Mount Rushmore and Motorcycles

After a long day of driving, we finally made it to Keystone, South Dakota to see Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse memorial. Much to our surprise, Sturgis was going on at the same time. Sturgis is an annual motorcycle rally that takes place in South Dakota. On our way to Keystone, we noticed quite a few motorcycles on the highway, but just assumed that it was because the weather was nice. When we arrived at Keystone, we were welcomed by thousands of leather-clad bikers. I don't think I've ever seen so many motorcycles in one place! It made for fantastic people-watching. I almost asked a biker wearing a leather vest and top hat with a feather in it if I could take a picture with him, but I was too nervous.

Mount Rushmore is a short, but dizzying drive from the Keystone, SD shops and dive restaurants. I loved driving on the winding roads through the mountains (as did the GAZILLIONS of bikers we had to drive behind). We saw Mount Rushmore from the road, but decided to pay the $10 to park at the museum so we could stretch our legs and get a good look at the presidents' heads. It was totally worth it. When we walked through the entrance of the museum, we saw the "Avenue of the States". This was a walkway lined with all of the state flags and columns engraved with the date each state entered the union.

The Mount Rushmore National Monument is truly spectacular. It was created by sculptor, Gutzon Borglum, and took 14 years to complete (click here for a video that talks more about its history). Mr. Lucas and I had the opportunity to walk the trail around the monument and saw George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt, and Abe Lincoln from all angles. Along the trail, there are placards that talk about each president and their accomplishments. At the end of the trail, there's a small museum about the construction of the monument. In the museum, I found out that there's a vault built behind Abe Lincoln's head called, "The Hall of Records". Gutzon built this vault in hopes that it would become a safe place to store priceless documents important to our nation like the Declaration of Independence. Unfortunately, the vault was never finished and it is now just an empty space.

After Mount Rushmore, we visited the Crazy Horse memorial. This monument was built in protest of Mount Rushmore to bring attention to the terrible way Native Americans were treated as the United States were born. Crazy Horse was the leader of the Lakota tribe and serves as a symbol for the preservation of Native American culture and traditions. You can read more about this monument here.

We concluded our day by driving 6 more hours (yikes) in order to make it to Bozeman, Montana for our next adventure. Stay tuned for a post about whitewater rafting in something called a "duckie" on the Gallatin River.