I've seen Mount Rushmore once before and this time was just as spectacular.It took 14 years (1927-1941) to carve the heads of Washington, Jefferson, T. Roosevelt, and Lincoln into a mountain.
The sculptor's (Gutzon Borglum) plan was to have not just the heads of W, J, R, and L, but their heads and torsos on the mountain. Too bad, Borglum died in some unnecessary, elective surgery in Chicago in 1941. The work came to a halt until his son took over. He did some final touch up on the heads and 8 months later declared, "the monument is finished."
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| Mr. C. was sooooooo excited!! |
Once again the National Park Service has done a nice job with an attached museum, boardwalks that wind around the mountain so you can see the carvings from different angles.
Interesting Mount Rushmore facts:
- 400 workers were employed. No one died working on the project.
- It cost $989,992 to create
- There's a cave underneath the heads that was intended to be a vault holding the story of Mount Rushmore, a copy of the constitution, a copy of the Declaration of Independence, and more….but it was never finished. The only visitors now are mountain goats
- 90% of the carving was done with dynamite
- George Washington's head is 60 feet long
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| This is what the mountain looked like before it was blasted into heads |
Kathryn
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| Still trying to take selfies |
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| Prairie dog on the trail |
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| trail view |
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