Mt. Rushmore

I was going to try to do one post about our entire trip out West, but it overwhelmed me.

So, I will show you one place each day. :)

One of my favorite spots was Mount Rushmore in South Dakota.

When we first walked in and saw "the heads", I couldn't help but get goosebumps. (even though it was like 100* outside)

It was surreal.

I have seen so many pictures of this, but being there was so very different.

It just seemed so . . . patriotic.

It made me feel proud to be an American.

While I was busy feeling all patriotic and American, the rest of my family was sniffing the ponderosa pines. Did you know that they smell like vanilla??

This is what the presidents were supposed to look like, but they ran out of carvable granite.
One thing I liked so much about Mount Rushmore was the presidential path. It was a beautiful path through the woods. We could see the presidents from all different angles.

And smell the ponderosa pines . . .

I really love this place.


Do you know why they chose these four presidents??

The sculptor believed that these presidents represented the history of the United States.

George Washington represented the birth of the United States.

Thomas Jefferson represented the growth of the United States.

Abraham Lincoln represented the preservation of the United States.

Theodore Roosevelt represented the development of the nation.

I am thankful for what each of these presidents did for our nation.