We drove around Rapid City today. Founded in 1876, 2 years after gold was discovered in the Black Hills, it now serves as a trading center and tourist headquarters for the area. Our first stop was at the Berlin Wall Exhibit, commemorating the wall which symbolized communist oppression, erected in beleaguered Berlin in 1961. There are 2 12' sections of the wall standing with 2 tank traps in front. There are several interpretive placards and the Mission is: What stands if Freedom Falls? It was very thought provoking.
They have erected 39 bronze sculptures of American Presidents and they stand on street corners all over downtown. My favorite was JFK with John John.
We also went to the Chapel in the Hills, Stavkirke Chapel, meaning a stave church, in Norwegian. This structure was simply amazing, showing an incredible amount of craftsmanship with pegged construction. This is an exact replica of the famous 850 year old Borgund Stavkirke located near Laerdal, Norway, built from the original plans. A son built it in memory of his parents, early settlers. The front door is a carving of snakes and dragons, depicting the battle between good and evil. The Vikings were pagan and dragons were good luck to the Vikings and that is why they also had them on the prows of their ships. In history, men entered by the front door, women and children at the side. The reason for the covered walkway around the whole church; you could wait there in inclement weather and men stowed their weapons, leaving them outside the chapel.
When you look up at the staves, it looks like the inside of the a Viking ship. There is a prayer walk through the woods around the church and a deer walked by.The gift shop was a special hut with sod roof imported from Norway. Delightful day. We have really enjoyed this area but you could stay a month and never see all the amazing attractions in the area.
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