Family Travel,  Midwest,  South Dakota

A Morning Visit to Mount Rushmore

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Ever since my kids watched National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets, they have been begging to go to Mount Rushmore. I had never been to Mount Rushmore either, so I was excited to go, too.

We went in October during a week-long visit to Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota and Nebraska, as a part of our “50 States Before Graduation” Challenge. Our morning started out pretty chilly, but the weather was perfect and we had clear skies so we had some amazing views.

In 1923 Doane Robinson comes up with the idea of carving heroes of the Old West into the granite of the Black Hills in South Dakota. The area is called the Black Hills because there are Ponderosa pine trees that appear dense when viewed from afar which creates an illusion of darkness.

Two years later, in 1925, the carving of a memorial is approved and Gutzon Borglum leaves his work at Stone Mountain in Georgia and goes to South Dakota to start working on Mount Rushmore. One major change that Borglum makes is to suggest carving Presidents instead of Old West heroes.

First, Gutzon Borglum sculpted a model where 1 inch on his model was equal to 1 foot on the mountain. On the mountain, noses are about 20 feet long, eyes about 11 feet wide, and mouths about 18 feet wide. Drilling finally started in 1927 and approximately 400 workers used dynamite and jackhammers started a process of removing over 450,000 tons of rock.

Workers used approximately 400 drills a day as well as a tramway system to transport equipment up and down. In later years the tramway was upgraded to be able to transport passengers as well. White flags were used at the top and bottom of the tramway for communication.

Workers hung in swings called Bosun chairs and used jackhammers to drill holes using a process called honeycombing. Hammers and chisels removed the stone between the holes. One of the final steps was “bumping” which involved using a special drill bit to create a smoother surface.

Here’s a funny story that we learned while we were there. Air compressors provided power for the jackhammers and Keystone Consolidated Mines provided the electricity to power them. Every Monday morning there was a major power loss at Mount Rushmore. It was then discovered that almost every woman did her laundry on Monday, and it was interfering with the power. So they switched to a gas-powered compressor after that.

Jefferson originally started out on the other side of Washington, but after 18 months of carving they discovered flaws in the granite and blasted off what they had started of Jefferson’s carving and moved him to the left of Washington instead.

When we first arrived we stopped in at the Information Center to pick up a map. We decided to go ahead and pay for an audio tour wand at the Information Center as well. I’m glad that we decided to do that because it was very informative and gave us a lot of extra information that we wouldn’t have otherwise had. There were 29 different audio stops on the tour. I listened to it on the walk up and then gave it to Rob so he could listen to it on the way down.

When we were there, part of the Presidential Trail was closed because of construction. The sculptor’s studio and half of the Presidential Trail were open, so we decided to check them out.

We stopped in at the Sculptor’s Studio to listen to the ranger talk and I highly recommend taking the time to stop and listen. It was very visual and informative. The kids got into it as well. The ranger demonstrated some of the tools that were used and showed us a Bosun chair. He also showed us several pictures of Mount Rushmore throughout the process.

The Presidential Trail has 422 stairs, and is quite the climb! However, there are several areas to stop and take pictures (and catch your breath!) along the way. We found a few fun and unique photo spots too.

On your way out you can stop at the Memorial Ice Cream shop for some ice cream. Thomas Jefferson was not only the author of the Declaration of Independence, but he was also the “author” of the first ice cream recipe in America.

For another look at our visit to Mount Rushmore check out our YouTube video below. You can also read about Day 1 of our trip and our visit to Red Rocks Park and Amphitheater and Casa Bonita, and Day 2 of our trip to Colorado Springs and our stops at the Garden of the Gods, the Manitou Cliff Dwellings Museum, the Manitou Springs Penny Arcade, the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum, and Magic Town. You can also go back and read about Day 3 at the Western Museum of Mining and Industry, the Money Museum, the Colorado State Capitol, and the Molly Brown House Museum. Day 4 started with a stop at the Southeast Wyoming Welcome Center and a drive down Happy Jack Road to Curt Gowdy State Park before stopping at the Wyoming State Museum. This trip is the first trip of our “50 States Before Graduation Challenge” series.

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