7/9/15

We got up excited this morning as today was the day we were to see Mount Rushmore.  We had been excited about this the whole trip!  From Rapid City, there is a fair drive into the Black Hills to arrive at the monument.  We enjoyed the sights as we went along.

Then, all of the sudden, the monument at the top of a mountain ridge appeared in front of us!

Soon, we arrived, parked, and headed into the National Park at the monument's base.

Abigail and Emily at the entrance to Mount Rushmore

Once we stopped in the gift shop to get the girls Junior Ranger hats and workbooks for them to earn a Junior Ranger badge, we headed through the Avenue of Flags where all the state flags are flying.

 Abigail and Emily pose in front of Tennessee's flag - photo by Marta Wetmore

After passing through the gate, we entered the viewing area where the monument can be viewed, uninterrupted.

Marta, Abigail, Emily, and me - photo by a helpful stranger

Emily - photo by Marta Wetmore

Abigail - photo by Marta Wetmore

me - photo by Marta Wetmore

Then we took a walk on Presidents' Pathway which is a paved path at the base of the monument, affording the guests different and impressive view points of the monument, each president appearing to advantage in turn.

First came Washington.

View of Washington through a crevice in a small cave

Then came a Junior Ranger station where the children can see animal pelts and moldings of tracks.

Emily with a bear track - photo by Marta Wetmore

Abigail with a coyote track - photo by Marta Wetmore

Next came Lincoln, though he is far right.

Then came Jefferson.

Last came Roosevelt.

We also had a good view of the park and out to the Black Hills from the pathway.

We enjoyed seeing the monument from a different angle.

Then we stopped in the sculptor's studio where the model of the original design still stands as well as a number of objects involved in the carving process.

Model with view the finished product through the window - photo by Marta Wetmore

Chair used by sculptors - photo by Marta Wetmore

Once we made it back to the museum, we watched the movie on the history of the monument.  Then we helped the girls fill in their Junior Ranger booklets so that they could earn their badges.

Abigail's interpretation of our experience at the monument

The girls take their oath to do their part to protect the park and tell others what they learned there

We were quite hungry at that point, so we ate at the dinning room there.  As a fan of North by Northwest, it was fun to see the monument and the dining room where a number of scenes take place!

Dining Room

Then we bought our mementos and headed to our next destination.  As we drove along, we saw a scenic overlook spot and pulled over.  Then we realized that we had a wonderful view of Washington's profile!

Our next stop was Crazy Horse Monument which is a relatively short drive away.  This monument is not a National Park and is being carved by a private organization.  When it is done, it will be ten times the size of Mount Rushmore!  Due to the financial situation, the price was high for our entrance.  Once we started the drive into the property, we could see the mountain and the beginnings of the carving right in front of us.

Once we parked and entered the visitor's center and museum, we were told that there would be an Indian giving a presentation behind the building, so we went there first.  A man named Danny from the Lakota (Sioux) and Oglala tribes gave us some information about the native tribes and himself.  He also did some Grass People dancing which his outfit also represented.  These dancers traditionally would stomp down the grass where they wanted to set up their tepees.

By chance, a 17-year-old girl named Ernestine, representing the Navajo nation was there that day and Danny had persuaded her to put on her traditional costume and do a dance or two for us.

At the end, members of the audience were called on to help in a friendship (aka snake) dance.  Ernestine started it as a side step movement that wound through the audience and the stage, holding hands.

After this performance, we went back into the visitor's center and purchased our mementos and went out to take a bus ride to the base of the monument.  We looked into a van ride to the top, but it was $128 a piece!  We decided this was a luxury we could forgo!

Abigail and Emily waiting for the bus

Standing at the base of the monument - Abigail, Marta, and Emily

Crazy Horse's face.  The granite has quite a lot of iron in it which attracts lightning

The entire monument - Crazy Horse's outstretched hand is pointing towards us

Abigail and me with Crazy Horse - photo by Marta Wetmore

A piece of granite from Crazy Horse's face, now on the ground close to where we stood

After our bus ride, we went back to the visitor's center and looked at the model of what the finished  product will look like.

There were also models of what the entire property will look like with the University of the American Indian and a medical school as well as a center for educating non-Indians about the American Indian.

In the education center, they let the children handle certain Indian objects including some drums which Abigail liked a lot!

Outside, we saw Buddha, the engine that was originally used power the tools that did a lot of the carving.

There was also a bronze sculpture of fighting stallions, crazy horse and his horse, and a large gate with metal cutouts in it representing different things from nature.

Abigail finds the coyote

Emily finds the T-rex

When we left to drive to Deadwood, we enjoyed beautiful views along the way, driving through the Black Hills.

Once we reached our hotel, we made supper and watched "Calamity Jane" with Doris Day as we were in the city the real Calamity Jane made famous and would be seeing it the next day.