Friends! After a brief hiatus, we are back with the Wild West series. Next stop: Mt. Rushmore. Truthfully, before this trip I was honestly not that into MR. I never thought it to be the the most exciting of American attractions and considering it’s in the middle of nowhere (who goes to central western South Dakota?) it was just not on my radar. But when we talked about going on our road trip (right through… central South Dakota) I was completely game.

To my surprise, Mt. Rushmore really wowed me and I loved it (just like everything else in South Dakota). It’s truly a completely amazing and beautiful work of art carved into a mountain – the tallest between the Rockies an Switzerland. The story goes that in the 1920s, A South Dakotan historian decided this state and the beautiful Black Hills needed a lasting ‘Shrine to Democracy’ and a venerable tourist attraction, so he sought out this mountain and a sculptor with a plan. They invited President Coolidge out for a visit and he was into it, and work began in 1927. Mt. Rushmore took 400 men 14 years to create. Most of it was carved using very precise use of dynamite, which kind of blows my mind. The impending WWII causing an early pull of funding and thus, it’s actually not completely done to the original plan.

I think you all should take a visit, and if you do, word to the wise: go right when it opens before the tour buses show up :-).