Proud to be an American!
Mount Rushmore
It’s smaller than we envisioned but no less impressive! Yesterday we had a chance to visit one of our nation’s most visible and memorable landmarks, Mount Rushmore. Crazy Horse, from the road (we have not visited the site yet) looks massive so we expected the same of Rushmore — not so. Yet the feelings of pride in the USA were undoubtedly there at such a massive artistic accomplishment.
Those of us with Golden Age Federal Passes have come to look forward to free entrance to Federal Parks and we expected to do the same at Rushmore. The curve ball delivered to us allowed everyone to enter free of charge, but a private vendor charges everyone $ 11 per vehicle to park. Well, so much for the Golden Age card 😉
Our visit to Rushmore lasted about 2 1/2 hours and included climbing lots of steps (optional). The self tour included an Indian Village, Sculpture’s Studio, lots of different views of the main attraction, a walk down the Avenue of Flags on the approach to the Grand View Terrace, a beautiful Info Center, and gift shops. There were also food vendors on site but we had packed a lunch and stopped at a wooded picnic area after leaving the main site.
Throughout the site and especially at the Info Center, there are numerous photos, exhibits, and films depicting the project from concept to completion. The film shown in the Info Center is excellent with exhibits which are constantly upgraded and topics of current concern. One such display showed the current beetle problem killing pine trees in several states.
Our awe at our Federal Parks continues to impress us and we’ve just begun to explore them. Upon entrance to them we are usually blown away by the beauty, natural wonder, and grandeur they present to visitors. On more than one occasion we’ve concluded that of all of the waste in Federal Government spending, the money spent on Federal Parks is well spent. It preserves our natural wonders for future generations and allows those of us who occupy this space now to enjoy these diverse natural and historic sites free or at very little charge. This is something for which our tax dollars should be used.
John/Laurie – sent following e-mail to your old addresses, not sure you got it?
“”have been following your BLOG since you started it. great to see you finally are the road full time or at least for major road trip? surprised to see this AM that you are now in Custer, SD? what is your rough itinerary/timeline? maybe we can cross paths in our travels?
right now we are trying to finish a small house in Sultan, WA (about fifty miles NE of Seattle). looks like we may finish by end of month. then we will head directly back to Houma, LA. we are expecting first grand kid & for some reason corrie wants to get back quickly?””
notice you are now in North Platte. recommend you check out Fort Cody Trading Post, & the museum dedicated to the North Platte Canteen during WWII; both mentioned in our BLOG of 14JUL07.
corrie & dan ryan
http://theryanrvexpress.blogspot.com/
Hi Dan, thanks for the comments, we are working our way back to LA to return to work the 3rd of Oct. This was a long trip but still looking forward to full timing. We have been following the progression of your house and look forward to visiting the northwest soon. Congrats on the grandbaby.
Staying at Holiday RV Park and will visit Cody Trading Post today as well as the Golden Spike. Went to museum yesterday, it was great. Also enjoyed the NE Veterans Memorial, one of the best state Vets Memorials we’ve seen. Eventually looking forward to crossing paths again. John