Friday 24th March – Mount Rushmore

I was awake far too early this morning, but on a positive note it gave me the opportunity to go for a jog/walk to see more of the park!  The bad weather of last night had cleared being replaced by brighter skies.  I was out for just under an hour along the White River Trail.  I didn’t see another person but did manage to spot a couple of woodpeckers along the way! When I returned to the RV it was past 9am so it was time to put the kettle on and get moving.
 

It's been a while since I posted a photo of the map - this shows our east-ward 'dash' over the last few days

We entered our third state in three days within half an hour of hitting the road today. 
 

That's a pretty State line sign

View through the avenue of flags

Once in South Dakota it was another hour and a half through rolling hills to our tourist spot of the day – Mount Rushmore.  Brace yourselves for a selection of pictures from slightly differing angles!

A rare image - Mount Rushmore BEFORE it had faces in it!

Some of the practise sculptures from Borglum's studio

I love this painting of the sculptor dangling by a nose!

In addition to the sculpture itself there is an information centre with the obligatory short-film about the history of why and when the project began.  It certainly answered most of the questions that I had!  And following that there were displays and exhibits providing further information.  Here’s a summary: The initial idea in 1923 was by State historian Doane Robinson who imagined a colossal mountain carving to bring tourists to the Black Hills area of South Dakota.  His concept of whole statues of different characters from American History was met with scepticism.  However, sculptor Gutzon Borglum transformed Robinson’s idea into a memorial to the ideals of democracy.  Less of a tourist attraction and more of a national symbol.  Borglum chose the four Presidents to commemorate the founding, growth, preservation and development of the United States. George Washington signifies the struggle for independence and the birth of the republic; Thomas Jefferson the territorial expansion of the country; Abraham Lincoln the permanent union of the States and equality for all citizens and Theodore Roosevelt the 20^th Century role of the United States in World Affairs and the rights of the common man.  Borglum created small scale sculptures of each head, one twelfth the size of the final product - works of art in their own right.  During the artistic process, the team used measurements on these small models and scaled them up for Mount Rushmore.  The most interesting fact of the day to me is that 90% of the sculpting work was performed with dynamite! How skilled to be able to conduct violent explosions with such precision so as not to accidentally lop a President’s nose off!  The work was completed in stages.  As a President became recognisable, each head was formally dedicated with a dramatic unveiling from a huge American flag.  The Washington dedication was in 1930, Jefferson in 1936, Lincoln in 1937 and Roosevelt in 1939.  It was initially thought that the project could be completed in five years for $500,000.  Fourteen years and one million dollars later Borglum sadly died just before his brainchild was complete but his son finalised the work on his behalf. 

Is it wrong to say that we both expected the sculpture to be larger?!  I think we have been so used to seeing zoomed in images of the Presidents faces in media that when we were presented with the real deal it appeared smaller.  Maybe it was just further away…. (Father Ted fans - insert snigger here).  But learning about the whole creative process was fascinating and we lead a charmed existence at the moment – look at the blue sky we were treated to today!  It was a stunning combination to see such an iconic piece of art in perfect conditions.

A Groundhog

Before we left the parking area we went to catch a panoramic view of the surrounding countryside across the road. Suddenly this little fella ran out onto the rocks in front of us.  What a bonus for the day! Punxsutawney Phil in person....

This is how I got the above photograph...

I had been given a challenge for the weekend – the new Formula 1 season is upon us this weekend (I know, it does seem to come around quickly!).  Simon would need some efficient Wi-Fi at strange times of night to be able to catch the action from Australia.  I had identified a couple of PA sites in Piedmont, just the other side of Rapid City from Mount Rushmore.  We made contact with one where the owner even invited us to go and try out his WiFi before committing to staying the night! We started driving in the right direction, having to make an emergency gas stop.  We got distracted by an attractive looking RV park we drove by on the way - Happy Holiday RV resort.  We went in to discuss price with the owner.  As a Good Sam Park it would be more expensive than PA, but the owner was confident in his WiFi’s ability so we were sold for the night.  Then, when we came to pay, even though he had a chip and PIN machine, my credit card was declined.  This is the first time that this had happened with a chip reader for a long time.  My card must now be completely blocked. Again.  We had to use a back-up debit card and then went to test the internet.

I used the now tried and tested Twitter call for help to Halifax and, to their credit, within an hour I had spoken to their fraud department (who admitted they had blocked my card again but couldn’t specify exactly why) and the problem is, apparently, resolved.  Meanwhile, Simon had unfortunately discovered that, despite showing as a full signal, the Happy Holiday WiFi was not much to write home about.  Hopefully it was just a busy time of day and things would improve?  Wish me luck if that’s not the case!  At the moment we will only be here for the one night and tomorrow we will be seeking a better spot for the actual race on Sunday! Tomorrow morning’s just the qualifying….