The Mountain with all the President's Faces!

We were off to Mount Rushmore early the morning of June 23.  A friend had told me the line to get into the parking garage can get long later in the morning, so we were there about 10 minutes after the monument opened.  We zipped right in and there were tons of empty parking spaces.  

Our first glimpse as we approached.

Get there early for an almost empty monument.

The downside of arriving so early, we were staring directly into the sun when taking this picture.

Family selfie mostly accomplished, we went to the visitor's center and watched a brief movie about the making of Mt. Rushmore.  It was really interesting.  The monument was made by drilling holes, filling them with dynamite and then blowing off large chunks of rock.  The surfaces were then refined with chisels and smaller hand tools.

There is also a walk through display with tools that were used in the making of the monument.  I especially enjoyed learning about the men who carved the mountain (and not a single life was lost, despite the fact that they were hanging off the mountain in harnesses and using dynamite).  

Next we walked up the President's Trail to get a closer peek.  Half of the trail, and the sculptor's studio are closed until 2019 for refurbishment.  But we were able to get some cool views.

Yellow Bellied Marmet

Here you can see the marks from the drilling process used to carve the monument.

'sup, George?

Apparently they just left all the rocks where they fell after they carved it.

I witnessed two other families struggle to get their children to stand together, smile and take a picture in this exact spot. So now I know it isn't just my kids.

So... we've seen it.  Now what?  Well, before we could leave there was one more place I had to go.  The cafeteria!!  Rob thought I was crazy, as usual.  But fans of North by Northwest will know what I'm talking about.  I just had to see it!  Unfortunately it has been remodeled and modernized.  But it still has the familiar feel of the scene from the movie.

You can almost see Cary Grant!

Did you notice the cool lights?

In the fireplace you can see rocks which were drilled and blasted in the making of the monument. So cool!

On the way back to the car, Anne wanted to do some more bouldering.  The signs, however, said stay off the rocks.  She and Rob went anyway.   Ryan (my little rule follower) was coerced to join them for a photo.  Then we hot-footed it out of there before the fuzz could show up.

My little mountain goat.

Poor Ryan. I took all the fun out of this for him.

Well folks, that's Mount Rushmore.  I never in my life thought I would see it and now I have.  The downside of going early?  We were done by 10:00.  Turns out once you see the mountain and the cafeteria you've seen it all.