MOUNT RUSHMORE NATIONAL MEMORIAL, SOUTH DAKOTA

The Mount Rushmore Memorial

The Mount Rushmore National Memorial was an incredible sight. I feared it might not be as impressive in person as it seemed in photos and on TV but seeing it was a marvelous experience. Sculpting on a human scale is difficult enough but to sculpt 60 foot tall heads of four U.S. presidents into the top of a mountain with early 20th century tools requires skill I can't begin to comprehend. The sculptor, Gutzon Borglum, was a controversial figure, as were the men whose likenesses he carved into the mountain and the memorial itself. Still, there's no doubt Borglum was an artist of immense vision and talent.

The entrance to the memorial

Just a few more steps to go...

Inside the gate, near the visitor center

The Supreme Commander poses with an exhibit in the visitor center

The Avenue of the Flags leading to the viewing area

Looking back through the Avenue of the Flags toward the entrance

The Supreme Commander and her Uncle George pass through the Avenue of the Flags

A bust of the sculptor, Gutzon Borglum, by his son, Lincoln

The granite that was blasted and chipped away still rests below the monument

There are wingnuts who want to add Ronald Reagan to the memorial

This would be a more fitting addition

All the way down to the trees

We didn't stick around for any of the programs at the amphitheater

The Lincoln Borgum Visitor Center and Museum above the amphitheater

The Supreme Commander takes a seat in the amphitheater

A view of the monument from the amphitheater

A marching band arrived just as we were leaving

The setting sun colors the clouds above the Black Hills