Mount Rushmore

Mount Rushmore

This place has changed so much since we were here 17 years ago in 1988. Back then you basically walked up a few steps, looked at the faces and you were done. There was an itty bitty cafeteria if you wanted to eat a lunch. It all seemed rather anticlimactic.

Now there is a fabulous granite entry with flags of all fifty states lining the way. There's a bookstore, a gift shop, a big cafeteria. There is a .6 mile trail with stairs. It's impressive. The next day my calves were really sore. We listened to live Lakota music performed love by real Lakota native Americans. The drummer was handsome and the drum was neat. (Aren't drummers are always cool?) He said he played the drum in the same manner and style that native Americans did in times past. A very good place to visit.

This pic shows all the talus at foot of the mountain. Dynamite was used for 90% of the sculpture and then tools were used to sculpt the faces!