Hello from Mt. Rushmore, SD. We are now 2004 miles into our journey to Alaska. We have now traveled through MN and SD, crossing the Missouri River midway through SD. So far, every day on the road has been beautiful. Any bad weather has occurred during the night or on a rest day.
Mt. Rushmore is quite spectacular. It took 400 men 14 years to construct it. The four men sculpted commemorate the founding, growth, preservation and development of the United States. George Washington signifies the struggle for independence and the birth of the republic; Thomas Jefferson the territorial expansion of our country; Abraham Lincoln the permanent union of the States and equality for all citizens; and Theodore Roosevelt the 20th century role of the United States in world affairs and the rights of the common man. One of the most interesting facts about the sculpture was that over 80 percent of it was accomplished with dynamite.
In addition to Mt. Rushmore, we spent the better part of a day on the road in the area. The first leg was the Needles Highway where we saw some beautiful granite spires, including The Needles Eye and Cathedral Towers. After a nice lunch at a lodge in Custer State Park, we took the Wildlife Loop through the park where we saw bison, deer and wild mules. We finished up the afternoon on Iron Mountain Road where we went through 3 single land tunnels carved through rock, one of them framing a view of Mt. Rushmore when looking through the tunnel.
Tomorrow we head off on a two-day trip to Yellowstone National Park where we will spend 3-days.
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