.

We left the Jeep in their parking lot and walked the ‘contemporary downtown’ area, returned by way of the chainsaw place, took a few more pictures (because the dozen or so we took this morning weren’t enough), got back in the Jeep and drove the beautifully scenic drive home.

We’ll do something more energetic tomorrow, although we got in a few miles today.  😊