Wow………………..

Busy summer!!! I hope all is well in Cyberland.

This summer, I had the opportunity to view more trench drain at various National Monuments. This time, I visited the Black Hills and viewed the trench drain marvels of Devil’s Tower and Mount Rushmore.

MOUNT RUSHMORE

I went to Mount Rushmore 25 years ago on my way to Field Camp (to study field Geology). At that time, it was foggy and I was unable to view the mount or see the faces of the four Presidents. If I recall, I was also driving with a friend from Panama (Juan Villanueva) in his brown 1976 Dodge Charger and camping under the stars. Ahh, to be 20 again…………….. It didn’t matter that I was unable to see the monument. What I know now is that I wouldn’t have seen any trench drain!!!! Since that time, the monument has undergone re-modeling and has seen some wonderful improvements…..such as trench drain.

I have two photos……

The above photo is of a custom Stainless Steel Grate that was found in the lobby to the ampitheatre. Beautiful!! The square grate openings are either laser cut or stamp pressed. (My guess is laser cut) Big Buck Stuff!!! Kudos to the park. If anyone knows the maker, I’d like to find this out.

The drain shown below is from a company out of Washington State…..Urban Accessories. They have nice patterns of trench drain grate…..maybe made in China. No matter, they seem to do a good job with their product line. I’ve quoted custom trench to jobs that had specified their grating. They seem to be good folk and have a nice nitch in the industry. Their trench grating sure added a charming touch to the ampitheatre stairs at Rushmore.

DEVIL’S TOWER

The first time I came to Devil’s Tower was shortly after the movie “Close Encounters”. Because of this, my first visit here was a psuedo-religious experience. I saw no little green men (at least from interstellar encounters) on this first visit. And, I don’t recall having as much fun then as I did this time hiking with my children and nieces. We took lots of photos and journeyed further than we were allowed without being registered climbers. We even even had a mid-day lunch on the side of the sacred tower.

One of my favorite photos is of the “primative” perforated steel grating found in front of the ranger station at the base of the tower. Again, this had to be a special made item (US tax $$$). And, though the holes are small and spaced far apart, they must allow enough water flow to make themselves useful. Besides, this is an arrid region. I have no idea of the age of these grates, but I’m guessing that they were made before the age of pre-sloped, pre-formed polymer trench drain systems. Look at the imperfect hole pattern. Maybe the Park Department made these grates itself.

Many “Thanks” to the National Park System for preserving and maintaining the parks for all of us. If you haven’t gone to the Black Hills, I urge you to go. There are many, many more things to see than these two monuments. My children and I had a wonderful time……probably the best vacation of our life. And, we only spent 4 days.