Mount Rushmore National Memorial

I've seen pictures of this monument all of my life. But seeing it "for real" is so amazing. The vision and determination of the men responsible is just mind boggling. To quote Gutzon Borglum...
"A monument's dimensions should be determined by the importance to civilization of the events commemorated. We are not here trying to carve an epic, portray a moonlight scene, or write a sonnet; neither are we dealing with mystery or tragedy, but rather the constructive and dramatic moments or crises in our amazing history."

Carved into the side of a mountain in South Dakota are the faces of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. It is a memorial to American history. The faces remind everyone that even the impossible is possible.

South Dakota state historian Doane Robinson conceived the idea in 1923 to attract more people to the Black Hills of South Dakota with colossal carvings. Robinson gained support others in South Dakota and Washington DC. He contacted Gutzon Borglum. Borglum agreed to come out to the Black Hills in 1924 to look at the area and see if the carving was possible. After looking at the Needles mountain area and ruling them out, they were told about Mount Rushmore. When Borglum saw the mountain he pointed to it and said, "America will march along that skyline."
The first actual carving began on October 4, 1927. Work continued until 1941 (even after Borglum's death) until funds ran out leaving the presidents as we see them today.

We spent several hours walking the President's trail, looking at the Sculptor's Studio and watching a video about the project. In the Sculptor's Studio plaster casts of the figures are displayed. These were used during the carving to help ensure the sizing was accurate.