Mount Rushmore National Memorial

Today was another beautiful day in the Black Hills of South Dakota so I decided it was high time to drive the 20 miles over to Mount Rushmore National Memorial in Keystone, SD from Rapid City.  Scott decided to come with me even though we were here a couple years ago and took a longer lunch than usual.  It was fun fun drive because the last time we were here we came in through Custer, SD on Route 16 and this time we came in from Rapid City, SD on Route 16 the other direction.

Parking is actually NOT park of Mount Rushmore and done through a consignment service.  They charge $10 for the year - so keep you parking stub.  There are 6 3-tier parking areas and people will direct you to the correct location.  Each location has handicapped parking.  Big Rigs and RVs are the pull into a separate area and will be directed to parking.  There is ample parking at Rushmore, but know the summer months are very busy.  Parking is very close to the memorial.  Also, you should know that pets are NOT allowed at the memorial but only in the designated parking areas on this map.  This is not a dog-friendly site.

Pet access areas

Since we'd been here before we knew just what we wanted to do so come along for a tour.  The first thing you do is go under the Mount Rushmore National Memorial granite signs.  It's very difficult to get a photograph of this because (1) the flag is off center, and (2) the inscription is very faint so I didn't get one, but I did get a photo of what the entrance looks like.  You can see the Avenue of the Flags in the distance along with Mount Rushmore in the distance.

As you walk in, there is an Information Center and Bookstore where you can buy park memorabilia and get your Passport book stamped.

There is also Xanterra Gift Shop and Carver's Cafe and Ice Cream through Xanterra Hospitality just a bit farther down from this building and before you reach the Avenue of the Flags.

At the end of the Avenue of the Flags you are at the amphitheater where there are often summer programs and where you can sit at dusk when they turn the lights on at the memorial.  Below this location is the Lincoln Borglum Visitors Center (accessible via stairs or elevators on either side of the amphitheater), which is very nice to see.  We didn't have time to re-do this because Scott had to be back to work, so we skipped it.  During the Evening Lighting Ceremony, you might see bats hunting bugs that are attracted to the lights.  These bats are critical in controlling the mosquito population at Mount Rushmore and help the pollination process in the Black Hills.  Other mammals in the park include mountain goats, marmot, and mountain lions.  While the park stays open until 11 p.m., the Visitor's Center closes at 5 p.m.

Today, access to the Borglum Artists Cottage was closed as was the stairs leading from the artists cottage to the memorial.  Again, refer back to the map above to see where everything is.  It's very easy to get around.  There is a pathway on the left side - the Presidential Trail - leading under the memorial for wheelchair access.  We took a little selfie before we started out walk.

As we walked along the pathway, we were able to take some nice photos of the memorial.  It's amazing how the lighting changes depending on where you walk for the same photo.

This shot below of George Washington was taken through a cave...notice the three birds?

Normally, all four presidents have memorial markers, but since half of the walking trails are closed, you only get to see two:

And, then you come to the viewing area.  This does require you to take some stairs.  It's such an amazing site to behold!!

I did photograph the stairs that meets at this central viewing location, but as I mentioned they were closed today.  It would have been nice to have seen the Roosevelt and Jefferson plaques.  The last time we came here was walked UP all these steps and there is like 422 of them!

A couple photos of us.

Now just a photo of the surrounding landscape.  Mount Rushmore is in the very heart of the Black Hills full of Ponderosa Pine.

And, lastly, here is a sculpture of Gutzon Borglum, who carved out Mount Rushmore with the aid of hundred of jobless men - only a few accidents and no deaths occurred during the entire process of Mount Rushmore.  Amazing fact!  This sculpture was done by Borglum's son, Lincoln.

Now, you know me, I have to include a bit of historical trivia from the national park service, so here goes:

1867 - John Gutzon del la Mothe Borglum born March 25 in St. Charles, ID (near Logan, UT) to Mormon Danish immigrants.  Later studies art in Paris and New York and becomes well-known portrait sculptor.

1885 - NY attorney Charles Rushmore goes to Black Hills to inspect mining claims; Mt Rushmore named for him.

1889 - South Dakota and North Dakota become states on the same day.

1923 - SD state historian Doane Robinson proposes carving Old West heroes in the Needles - spirelike granite formations in the Black Hills.  Robinson approaches Borglum, then working on the Confederate memorial on Stone Mountain, GA.

1925 - Fed and State legislation authorize carving of memorial in Black Hills. Borglum quite Stone Mountain project and goes to SD.  Chooses Mt Rushmore site due to it's size, orientation to the morning and midday light, and fine-grained granite.  To appeal to national audience, Borglum proposes US presidents as subjects.  Fund-raising begins.

1927 - Pres Calvin Coolidge spends summer in Black Hills; dedicated memorial.  Borglum begins carving.

1929 - Mt Rushmore Natl Memorial Act provides matching federal funding and creates commission to raise funds and oversee operations.  Stock market crashes in October; ensuing economic collapse threatens project.

1930 - Dedication of Washing head on July 4.

1933 - Pres Franklin D. Roosevelt places Rushmore under jurisdiction of National Park Service.  After 18 mos of carving, Jefferson head relocated to Washington's left because of flaws in granite.  Original Jefferson figure is blasted away.  Gutzon's son, Lincoln, begins full-time work at Rushmore.

1935 - As work continues, Lincoln's head is sited/

1936 - Pres Franklin D. Roosevelt attends a dedication of Jefferson head Aug 30.

1937 - A bill is introduced in Congress to add Susan B. Anthony's portrait on Rushmore.  Separate legislation requires that money be spent only on those figures already begun, thus ending the Anthony proposal.  Lincoln head dedication Sept. 17.

1938 - Work focuses on Theordore Roosevelt head, with details of Washington's neck also in progress.  In the granite behind the heads, excavation begins for Hall of Records, Borglum's planned storage vault for important national documents and an American time capsule.

1939 - Roosevelt head dedicated July 2.  Memorial officially transferred to the National Park Service.  Work ceases on Hall of Records.

1941 - March 6: Gutzon Borglum dies.  Lincoln Borglum oversees carving until its completion on October 31.

1959 - Mt Rushmore is the site of a climactic scene in movie - North by Northwest

1991-98 - To commemorate 50th anniversary of the completion of carving, Mt Rushmore undergoes major redevelopment.  Museum, Grand View Terrace, Avenue of the Flags, restaurant, gift shop and parking decks built.

Interesting facts:

• Gutzon Borglum was the person who selected these four presidents to be on the memorial.
• The original cost of carving was $989,992.32 (about 85% federal funds); The price tag for the 1990s redevelopment was $56 million!
• About 450,000 tons of rock was blasted from the mountain.
• Cracks are patched as needed with silicone sealant.  The faces were "washed" for the first time in 2005 using pressurized water.
• Noses are about 20 feet long, eyes about 11 feet wide, mouths about 18 feet wide.
• Nearly 3,000,000 visitors go to Mount Rushmore each year from around the globe and many people become US citizens at Mount Rushmore.

I hope you enjoyed this little tour of Mount Rushmore.  It is definitely an American Icon.  I'd plan on spending about 3 hours here to see everything there is to see including the artists cottage and do the full hike.  It's a shame it was closed today but an easy thing.  I would probably do Mount Rushmore with either a walk down the town streets of Keystone with all their quaint shops or, if you don't like shopping, perhaps coupling this with going to the Crazy Horse Memorial, in process down Hwy 16.