Road Trip Post #3K - Mt. Rushmore

Wednesday, June 17th

We finally made it to Mount Rushmore National Memorial after our scenic drive. Everyone else took the direct route and they were done with Mt. Rushmore by the time we got there. So my sister, niece, dad, aunt, and her dog went ahead of us to Spearfish, SD where we planned to spend the night with the mission to find an interesting, rustic looking, non-chain restaurant for dinner, and check out the pool and hot tub at the hotel.

My uncle and mom stayed with the girls and me. My uncle got the girls hooked on the National Parks Junior Ranger Program, so he wanted to be there for their 10th Junior Ranger Badge.

My uncle, Eight, Six, and my mom enjoying Mt. Rushmore and filling out their Junior Ranger books.

Things we learned while filling out the Junior Ranger books: as a Veteran, I would have been asked to participate in the flag lowering/memorial lighting ceremony, but that was at 9 pm. We learned that originally Mt. Rushmore was going to be carved by drills, but after much drilling and hardly any progress, they used dynamite. Over 90% of Mt. Rushmore was carved by dynamite. We also learned that Mt. Rushmore got it's name from a New York lawyer, Charles Rushmore, who came to visit in 1885. He asked what the name of that particular mountain was called and to placate him, they jokingly said it didn't have a name, so we'll name it after you. Joke was on them as the name stuck!

Pointing out state flags of states we've lived in during our military moves.

The girls filled out as many the pages they could. We enjoyed hunting for all the flags of states we've lived in along the Walk of Flags. We had fun taking pictures along the back wall of the amphitheater. The museum on the lower level was very fun and interactive. I would have enjoyed more time to look around and read more of the descriptions, but the girls were on a mission to complete their Junior Ranger books and only looking for the answers. Their favorite part was an interactive video where they could plan the dynamite blasts, and then blow up the rock on the screen!

My uncle ready to assist with the quest for Junior Ranger badges.

The girls really enjoyed seeing Mt. Rushmore!

After all their searching and learning, the girls turned in their books to see if they earned their Junior Ranger badges.

The girls earned their 10th Junior Ranger Badge!

After the girls earned their Junior Ranger badges, we took a break to have some ice cream. Not just any ice cream, but ice cream based off the first ice cream recipe from Thomas Jefferson! After taking pictures all day, we apparently don't have any pictures of us with our ice cream. It was just the cool, creamy, sweet spot that our day needed. I highly recommend getting ice cream in a bowl because the servings are HUGE! We had strawberry cheesecake, cookies and cream, butter pecan, and the traditional vanilla. All the flavors were delicious and hit the spot.

We stopped in the gift shop before we headed up to Spearfish for the night. A surprise guest was Nick Clifford, an original Mt. Rushmore driller! He officially became employed in 1938 at the age of 17, more for his baseball skills than his drilling skills. That makes him 94 years old now. His book is filled with questions people have asked him over the years and his answers. It's a really good, quick read filled with all kinds of information.

The girls met Nick Clifford, an original Mt. Rushmore driller and got their book autographed!

We left Mt. Rushmore and took the direct route back to US 385. It was pretty, but we are happy we took the scenic route on the way there, even with all the construction stops and slow vehicles in front of us. (Except Six, who claims she nearly puked on the long twisty roads and Eight, with the occasional smell of tar from the road construction.)