The Four Big Stone Heads

Ok so Mount Rushmore isn't just four stone heads, it is a monument to four great leaders that helped shape our country. Ok for everyone that doesn't know their American Presidents... from left to right: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and last but not least Abraham Lincoln. This monument represents the birth, growth, development, and the preservation of our country. Mount Rushmore is located in the Black Hills in South Dakota among beautiful scenery.

The visitor center was very nice, and looked newly remodeled. Two films were shown about the creation of the monument and the other about the natural resources in the park. The exhibits displayed information about all four Presidents, tools used to create Mount Rushmore, and information about the sculptor Gutzon Borglum. Interesting facts... 90% of Mount Rushmore was sculpted by dynamite and you can still see the ruble on the hillside today, it took 17 years to complete the sculpture, but the sculptor Gutzon Borglum never saw it completed, his son Lincoln finished the project after his death.

When I arrived at the monument in the morning it was covered with a blanket of snow and the landscape of the park was white. As the day progresses the temperature rose and melted the snow and added some color differences between the wet and dry stone. As I was leaving the fog was rolling in and you could barely see the monument, I guess my timing was perfect. I was disappointed however in the lack of hiking trails; I wanted to get some different angle shots of the monument. I did however hike the Presidential Loop which gave me the great "up the noses" shot. But all in all I had a great time at the famous American Landmark.