Mount Rushmore Effect
Mount Rushmore Effect
Originally uploaded by chinochow. On August 7th -13th, 2006 we made a trip to Kansas City, Missouri from Kansas City. We then drove down on I- 29-N to Interstate I-90. Our destination was Mount Rushmore (Rapid City, South Dakota). The funny thing was when I initially did a search online about South Dakota for travel and things to do I couldn't find much . So now that we are back I wanted to try and write something about our long and eventful journey. Here it goes... we drove nearly 870 miles first of all and the scenery was really just nice as well as perfect weather. Lots of wide open spaces with corn fields, Sunflower fields and Soybean field and of course those huge giant Silo's
South Dakota is not the very first place that would come to mind if you were planning to go for a trip. Our primary reason for visiting South Dakota was to see the historical Mount Rushmore. Now, imagine South Dakota without Mount Rushmore...
It's whole existence it owes its gratitude, when in the early part of the century, wise South Dakotans invited Sculptor Gutzon Borglum. Mr Borglum was one of America's most prolific artists who was the man that proposed the project initially in August,1924.
Interesting Fact:
Mt. Rushmore : was first called Harney Peak. At 7,242 feet, Borglum and his party climbed to the highest point between the Rockies and the Swiss Alps. The surrounding vista inspired him. "Here is the place!" Borglum exhorted." American history shall march along that skyline."
Gutzon Borglum came and built a National Memorial in South Dakota which was to be the Gateway to the West. To obtain funding, the locals invited President Calvin Coolidge to spend a little time and fish a little bit in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The monument took less than $1 million to build but this was through the depression years where the money was very difficult to come by. In 1999, almost 2 million people visited Mt Rushmore.