Mount Rushmore

In September 2023 we visited Mount Rushmore in South Dakota while we were there visiting all the South Dakota and Wyoming relatives. We had always heard about it along with seeing it in pictures and movies, but we had never seen it in person. Mount Rushmore was sculpted between 1927 and 1941 by Gutzon Borglum and features carvings of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln representing the first 150 years of American history.

We stayed in Rapid City and nearly died when we got there in the 80 degree heat. Luckily, it cooled down to the upper 60’s before we headed to Mount Rushmore the next day. It was weird seeing people starting to put coats on at those temperatures. I used my debit card at one store and the clerk asked if I was cold as he asked to see some identification. He looked at my Alaska driver’s license and said never mind.

Keystone is a tourist town with lots of tourist shops on the way to Mount Rushmore, so we stopped there. There are shops for everyone and a train that you could ride, but parking is a little scarce. We looked around the shops, ate some food, and enjoyed some homemade pop. We got some Mount Rushmore souvenirs there as I figured it would be cheaper than getting stuff at the park. We had to get some Christmas ornaments to put on our tree since we started that tradition nearly 20 years ago as a reminder of the trips and fun we had.

The drive through the Black Hills was beautiful with all the rock outcrops and the different types of trees than what we were used to seeing. We never got used to the non-stop wind although we did greatly appreciate it when the temperatures got above 75. We didn’t see any wildlife at all, but it was a scenic drive. We had to take two cars since everybody went. Jessica and I rode with Kieth so it was a much more fun ride without having to listen to anyone scream slow down at every corner or little bump in the road. I’m sure he would love jumping the frost heaves if he ever visits Alaska, although that is an experience that best reserved for rental cars.

We could see Mount Rushmore as we neared it and there was no admission charge at the gate. They charged for parking however, which was worse for us as mine and Jessica’s Indian enrollment cards get us into the parks for free. We were there during the off-time and parking was still hard to find. After we found parking spots we walked up to the visitor center taking some pictures on the way. The trail towards the viewing area has flags from every state so we had to pose by the Alaska flag seeing that we were 3,000 miles away from home.

It reminded me of the Grand Canyon where it was neat to see once just to say you saw it. It was an impressive piece of engineering and work. There were some small displays of tools that were used and some movies documenting the construction, but that was about it. There were souvenir shops that we looked at, but overall you can see everything in about 15 minutes so we saw it and we’re good. We got our group photos and left. If we had to do it again, we would just take pictures along the road and skip stopping in. There was a lot more fun stuff to do in Keystone. The Crazy Horse Memorial is just down the road and is well worth the trip. The monument is not as impressive since it is still a work in progress, but the visitor center is a museum containing artifacts from tribes throughout the United States and Canada along with many displays so plan on spending time there. Our enrollment cards allowed us to get in there for free, but it would still be worth paying to see it even if they didn’t.