Mount Rushmore
The Midwest has far more than just cornfields and cows. South Dakota is home to many wonderful sites to include a grand national monument, Mount Rushmore. Now for those of you that don’t know the significance of Mount Rushmore, here’s a little overview of it’s history: the person who conceived the idea of Mount Rushmore was a historian by the name of Doane Robinson and he came up with this idea to promote tourism in South Dakota. The came up with this idea in 1923 and a year later got a sculptor by the name of Gutzon Borglum on board. the construction started in 1927 and ended in 1941 and miraculously there were no deaths during the construction. Unfortunately, Gutzon died during it’s construction and his son had to take over. The four presidents that are carved, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln, where chosen to stand for the nation’s birth, growth, development, and preservation. My family and I went to during their non tourist season so we didn’t have to pay for parking, but typically it’s $10.00 for parking for a car and admission is free. They also have an audio tour for those interested. I highly recommend coming to see Mount Rushmore whether it’s alone, with family, friends, or significant other. They do not allow pets past the main gate sadly. Even if you’re not huge into history when you know the full story it’s just a work of wonder and leaves you in such awe, plus how cool is it to say you were at site that was shown off in so many movies, one of them being National Treasure 2 (my personal favorite). 25 years after my parents went there my brother and I got to see this magnificent wonder and I got to cross it off my bucket list, one of 3 things I got to cross off of it. My family decided to drive as it is about 9 hours from where we live and I will say it was worth it because of all the neat things we saw on the was, such as the infamous Wall Drugs. So add this to your list of trips to take! Whether you fly or drive for hours to see it, you’ll not regret it.
