Mount Rushmore

I've thought and thought about how to bring the essence of Mount Rushmore into this post.  I don't think it's possible.  Not even with the best photo equipment in the world.  It's that awesome.  It's the epitome of  "You have to see it to believe it".  Believe me.  You have to see it to believe it.

But I fired up my humble but trusty little camera and forged ahead.  These are colored photographs although it's difficult to tell.  It was an overcast day and the forecast called for snow turning to rain but we didn't know that until it was too late to turn back.   Fortunately, we arrived during a little "bubble" of sun which blessed us until we left the park.  Then it rained.  And rained.  Luck?  Somebody up there?  A little of both?

This first photo is really the back of the second photo, if you know what I mean.   What's so interesting is that if you look closely at the second photo (or click on it to enlarge it), you'll see the side of George Washington's face! 

Like this...and this is interesting...the plan was to put Thomas Jefferson on the left of Washington but there wasn't enough granite in the proper configuration to carve a head there.  So they carved him on the right.  Did you know that George Washington's head is as tall as a six-story building!

In any case,  we drove around the curve and we were there - at Mount Rushmore!   A perfect time of the year for us because there were very few visitors.  We were also fortunate in that we arrived 20 minutes before the park closed.   It was crunch time!  Not a moment to lose. 

The entrance is impressive.  And the closer you walk the more amazing it becomes.   It's quite magnificent.  This is the Avenue of the Flags...56 of them representing the states, districts, commonwealths and territories of the United States of America.

Each year more than 3 Million people visit Mount Rushmore National Park. That's more than three times the number of people who actually live in the entire state of South Dakota!

In 1923 South Dakota state historian, Doane Robinson, conceived this idea as a way to attract visitors to the Black Hills.   This was the gateway to the West and he and a group of backers approached sculptor Gutzon Borglum to carve a parade of Indian leaders and American explorers who shaped the frontier.  Obviously, that plan was revised...

Borglum had carved a Confederate memorial on Stone Mountain in Georgia in 1915.  He was an experienced carver of granite and that's what the Black Hills of South Dakota are...granite.  Work began on October 4, 1927 and ended October 31, 1941.  Fourteen years. 

These are photos of two exhibits inside the visitor's center.  They put this huge task into perspective, I think.  Especially the second photo.

There is a wealth of information at the official Mount Rushmore website.  My first impression of the website was that it had little information.  I was wrong...it's all there.  You've just got to explore all of the links.

For example, under the HISTORY AND CULTURE tab, you'll find a tab for Stories which explains why these four Presidents - George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt - were chosen for the memorial.  Well, alright, I'll tell you.  Borglum chose these four leaders because they "brought the nation from colonial times into the 20th century".  But there's much more...

Some trivia?  Well, did you know...

• 90% of the heads were carved with dynamite.There were nearly 400 workers who helped create this memorial.
• Total cost of memorial was $989, 992.32.
• No one died during the carving of the memorial.
• Rate of erosion of heads: 1 inch every 10,000 years.
• Mount Rushmore is 5,725 feet tall.
• Mount Rushmore was named in 1885 for New York lawyer Charles E. Rushmore.
• The mountain is made of Harney Peak granite.

My source for most of this information is the brochure that we received when we entered the park.  But there's a wonderful pdf student guide HERE which was my source for this trivia.

In the end, I'm so glad we took this detour on our way back home from Washington.  With summers so nice at Lake Mary, we're not likely to travel anywhere until the end of the season.  We are thinking of visiting Yellowstone National Park at the end of August or first part of September.  Either that or we'll visit the East coast...I've never been to Maine and I understand that Autumn in New England is not to be missed.
 
Something to ponder...