Mount Rushmore and Deadwood

Mount Rushmore-finally here!

July 31, 2012

Pactola Lake

Today was the day we went to see what South Dakota is famous for:  Mount Rushmore.  Jim and I left the trailer around 11:00.  Mt. Rushmore is about 20 miles from where we're staying and the drive up there is beautiful, through wooded areas and grassy farm lands.  The Black Hills have some of the nicest forests we've seen - and we've seen quite a few, at least in the western U.S.  As we go further east, we may amend our opinions.  We'll see.

Our tourist-y shot

The sculptor who carved Mt. Rushmore, Gutzon Borglum, wanted America to have a lasting legacy, "the formal rendering of the philosophy of our government into granite on a mountain peak."  This project's original conception, by Doane Robinson, was to draw sightseers to the Black Hills and the figures proposed for immortalization in granite were supposed to be Indian leaders and American explorers who shaped the frontier.  When Borglum, a master sculptor, became involved, he moved the original location and subjects, 4 of our presidents, Washington, Jefferson, T. Roosevelt and Lincoln, and the rest is history!  The project was started in 1927 and was completed over the course of 14 years.

Inside the Exhibit Hall

More exhibits

Magnificent fireplace on the grounds

 
Jim and I wandered all over the Memorial, going through the Exhibit Hall which showed the process and the workers, the sculptor's workshop, the viewing terrace....really well done.  There is no fee for the Memorial....but it costs $11 to park!!  We had a good laugh over that. But the "Parking Fee" is good through 2012, so we can go back several times, which I intend to do.  They have a lighting of the faces every evening.  I want to go back and take pictures.  It takes place at 9:30 p.m.  I'm sure we'll manage to go one night before we leave.




We left Mount Rushmore around 2:45 p.m. and headed to Deadwood.  Having been fans of the series on HBO, we had to go see it for ourselves.  It is about 45 miles from Mt. Rushmore and again, quite a pleasant drive through more forests and grassy areas. This place is really beautiful.  We've been having stormy weather, which makes for great lighting and does cool it off a little.

Optimum viewing

Deadwood was on its way to becoming a part of history until 1989, when the introduction of limited stakes gambling gave new life to the city.  There are now saloons where you can gamble, just like in the old west.....even the architecture of anything newly built has to conform to certain regulations where the builders have to blend or match with existing (old) design.  We spent an hour or so walking around the main part of town, checking out the buildings and historical information.  The old train station has been converted into a small museum full of mining and train lore.  I love stuff like that.  Jim took all the pictures in Deadwood.  Dummy me, left my camera in the truck.....how dumb was that? (In my defense, it was hot and his little camera fits in his pocket.  Mine goes around my neck on a strap!)

Washington's Profile

We drove through Sturgis on the way home, (got my T-shirt!) looking for a place to eat dinner.  Sturgis is the town where the biker rally is held every year.  This year, they are expecting 400,000 bikers to show up.  When we traveled through the town,  there was already evidence that a hoard is about to descend.....53 ft. trailers from all the best known suppliers of everything were being set up as temporary storefronts:  Harley Davidson, Budweiser, Jack Daniels, big motorcycle parts suppliers,  t-shirt and tons of other biker paraphenalia galore.....big doings.   We found a non-biker overrun restaurant on the edge of town near the Interstate, Caddy's.  Not a bad burger.

Long day, but well worth it.

Note:  If you click on the photos they will enlarge.