We left North Dakota and travelled south into South Dakota. We did a fair bit of travelling and arrived at the Mt Rushmore KOA campground late afternoon.
Mt Rushmore KOA
Lovely view as the sun was setting.
Cabins nestled in the hills at the KOA
All the travelling takes it out of a baby!
We decided at the last minute to go and see Mt Rushmore at night as they have a special lighting ceremony. So we made up all the beds in the RV and the kids relaxed on the short journey to the mountain.
Kit, Jai and Akaisha
All the American state flags lining the entrance into the Monument.
Mt Rushmore Monument was completed in 1941 (70 years ago). It is the top visitor attraction in the Black Hills and for those of you who don’t know, is an iconic sculpture of four famous American Presidents – George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. The four Presidents chosen were those who the artist, Gutzon Borglum, thought influenced the American West.
Looking down onto the ampitheatre.
The illumination of the four Presidents heads carved into the mountain.
The lighting program we saw featured the National Anthem, a film about the four Presidents, a short talk and finally an ilumination of the memorial. We were standing at the top of an ampitheatre which can apparently seat 5000 people.
Quite impressive with the Ampitheatre and Mt Rushmore in the background.
Lots of ex-servicemen and women seemed to be watching that particular night.
On that particular night, there seemed to be a few hundred elderly people. At the end of the ceremony, any ex-service men or women were invited up on stage in recognition of their service to their country. One thing we have definitely noticed is how patriotic Amercians are. So, for a lot of people, the whole ceremony was quite moving.
The next day we managed to get another shot of Mt Rushmore which shows the craftmanship of the Sculptor/s who created this masterpiece. The project took 14 years to complete.
Mt Rushmore during the day.
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