Mount RushmoreAug 22, 2006
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Downtown Keystone...gateway to Mount Rushmore
A smaller copy of the seated Lincoln sculpture that is in Newark,...
The entrance to Mount Rushmore
| Our plan for the day was to visit Mount Rushmore and possibly some other sights in the area. We headed out in the morning toward Keystone, the town where Mount Rushmore is located. It is a cute little town in the mountains and we stopped at the museum that featured the artist of Mount Rushmore, Gutzon Borglum. What a fascinating place! If you ever go to Mount Rushmore, definitely stop here, as it makes the visit so much more interesting to know the history behind the monument as well as the sculptor. To our surprise, Borglum was quite a prolific sculptor and a copy of one of his most famous statues was in the lobby. As it turns out, the original is at the Essex County courthouse in Newark, NJ, not far from where I grew up. All these years I never knew this, although I do have a vague recollection of the statue. Then we headed off to the monument itself. The grounds are beautiful with plenty of areas for viewing. We also walked the Presidential Trail, which gets you closer to the base of the monument with special views of each President. This whole experience was just great. We have both heard of Mount Rushmore and seen pictures all our lives, but it was so special to finally see it in person. From there, we headed south to view the Crazy Horse Monument, which only has a portion of the mountain sculpture completed. The sculptor, Korczak Ziolkowski, has passed away since the project began but his wife and 7 of his 10 adult children are still working on the project. This project began when Lakota Chief Henry Standing Bear invited Korczak to the Black Hills of South Dakota to carve Crazy Horse. When Henry Standing Bear wrote to Korczak he said,"My fellow chiefs and I waould like the white man to know the red man has great heroes, too." And in 1949, at the age of 40, Korczak began this project. Unfortunately, I doubt this will be completed in our life time, but I would definitely like to go back in 20 years and see the progress. When it's done, the grounds will also be a Native American University and historical center. It's off to a great start! After coming home for dinner, we headed back out to Mount Rushmore for the evening show, which includes a talk by the ranger, singing of our national anthem, and the lighting of the monument. They also asked all the active duty military and veterans to go on stage while they retired the flag for the evening. What a beautiful ceremony and great way to end the day! |
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