Mount Rushmore National Memorial, SD:  We decided on Rapid City as a central location to visit Wind Cave and Badlands National Parks.  Even higher on our list though was Mount Rushmore, the enormous granite sculpture in the Black Hills commemorating the foundation, preservation and continental expansion of the United States.  President Coolidge dedicated the site in 1927, commencing 14 years of work; only six years were spent on actual carving.  Surprisingly, money was the main problem, not the carving itself!   

Gutzon Borglum, the American born master sculptor behind the carving on Stone Mountain in Georgia, chose to carve four U.S. presidents who epitomized our country’s leadership: Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt.    After making sketches in plaster using life masks, paintings and photographs, Borglum sized the models at a ratio of 1:12---one inch on the model equaled one foot on the mountain.  Ninety percent of the carving was done by dynamite as the granite was so hard.  After blasting, the features were shaped by workers suspended by cables in swing seats using pneumatic drills and chisels.  To give you a feeling for the enormity of the relief, Washington’s head is 60 feet high, the length of his nose is 20 feet, and the width of his eye is 11 feet!

The entire Visitor Center is modern and inviting, and the flag lined promenade leading up to the shrine perfectly showcases the memorial.  We were moved by the very patriotic program put on by the Park Rangers at sunset in the outdoor amphitheater at the base of the mountain; veterans of all US services were recognized and asked to join in lowering the flag at the conclusion of the program.  There were easily 60 service men and women who were introduced and thanked for their service.  John assisted in folding the flag. 

When we all rose to sing the National Anthem at the conclusion of a movie on the American experience, spotlights began to grow on the darkened granite mountain until the faces were softly illuminated against the blue-black South Dakota sky.  It was certainly a night to remember.   

Odometer: 11,600 miles.