The Big Heads, 2009

The Big Heads! Is there anything more American?  I remember dusting a souvenir bust of these guys as a child that we kept on our shelves, but I was so young when we visited them that I didn't recall seeing them in person.  Our big trip west in 2009 included a stop at Mt. Rushmore, and I never thought to ask Wayne what he thought of this monument as a Canadian.  I forget sometimes that he's not a native and didn't grow up being steeped in the tales of our famous presidents as I did in grade school.

"Let us place there, carved, high, as close to heaven as we can, the words of our leaders, their faces, to show posterity what manner of men they were.  Then breathe a prayer that these records will endure until the wind and the rain alone shall wear them away."  - Gutzon Borglum.

Borglum was born to immigrant parents in Idaho in 1867, and began work on Mt. Rushmore in 1927.  He remained devoted to the project until his death several days befor his 74th birthday.  After his death the project fell to his son, Lincoln, who in turn put the finishing touches on his father's vision.

Over the fourteen year period of the carving almost 400 workers, men and women, labored at the Memorial.  Despite harsh and dangerous conditions, there were no fatalities during the carving work.

Taking the walk below the carvings on the boardwalk gives a great look into the amazing details that went into the work, such as Roosevelt's glasses and mustache!  By the way, rumors that they would ever add another president's head to the mountain are false.  The work is complete and will remain untouched.  You have to see it in person to appreciate the immensity of the task that was undertaken.



While we were posing at the railing, we got a glimpse of a mountain goat grazing in the auditorium area.  I later learned that the mountain goat is not actually a true goat, but actually a mountain antelope.  She had a kid nearby, but I couldn't get a good shot because of the trees and tall grass.

We soon learned there is more than one way to enjoy Mt. Rushmore.  The Iron Mountain Road is known for its series of pigtail bridges and its three single-lane granite tunnels that perfectly frame the faces of Mount Rushmore.  We lucked upon this fact when spying them in the rearview mirror as we went through the tunnel.  There are pull-offs outside the tunnels and we pulled over to get a shot at the same time as a tour group.  Wayne asked the tour guide for details, and we got the inside scoop for free! 

 

I'll leave you with some presidential words of wisdom:

"Believing that a representative government, responsible at short periods of election, is that which produces the greatest sum of happiness to mankind, I feel it a duty to do no act which shall essentially impair that principle."  - George Washington

"We act not for ourselves, but for the whole human race.  The event of our experiment is to show whether man can be trusted with self-government."  - Thomas Jefferson

"The first requisite of a good citizen in this Republic of ours is that he shall be able and willing to pull his weight - that he shall not be a mere passenger."  - Theodore Roosevelt

"I leave you hoping that the lamp of liberty will burn in your bosoms until ther shall no longer be a doubt that all men are created free and equal."   - Abraham Lincoln