I have never really wanted to see Mount Rushmore, so I was reluctant to go. I just figured it for another giant statue of famous white guys. But, like the Wright Brothers Memorial on the Outer Banks, it's far more than that. It's a museum of natural history, of art history, of engineering potential, and one to get the heart pumping for those of us who are only subliminally susceptible to propaganda. It's an exceptionally effective history site and just about everyone should see it. The day we were there it was packed with foreign tourists--more foreigners than Americans I would say.
We also took some time to glimpse the slowly forming Crazy Horse Memorial not far from Rushmore. When I was younger I figured that one for a pipe dream, but it looks to be coming along, although at a snail's pace. Perhaps it will be completed.
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| As I mentioned in yesterday's post, we arrived to find Mount Rushmore completely sheathed in very thick rainclouds. So we wandered around in the museums and watched a film narrated by that moron Tom Brokaw. When we emerged from the theater we found that the clouds were beginning to break. |
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| I reckon my favorite President on the mountain. |
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| Borglum pushed for Teddy Roosevelt to be on the Monument. There was initial pushback against this, but he insisted and the committee relented. In retrospect he was proved right. |
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| And as we left, the clouds completely lifted above the mountain, affording us an unobstructed view. |
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| We saw some mountain goats on the entrance road as we were leaving the Monument. |
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| I took this photo the next morning as we were packing up to leave Custer State Park. I really want to go back to visit this park again, and to stay for at least a week. |
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| From there, it was on to our next destination...Wyoming's DEVILS TOWER NATIONAL MONUMENT! |
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