MOUNT RUSHMORE NATIONAL MEMORIAL
Our first day at Keystone, SD and we were anxious to see Mt.Rushmore in the flesh or granite.
We arrived on a beautiful sunny late afternoon and were impressed with the monument. There is great pride shown and with good reason. This is one of those places that pictures can not do it justice. They have a museum that shows the progress of the carvings and stories from many of those that worked on the project.
Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota, USA
One visit was planned for morning sunshine. The sunny sky was a perfect background for the great faces in granite. We spent a bit of time wandering around and I took pictures from most vantage points. The setting is beautiful. The surrounding trees have been left and offer a natural setting to walk about on the trail that leads you around the grounds.
President's faces of Mt. Rushmore, SD
Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln are all carved in granite on Mount Rushmore.
Walk of flags
There is no fee to visit the Mount Rushmore Memorial. There is a parking pass fee of $10.00 per year. There is the museum, movies, Sculptor’s Studio, bookstores, gift shop and the Carvers Café all located on the memorial grounds.
The amphitheater
The amphitheater is the stage for the evening performance previous to the light show. The arena holds thousands of people here to view the show and all veterans in the audience are invited down to the stage to be honored during each evenings performance.
The night light show
The evening ceremony included a short movie that tells the story of the presidents being honored there. It was raining and had been for awhile so was pretty cold as well. Their crowd is usually about 3500 people but I don’t think there were anymore than 350 for that night. Then they play their national anthem while the lights are turned on to highlight the faces, it is something to see. The pictures aren’t easy to get with the conditions but I did get one.
Now follow us through Custer State Park and see the animals we saw.
Our first day at Keystone, SD and we were anxious to see Mt.Rushmore in the flesh or granite.
We arrived on a beautiful sunny late afternoon and were impressed with the monument. There is great pride shown and with good reason. This is one of those places that pictures can not do it justice. They have a museum that shows the progress of the carvings and stories from many of those that worked on the project.
Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota, USA
One visit was planned for morning sunshine. The sunny sky was a perfect background for the great faces in granite. We spent a bit of time wandering around and I took pictures from most vantage points. The setting is beautiful. The surrounding trees have been left and offer a natural setting to walk about on the trail that leads you around the grounds.
President's faces of Mt. Rushmore, SD
Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln are all carved in granite on Mount Rushmore.
Walk of flagsThere is no fee to visit the Mount Rushmore Memorial. There is a parking pass fee of $10.00 per year. There is the museum, movies, Sculptor’s Studio, bookstores, gift shop and the Carvers Café all located on the memorial grounds.
The amphitheater 
The night light showThe evening ceremony included a short movie that tells the story of the presidents being honored there. It was raining and had been for awhile so was pretty cold as well. Their crowd is usually about 3500 people but I don’t think there were anymore than 350 for that night. Then they play their national anthem while the lights are turned on to highlight the faces, it is something to see. The pictures aren’t easy to get with the conditions but I did get one.
Now follow us through Custer State Park and see the animals we saw.