I’ve seen photos of Mt. Rushmore but nothing prepared me for the awe I felt when I first saw the 4 great faces when we were still a couple of miles away. That feeling intensified as we walked through the avenue of state flags on our way to view them up closer.
Mt. Rushmore Avenue of State Flags
I loved touring the museum and reading about each of these great men, taking the walking tour and listening to the park ranger and see Borglum’s studio and hearing how this monument came to be.
I was fascinated that the original intent was to show more of the presidents’ bodies but lack of federal funds, WWII and the death of sculptor Gustav Borglum halted those plans. I personally think the faces alone are much more impressive than the models I saw for the original product.
We spent a few hours there this morning and then went back this evening for the twilight ceremony where another park ranger spoke, followed by a documentary about Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Roosevelt and then the faces were illuminated and we sang “The Star Spangled Banner” as I got a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes.
Veterans at Mt Rushmore evening ceremony
But my emotions weren’t finished for the evening as the program ended with all those who are on active duty or are veterans coming to the stage and being recognized.
After we left Rushmore this morning we set out to explore all the scenic byways in the area including Iron Mountain Road, Needles Loop and the Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway – we experienced pigtail turns, hairpin curves, sudden climbs followed by drops in elevation and scenic one-lane tunnels.
Scenic tunnel on Iron Mountain Road
We didn’t actually ride that many miles today – about 160 – but we still spent hours on the bike and while Burl navigated us safely around all the twists and turns, I took tons of photos.
On our last loop of the day we stopped at the Crazy Horse Memorial which Burl saw many years ago as a child when on a family trip. The memorial began in 1949 and after 60 years, is far from being finished. The sculptor, Korczak, died in 1982 but the memorial is being continued by his wife and 7 of their 10 children.
Crazy Horse Memorial - after 60 years of work!
We saw the documentary about Korczak’s work and I was impressed by his belief in the free enterprise system and his desire to make this an educational, cultural and humanitarian project built by the interested public and not by taxpayers. For that reason, he has turned down $10 million in federal funding twice! We saw the model for the finished project (it will be the world’s largest carving and dwarf Mt. Rushmore) and know it won’t be finished in our lifetimes but I have no doubt it will be completed.
Our attempts to connect to the Internet today failed at the B&B and our phone service was very limited. We received a very weak signal while on Mt. Rushmore – enough to call ahead for a hotel tomorrow night in Spearfish, SD and send a brief email to our kids to let them know we’re still alive and spending their inheritance.
Tomorrow we leave our idyllic B&B and head north for our last hurrah in South Dakota. Their slogan of “Great Faces, Great Places” is right on – what a fun place to vacation.
