None of us have ever been to Nebraska before.
As far as I am concerned, the silos, the train, and the long dirt road is pretty representative of the state. We will just be passing through, as millions of people before us have done.
On our way to Mount Rushmore, we stopped at a Black Hills National Forest trailhead to stretch our legs and hit the baby reset button.
Black Hills consists of 1.2 million acres of forested hills and mountains.
Being from Southern California, we aren't used to parking and hearing the sound of running water, so we had to go explore, until Eric saw hornets nests and we backed away slowly.
So far so good in South Dakota!
About two hours after leaving Chadron we were at Mount Rushmore. I didn't know exactly what to expect, except that my grandmother most recently told me it was a big disappointment.
So my expectations weren't too high. Haha.
It is pretty crowded (they get about 2 million visitors a year), but there is plenty of parking ($10; your National Park Pass does not work).
This little baby has another stamp to add to her National Park Passport!
The president's faces were carved into the granite between 1934 and 1939.
I never realized that George Washington is wearing a shirt!
Originally they were all going to be clothed (no pants, but a shirt), but the project ran out of money in 1941.
George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln were all chosen to be chiseled into the Black Hills because they are represented the most important events in US history.
For example, Thomas Jefferson is known to be the first American to write down a recipe for ice cream. I tried his original recipe, and turned it into a rootbeer float. I couldn't help but feel extremely patriotic.
Cheers to Thomas Jefferson, and the others (who also probably had very important presidential recipes).
My favorite little adventurer.
We were super excited about visiting Mount Rushmore, after determining our itinerary and knowing we would be close enough to make it happen.
It is fun to visit such an iconic place!
I actually had an older friend who was told that Paris was dirty so she died without seeing it. I don't like when people pass their opinions about a place on to people. I LOVE Mt. Rushmore. The museum explains so much, too. It's a lovely setting and we must appreciate the effort Borglum went through to create it. I'm glad you made it there and liked it!
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