Well, we have 3 days down and 3 days to go. We have driven approx. 1300 miles and on day 3 we are in Rapid City, South Dakota… Home of Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse National Monuments. After driving mostly all of day one and day two, we are ready for some sightseeing. Emma has been looking and searching for Bison, which have been scarce thus far and Taylor has been keeping count of train cars, which have been plentiful… I am not sure of his counting though, I think once we got to 60 something, he kind of started to lose track a little.
So, as we are driving up the mountain to Rushmore, we happen to see “Bear Country USA” which is a tourist trap if I ever saw one….but we took the bait and went anyway….so glad we did. It was a stay-in-your-car-and-keep-your-windows-rolled-up because the wildlife are roaming free park. It was about a 45-60 minute distraction for the kids to look at some really cool animals….. they had Timber Wolves, Elk, Mountain Goats, Bighorn sheep, Reindeer, Black bears, Brown bears, mountain Lions, Bison, and they even had a Grizzly Bear, as well as other small forest animals.
After we left the Wildlife Preserve, we set out on our way to see Rushmore. Tim and I were both looking forward to seeing Mt. Rushmore, neither of us had ever been there, and we were excited! When, from the back seat, we hear, “I SEE IT, THERE IT IS, THERE IT IS, George 
Washington!” Sure enough, Taylor had spotted it as we were driving up to the parking garage in the monument park. He was so proud of himself that he was the one to spy it first. I was so excited to see it, but I don’t think I realized what an affect it would have on me when I saw it in person. HOW AMAZING…. I began to have that patriotic feeling you get when the National Anthem is played, and the Goose Bumps…. well, it was all there, even tears begin to well in your eyes, mostly just because it is so GRAND! I think I realized, it was no longer just the history that you read about and study about in school, it was MY history, the history of MY country, of MY ancestors….OUR history came alive… it was so awesome! And the best part of it, was that we got to experience that together as a family. So, here is a little background on Mt Rushmore, most of which I didn’t know before I went there. The mountain itself was originally named after Charles E. Rushmore, a New York lawyer investigating mining claims in the Black Hills in 1885. Gutzon Borglum chose this mountain due to its height (5700′ 
above sea level), the soft grainy consistency of the granite, and the fact that it catches the sun for the greatest part of the day. The presidents were selected on the basis of what each symbolized. George Washington represents the struggle for independence, Thomas Jefferson the idea of government by the people. Abraham Lincoln for his ideas on equality and the permanent union of the states, and Theodore Roosevelt for the 20th century role of the United States in world affairs. The carving of Mt. Rushmore actually began on August 10, 1927, and spanned a length of 14 years. Only about six and a half years were spent actually carving the mountain, with the rest of the time being spent on weather delays and Borglum’s greatest enemy – the lack of funding. The total cost of the project was $900,000. Work continued on the project until the death of Gutzon Borglum in 1941. No carving has been done on the mountain since that time and none is planned in the future. 
Ok, so, once I saw Rushmore for the first time, I thought that nothing could outdo that….. until Crazy Horse. Crazy Horse is 8 miles from Mt. Rushmore, but it is so 
much BIGGER than I thought! I believe I read, when its completed, it will be the largest carved sculpture in the world. They have been working on it since 1948…. and only the head and face has been carved to this point. I think it really had an effect when I saw this picture in the museum, it shows the actual sizes, in feet, of each part of the sculpture. It was really neat. Taylor and Emma each used a dollar and purchased a piece of the granite that has been removed from the mountain. And since it is all privately funded, the 2 dollars helped to support the carving… in a small way. Here is a small bit about Crazy Horse: It was begun in 1948 by sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski, who had worked on Mt. Rushmore under Gutzon Borglum. In 1939, Mr. Ziolkowski received a letter from Chief Henry Standing Bear, which stated in part “My fellow chiefs and I would like the white man to know that the red man has great heroes, too.”[1] The sculpture portrays the warrior Crazy Horse, who led the Lakota at the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876.As a non-profit undertaking, the memorial receives no federal or state funding. Ziolkowski was offered $10 million from the federal government on two occasions, but he turned the offers down. Mr. Ziolkowski felt the project was more than just a mountain carving, and he feared that his plans for the broader educational and cultural goals for the memorial would be left behind with federal involvement.[2]
The Foundation sponsors Native-American cultural events and educational programs. Annually in June, the Memorial hosts a Volksmarch, which is the only time that the public is permitted onto the mountain. Attendance has grown to as many as 15,000. The Memorial began its first national fund drive in October 2006.[3] Crazy Horse resisted being photographed, and was deliberately buried where his grave would not be found. Ziolkowski, however, envisioned the monument as a metaphoric tribute to the spirit of Crazy Horse and Native Americans. “My lands are where my dead lie buried,” supposedly said by Crazy Horse, is the intended interpretation of the monument’s expansive gesture.[1] Crazy Horse resisted being photographed, and was deliberately buried where his grave would not be found. Ziolkowski, however, envisioned the monument as a metaphoric tribute to the spirit of Crazy Horse and Native Americans. “My lands are where my dead lie buried,” supposedly said by Crazy Horse, is the intended interpretation of the monument’s expansive gesture.[1]
We got to see a lot of really great things today, and this afternoon and evening we are driving from Rapid City, SD to Wapiti, WY. We are staying at the Green Creek Inn, just about 40 Min. from the East entrance of Yellowstone National Park. If you enjoyed Day 3 just wait for day 4!
pictures from top: (Remember, you can click on the smaller pics to enlarge them) Taylor, Em and Maddie @ Bear Country USA, the Plaza at Mt. Rushmore National Monument, a first glimpse of the 4, Washington, Jefferson and Roosevelt close up, a picture from the State Flag walkway, detail of Roosevelt and Lincoln. Crazy Horse Schematic drawing with the actual sizes of each part of the sculpture, to give you an idea of how big this thing really is…. the face from chin to head is 87 feet, the extended arm will be 263 feet in length, the horse’s head will be 219 feet tall, the actual carving area is 563 feet tall x 641 feet wide. The Washington Monument is 555 feet tall, and the Pyramid of Gizah is 481 feet tall, Rushmore is only 285 feet tall. A view of the mountain behind the small sculpture from inside the Native American Learing Center. A drawing of what the Sculpture will look like on the mountain, The sculpture next to the mountain, this is 1:34 scale .
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