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We look out the windows this morning and a beautiful misty fog hovers over the little valley we are in. We don’t miss the desert at all. We’re heading to see Mt. Rushmore and then on to the Mt. Rushmore KOA Campground- or resting place for the next 3 days. We’re so excited to be staying in the same place, we can hardly stand it. There is rain in the forecast, so Dave suggests that this is the day to see the presidents. It is a good call. We round the corner and get our first glimpse of the mountain bathed in sunlight. It is an image you’ve seen a hundred times, but just like seeing a famous painting up close, it is so much more incredible in person.
When we are driving in, the cheesy-ness of all the tourist traps along the way feel a little Vegas-like, but everything here at the actual monument is a class act. Just as the sculptor studied the way the light would fall on the mountain at different times of day and how that would complement his masterpiece, it seems that the architect studied how the visitor would experience Mt. Rushmore. The stone arches frame the mountain and lead you to the hall of flags, then another series of arches opens up to the monument.
We are anxious to see everything, but realize we need some nourishment before we can take it all in. In true tourist spirit, we head to the café and have a delicious lunch. We look around and everyone, I mean everyone is having ice cream. I look at Dave and announce that we need ice cream. Sugar Free Guy stays back with Carter, while the kids and I head to the ice cream shop. They hand Jack the biggest cone I’ve ever seen. When we return, Carter gets a taste of ice cream and can’t get enough!
We do the walking loop down to the sculptor’s studio and see the model for the artist’s original intentions. He had planned to carve them from the waist up, but due to an untimely death and the approach of WWII, the monument stands as it does today. If the presidents were actually carved full sized to their current scale, they would stand 465 feet tall- taller than the Statue of Liberty. We also walk through the museum down below, where the girls complete their booklets in order to earn their junior park ranger badges.
They get sworn in and everything. As we drive off, Dave says, “I think we can say we’ve really DONE Mt. Rushmore. We were there 5 hours! I think I was there like an hour when I was a kid!” Guess they didn’t have ice cream then!
A quick drive down the road and we’re at the second largest KOA campground in the United States. There’s everything here. Hannah and Tatum notice the horses when we come in and declare that there will be horse riding! There is a playground, a splash park, heated pool, and jumping pillow near our campsite. They hit the ground running.
I’m sautéing some chicken with pan sauce and look out the window at my neighbors with the pop up camper. They’ve cooked dinner in the outdoor kitchen they’ve set up and are now washing dishes with a two bucket method. I guess we’re not exactly “roughing it”.
When we are driving in, the cheesy-ness of all the tourist traps along the way feel a little Vegas-like, but everything here at the actual monument is a class act. Just as the sculptor studied the way the light would fall on the mountain at different times of day and how that would complement his masterpiece, it seems that the architect studied how the visitor would experience Mt. Rushmore. The stone arches frame the mountain and lead you to the hall of flags, then another series of arches opens up to the monument.
We are anxious to see everything, but realize we need some nourishment before we can take it all in. In true tourist spirit, we head to the café and have a delicious lunch. We look around and everyone, I mean everyone is having ice cream. I look at Dave and announce that we need ice cream. Sugar Free Guy stays back with Carter, while the kids and I head to the ice cream shop. They hand Jack the biggest cone I’ve ever seen. When we return, Carter gets a taste of ice cream and can’t get enough!
We do the walking loop down to the sculptor’s studio and see the model for the artist’s original intentions. He had planned to carve them from the waist up, but due to an untimely death and the approach of WWII, the monument stands as it does today. If the presidents were actually carved full sized to their current scale, they would stand 465 feet tall- taller than the Statue of Liberty. We also walk through the museum down below, where the girls complete their booklets in order to earn their junior park ranger badges.
They get sworn in and everything. As we drive off, Dave says, “I think we can say we’ve really DONE Mt. Rushmore. We were there 5 hours! I think I was there like an hour when I was a kid!” Guess they didn’t have ice cream then!
A quick drive down the road and we’re at the second largest KOA campground in the United States. There’s everything here. Hannah and Tatum notice the horses when we come in and declare that there will be horse riding! There is a playground, a splash park, heated pool, and jumping pillow near our campsite. They hit the ground running.
I’m sautéing some chicken with pan sauce and look out the window at my neighbors with the pop up camper. They’ve cooked dinner in the outdoor kitchen they’ve set up and are now washing dishes with a two bucket method. I guess we’re not exactly “roughing it”.
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