Mt. Rushmore

I had read a few reviews online about Mt. Rushmore that had made me a little wary of the whole place. While some of them were accurate (the fact that once you get near Rapid City you are bombarded with the commercialism of it), I think it was well worth the visit. I wouldn't necessarily suggest spending the entire day there, a few hours is definitely possible. We started just looking at it, but kept asking each other so many questions we decided we'd better head to the visitor's center and get them answered. I was impressed with the set up and information provided there. And the film was cool, too.

The one picture I convinced Dad to take with me. At the Sculptor's View.

For some reason I love that you can see the remnants of the rocks they blasted off under it.
I think it represents the unfinished and imperfect work of the four great men.

We walked around the President's Trail and stopped at the Sculptor's Studio and loved it. We also spent some time looking at the flags of all of the states. 

I hadn't realized how little I knew about Mt. Rushmore until then, so I'm going to list some of the things I learned. 

*Construction started in 1927 and it didn't end until after the original sculptor died in 1941. 

*Gutzon Borglum was the sculptor.

*The original idea for the sculptures was to create full bodied sculptures using freestanding rock slabs but Borglum decided the rock on Rushmore was better for sculpting and withstanding the weather.

*Over 90% of Rushmore was sculpted through using dynamite blastings.

*Not one of the workers was ever seriously injured or died through working up on the mountain.

*The workers had to climb 700 steps up the mountain everyday for work.

*The concept for the sculptures changed almost daily based on differences on the mountain than originally anticipated. Borglum kept his models in the studio as up to date as possible so the workers knew what to do.

The Main Model. You could see the actual sculptures out the window to the left.
It was awesome to see the similarities and differences (mostly the lower parts of all the men).

*The scale of the main model was for every one inch on the sculpture was one foot on the mountain.

*The heads are so large because Borglum believed a monument should be the right size to represent the impact of the events it represented.

*The used what was called a point system to get the dimensions right on the mountain. (It sort of reminded me of a protractor.)

*The workers had a baseball team. And apparently were pretty good.

*Most of the work was done by workers sitting in special seats hung over the mountain by just one cable.

*The presidents chosen were picked because of the different things they represented for the country: Washington--its founding and first president, Jefferson--writing the Declaration of Independence and westward growth and expansion, Roosevelt--economic growth and world wide cooperation, and Lincoln--uniting the country through the Civil War.

*They started a Hall of Records behind Lincoln's head to hold important documents relating to the memorial. Statues were to be included along with inscriptions commemorating the development and progress of civilization in the Western World. Although it was never fully finished, it contains 16 documents.

Scale of Hall of Records.

*Borglum created plaster masks of each of the presidents and hung them from cables in the mountain to be used as visual comparisons and measurement for the workers. These masks were some of the workers' most important tools. Borglum told them, "If you feel the mask...close your eyes or put it behind you, just feel the mask...your fingers will tell you much more about what you are supposed to be doing than your eyes will."

Lincoln Plaster Mask

*For Borglum and many of his workers, sculpting this mountain was a spiritual and emotional, not just physical experience. Many considered it to be their greatest calling in life to be a part of something so great.

*The unveiling of the faces were commemorated with a big ceremony. Each face was covered by a flag of the United States that was so large the stars were each 13 feet!

It really was such a neat experience! I would definitely suggest everyone go and see it at least once!

**We didn't go to Crazy Horse, so I can't say if that is worth seeing, but I can say you could easily skip Custer State Park without missing much.**