August 5th ~ Mount Rushmore

"Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations"

Psalm 100:4-5

The West is rubbing off.... : )

Yesterday was our vacation day. Since we were so close, we just couldn't pass up the opportunity to go see Mount Rushmore. We've seen it in books and on postcards, but it isn't the same as seeing it in person.

Our first glimpse of that monumental grandeur

Each state is represented

Do you see any resemblance? : )

Along the trail to the base of the mountain, two tepees were set up. They let us look in and see how the Indians lived. The one on the left is for winter and the one on the right is for summer.

The view from a cave

Admiring the majesty and magnitude of the carving

Mumps, measles, or......oh....that's your hat. : )

Washington

Some of the equipment

As we were walking along the trail, a little boy came along with his little brother close behind. With every other breath, he kept repeating, "You know what they always say.....Always expect the unexpected." Finally, after about the millionth time "You know what they always say....", his brother interrupted, "I know, I know!" But this little fella was not to be silenced. "But you know what they always say....." I think by that time, we were all finishing his sentence. Always expect the unexpected!

On the way up to Gutzon Borglum's sculpting studio

It was quite an experience to learn how those men carved the faces out of the side of the mountain using primarily dynamite.

Well, Ray...looks like they have you beat.

We could look at the statue and then look out the window and see the real thing

Washington, Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Lincoln

Borglum's first sculpting studio

Whew! After all that walking, it was nice to sit down.

More steps...

There were many, many different views of the faces as we walked the trail.

The museum was very interesting, with anything from jackhammers to chisels to logbooks that told who worked on what and how much was accomplished to anything else imaginable. There was also a documentary on Mount Rushmore that had live footage of the men working, dangling by ropes and sitting in bosun's chairs. It was enough to make anyone cringe. : )

We had the opportunity to meet Don (Nick) Clifford who worked on Mount Rushmore for 3 years starting when he was 17.

One last glimpse...

Ahhhhh....now this is more like home. : )