ENJOYING THE SIGHTS AT MOUNT RUSHMORE NATIONAL MONUMENT
August 23, 2015
Taking Rte 244 northward
bypassing Keystone Tom accompanied us for the evening and drove the scenic route climbing through the Black
Hills winding over several pigtail wooden bridges which allowed us a glimpse of
Mount Rushmore through three tunnel frames along the way.
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| The entire memorial covers 2 square miles and is 5,725 feet above sea level |
Originally there had been controversy
over the selection of the presidents who should go upon this shrine of
democracy. Each presidential figure head represents
one of the important time periods in the nation’s history: birth, expansion, development,
preservation.
One can’t help but marvel at
the boldness of the dreamers at the beginning of the 20th century when they saw
a vision and created greatness from nothing. It is truly one of the world’s
most spectacular artistic and engineering achievements, not only to our
national pride, but to patriotism and determination of the sculptor and the
miners he guided in carving a mountain into a work of art.
Apparently the initial idea originated by Doane Roninson was to
sculpt in the Needles mountain peaks to
the east. However, Gutzon Borglum, the 60 year old actual sculptor,
rejected the Needles site because of the poor quality of the granite and strong
opposition from Native American groups. They settled on the Mount Rushmore
location, which also had the advantage of facing southeast for maximum sun
exposure. Robinson who conceived the idea to carve the mountain wanted it to
feature western heroes like Lewis and Clark, Red Cloud, and Buffalo Bill Cody, but Borglum decided the sculpture should
have a more national focus and chose the four presidents whose likenesses would
be carved into the mountain. After securing federal
funding patron, construction on the memorial began in
1927 with Gutzon Borglum and 400 workers and the presidents' faces were completed
between 1934 and 1939. Upon Borglum's death in March 1941, his son Lincoln
took over finishing the project.
While most visitors travel to Mount Rushmore to admire the
enormous sculpted faces we found there are numerous other ways to experience
the site and immerse ourselves in the history.
Walking the Presidential
Avenue of American flags at the base of Mount Rushmore, touring the Lincoln
Borglum Visitor Center below the Amphitheater and the Sculptor's Studio
, and visiting
the Lakota, Nakota and Dakota Heritage Village to learn more about some of the
area's original residents add further attractions and
incredible history at the site.
There was an evening light
show and ceremony that ended by honoring all veterans. It was truly a humbling
experience well worth staying to view at night. Seeing the faces lit beneath a
clear night sky filled with stars and a full moon was awesome. Every patriotic American
should make the pilgrimage to Mount Rushmore to view the majesty of it.
It might be fun to watch the Alfred Hitchcock film North By
Northwest before you visit. They actually did film here. Bet you didn’t know
that the figure of Thomas Jefferson was
originally started on Washington's right side. After 18 months of carving the
figure of Jefferson had to be blasted off the mountain and restarted on
Washington's left side. You can figure that one out as to why
