Mount Rushmore National Memorial

In 2001, I threw my laptop and a bag of clothes in my two seater convertible (MR2-Spyder) and drove across country. I was aiming Colorado Springs with a stop in the Seattle area. While en route, I tried to stop and see as much as I could along the way. I earned my first stamps that year and thus began my lifetime journey to see everything and collect them all. Mount Rushmore reminded me of the Mona Lisa. Everyone should see it, but keep your expectations low. You don't get as close as you think and it's a lot smaller in person. 

I revisited the memorial during my Summer, 2021 road trip and am so glad I did. I remembered it as being very small as I had expected it to be so large the first time I visited. This time I expected it to be small and was pleased to have a great appreciation of it's size and wonder. I visited the Sculptor's studio this time to learn more about Borglum and what it took to make the sculpture's possible. It's not a site that needs a lot of time to see it all, although there are some hikes that can get you closer to the mountain if you are interested. 

During the 2022 Summer Road-trip, Kahlan, Avery, and William got to see this iconic monument for the first time. They seemed to react fairly similar to my first visit in 2001. We arrived. We saw. We got the photos and stamps and then kept on going.