Day 73 (Sun 18 Sep) Dinosaur Park, Lake Sylvan, Needles Hwy. Iron Mtn. Hwy. and Mt Rushmore

Day 73

Sun 18 Sep 16

Stopped at the Dinosaur Park on the hjill above Rapid City.  Stopped a Prairie Berry Winery and sampled wine.  Continued on scenic roads to sylvan Lake where we stoipped and had a late picnic lunch.  Drove more of the scenic route on the Needles Hwy and the Iron Mountain Hwy.  We had seven small tunnels to go through, one of which was onlyu 8'-4 wide and 12' high.  It was such a tight squeeze,we had to pull the side mirrors in to the side of the truck.  Then we made it to Mt.Rushmore.  We walked around a hiking path taking pictures and waited for the evening ranger talk and lighting of Mt. Rushmore.  There was a short movie about the construction of Mt. Rushmore and why each of the four presidents were chosen to be on the mountain.  Then to thank all the veterans for their service I and all the service members present were invited to come down on stage and help lower the flag.  We each introduced our selves and what branch of service we served.

Dinosaur Park

Sylvan Lake where we stopped to eat lunch.

Very Tight Squeeze!  Mirrors pulled in tight.

Lots of very unique rock formations

Ever see one of these signs?   The highways we were on were very windy and narrow.

One of the very small one car tunnels!

As we came out of each tunnel we had a view of Mt. Rushmore
Very Cool!

Stopping to enjoy the view.

Finally we are there!

  What we learned during the night time talk was: Gutzon Borglum and 400 workers sculpted the colossal 60 foot high carvings of U.S. presidents George Washington (1^st), Thomas Jefferson (3^rd), Theodore Roosevelt (26^th), and Abraham Lincoln (16^th) to represent the first 130 years of American history. These presidents were selected by Borglum because of their role in preserving the Republic and expanding its territory. The carving of Mount Rushmore involved the use of dynamite, followed by the process of "honeycombing", a process where workers drill holes close together, allowing small pieces to be removed by hand. In total, about 450,000 tons of rock were blasted off the mountainside.  

This was the group of veterans being honored for their service.  I was behind the guy #5 from the left.  I had my blue Navy Hat on.