Mount Rushmore - and a stuck RV

Day 37 - Mount Rushmore

This morning started with more business - setting ourselves up with Medicare Part D prescription drug plans.  Then we headed out for Mt. Rushmore.

We stopped at the Forest Service office to inquire about free or low cost camping, since we've already decided to stay around this area for more time after our campsite reservation expires next Monday.  The Black Hills are beautiful and the people very laid back and friendly.  If it weren't for the winters this would be a great place to live!  We got some good information on camping places we will check out, but the ranger also told us we should use the back roads - SD87 (Needles Highway) and US16A to get to Mt. Rushmore as they are more scenic.

This was the understatement of the century!  The Needles are spectacular granite towers and spires and as you drive, they surround the road, making for other worldly views.  The road itself snakes up and down mountains and has many tight turns.  It also has a series of tunnels cut through the rock which would be impassable for our RV.  Signs on the road (and a panel on the South Dakota highway map) clearly tell you the height and width of each tunnel.  As we approached the second tunnel there were parking places as the road widened, providing viewpoints of The Needles.  There were so many stopped vehicles in this area that there was nowhere for us to park, so we decided to proceed thru the tunnel, which we couldn't see due to a 90 degree turn in the road.  There were 3 motorbikes blocking the road and we inched up to them, hoping they'd take a hint and let us through.

This is when one of the motorcyclists told us the road was blocked by an RV stuck in the tunnel!  We got out of the car and I took some pictures of the stuck RV, with 3 people on top of it, pushing on the rock walls of the tunnel as the driver tried to inch forward.  Fortunately a parked car pulled out and went back down the mountain, giving us a place to park, so I was able to witness the final freeing of what turned out to be a rented RV.  Presumably the drivers didn't know the dimensions of the RV, or just ignored the warning signs!

We let the traffic go through the one way tunnel and witnessed a tour bus, which shouldn't have go through it, make its way safely through.  Finally we were able to continue on our way, and enjoy the Needles, which were reaching for the sky.  Eventually we were able to take a shortcut and get onto US16A, which approaches Mt. Rushmore.  On this road, by design, you can see the faces of the presidents through several of the tunnels, which was really cool.

So we arrived at the mountain.  We parked the car and obtained a parking pass good for one year (everyone does - I wonder how many people use it more than once!).  There's an information center and then a short walk to a restaurant, gift shop and ice cream parlor.  Vicky had a cappuccino while I indulged in raspberry soft serve ice cream, which was probably the best I've ever had.  We enjoyed these treats while sitting outside and enjoying the antics of a family of marmots that clearly had a nest under a nearby rock.

Stomachs satisfied, we proceeded down an avenue of flags of the states, with the heads of the presidents right in frost of us, and down some steps to the Visitor Center.  We watched the inevitable NPS orientation movie, learning how Danish-American sculptor Gutzon Borglum made it his life's work to prepare a "shrine to democracy".  He died just before its completion and his son Lincoln finished it.

We learned why Borglum chose the specific presidents he sculpted.  George Washington, the "father of the nation", repeatedly sacrificed his personal wants and needs when called on by the country;  Thomas Jefferson oversaw the expansion of the country through the Louisiana Purchase and was, of course, the principal author of the Declaration of Independence; Abraham Lincoln took the reins at a time of great crisis, preserved the Union and took steps to ensure that all Americans, whatever their color, would have equal rights; Theodore Roosevelt championed conservation and also the rights of the common man at a time when corporate greed threatened to destroy the American Ideal.

The exhibition included a historical timeline covering the time from Washington to Roosevelt, detailed descriptions of the construction of the Monument, and interviews with some of the men who worked on it.  Amazingly, there were no deaths or serious injuries during the construction, but several of the men described how scared they were when lowered down from the top of the mountain in a sling chair.  We really obtained a detailed understanding of the scope of the work - another 3 hours reading everything there was to read!

This took us up to dinner time and this time we stayed on site.  I enjoyed a flavorful buffalo stew and another sample of that amazing raspberry ice cream.  Then it was time to move to the huge amphitheater for the evening program.  This was a moving experience - a short ranger talk emphasizing many of the things we'd learned in the visitor center, an emotional film emphasizing the achievements of the four honoree presidents and the beauty of the USA and the climax - lighting of the presidents while everyone sang the national anthem.  The program concluded with all veterans and active duty armed forces being invited onto the stage, and the lowering of the flag.  A definite "goose bump" experience and a fitting end to a great day.

Another plus - no more warning signals on the car and it ran well all day despite the mountain grades.  Thank you, God, for taking care of us and our car.