The Presidents: Mt. Rushmore!

After the Badlands, we continued our journey westward to Mt. Rushmore.  Admittedly the bar was low for this place; at some point someone told me Mt. Rushmore was over-hyped.  I was pleasantly surprised; this place was a great deal of fun to explore.  When you enter you see the prize – Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Lincoln watching over you determinedly.  But there is so much more than that here!  There is an informative video documenting the construction of Mt. Rushmore, a large amphitheater you can sit in to ponder our nation’s forefathers, the sculptor’s studio with molds of Mt. Rushmore, and numerous exhibits.  I particularly enjoyed all of the details on how they monitor the monument’s health and what steps they take for restoration (although admittedly I love learning about the restoration of anything!  A number of years ago I was enthralled watching the conservationists delicately restore the Star Spangled Banner at the Smithsonian American History Museum).

Mt. Rushmore was carved into the Harney Peak Granite between 1927 and 1941 at a cost of just under $1 million.  The effort utilized 400 workers, mostly using strategically-placed dynamite and a whole lot of jackhammers to create this masterpiece.  The sculptor, Gutzon Borglum, died before the monument was completed.  The project ran out of money, and the Hall of Records, where Borglum intended to host a history of the United States, information on the construction of Mt. Rushmore, and a vault to secure some of our nation’s most important documents, was not completed until 1998.  Sadly the Hall of Records is not open to the public, so your best view is in the exhibits.

We enjoyed the Presidential Trail, a short hike around the area that gives you numerous perspectives of the monument.  Some pictures are below.  If you are in the area, I’d definitely recommend joining the approximately 3 million visitors a year- you won’t be disappointed!

The Buffalo:  Custer State Park

After Mt. Rushmore, we attempted to stay in Custer State Park but all of its developed campgrounds were full.  We did end up spending a night here, but not until the following night! Custer had one of the nicest campgrounds we had slept in to date- lots of spacious sites, some cute little cabins, and spotless bathrooms complete with warm showers.  But half of the adventure was getting into the park, along the scenic Iron Mountain Road.  Up and down, twisting and turning, there were a few tunnels with views of Mt. Rushmore and some loopy “pigtail bridges” that wound their way into the park.  Then, along the way to Blue Bell Campground, we encountered a herd of buffalo!  They could care less that we were trying to get through and took their time leisurely crossing the road.  Amused, we sat in Ellie, snapping pictures of the herd.