The Black Hills – A Special Place for Mt. Rushmore

We got up early the next morning and put the tent away even though it still was damp from the rain the night before. We were eager to go to Custer State Park and see the buffalo herds our Canadian friends talked about on the ride home from Deadwood. They had gone to see the Mt. Rushmore monument and circled around passing through Needles Highway then going to Custer State Park. They said if you get there early, you would see lots of wild life. So we hurried and packed and grabbed a Five Hour Energy drink and a quick breakfast in Deadwood and we were on our way.

We followed highway 385 down through Silver City and on to Hill City. That was a pretty easy drive. At Hill City we took highway 16 and the road began to change into a single lane with lots of curves. John had been experimenting using lower gears rather than use the breaks, so now was a good time to do this as the curvy road and changing elevations made him extra careful of his driving. At Spring Creek we began climbing to Harney Peak with an elevation of 7,242. We came to Sylvan Lake where we saw a sign advertising a climbing school. What a perfect place to climb with the interesting rock formations .Just beyond we saw the Needle's Eye which is a hole made by the wind on one of the slender pillars. As we drove on we came to our first tunnel. It was so narrow that only one car could get by. So we honked our horn and eased through. We continued slowly climbing. I checked the speedometer, and saw the needle at 25 and even lower if another car approached the other direction. We were wondering if our Canadian friends were laughing thinking of us on this skimpy road.

I checked the map and it showed that we had two more tunnels to go. This was getting to really be an adventure and we were on the edge of our seats. We were now on Needle's Highway built in 1922 planned by South Dakota Governor, Peter Norbeck. It is one of the most difficult roads on this planet. If this was in an amusement park, it would be the high attraction especially if it were on a roller coaster flying through the tunnels. For us going slow was just fine when we could see the thousand foot drop on the side and no shoulder if a car came at you from the other direction. We edged our way one tunnel at a time holding our breath in case we were face to face with someone coming the opposite way.
We continued driving slowly on Needle's Highway which got its name from the needle-like granite formations that appear to pierce the sky. Along the forest side of the road there were tepees made of wood throughout the forest floor. I was curious and found that they are called slash piles made by the forest rangers to create fuel breaks that reduce the intensity of the fire. Then the firefighters can go in safely and stop the wildfire. I had to explain this to John who could not afford time to sight see during this part of the trip. One of the things he did notice was the pigtail bridges in which the road looped around as it descended in a spiral form of a pig's tail. I bet Mr. Norbeck had a great sense of humor!

Finally, we got to Blue Bell Lodge and the road started to straighten out and flatten out as well so that in front was a grassy plain. We went to the side of the road and took a breather, had some water and peanut butter crackers. That seemed to revive John so he felt he was ready to see some bison herds. The forest rangers said that there were about 1.300 in the park this year. They control the herd according to the grazing availability in the park. I had the binoculars out looking for any kind of wild life. At this point I would be happy with a mule deer.


Soon we came to a road jam with several cars just sitting and not moving. We look out ahead and saw several donkeys on the road not planning to go anywhere soon. The park rangers said not to feed the animals so everyone was just taking pictures and looking at the burros as they came up and stood in front of the cars. Some even came to the windows and looked in so people were petting them. John took a liking to a little one and had me take his picture with it. They sure looked hungry to me but I want going to be the first to give one a peanut butter cracker. Water may have been alright but all we had in the cooler was Gatorade, and I don't think that would be good for them either. Besides, not far away there was a bubbling creek so water was not their need. The burros were not native to the park but were brought in to take people to Haney Peak. When that project was discontinued, the rangers let the burros free to roam the park. Well, if we didn't see any animals, we can at least say that we saw the burros!
We meandered around the burros who would not move off the road, and made our way with binocular in hand looking for the bison herd. John was just happy to be driving an easy, flat road. We finally came to the visitor's center and took a break. We told the park ranger that the only animals we saw were the burros on the road. He said that the temperature was in the high nineties and most animals go under the shelter of the trees when it gets hot. Even if some of the bison are shedding their winter coats, they still bet very hot at this time in the afternoon, and go to take a nap. Well, I could buy into that explanation. After all they were not in the park for our convenience. This was their home and we were the visitors. So we refreshed ourselves and got back into our air conditioned car ready to finish the circle and head to Mr. Rushmore.

We were now driving on Iron Mountain Road and climbing in elevation. John again was sitting hunched over the steering wheel with both hands gripping tightly choking it. There were hairpin turns going up and this time there were areas where a car could pull out and let the other pass. These roads reminded me of a road in France from a picture of the Tour De France where they tackle this road on bicycles. Here our Moby Dick was not a happy, camper especially when approached by a huge motor home or tour bus. It is enough to make you lose your engine oil from fright!

As we approached our first tunnel, we noticed lots of cars parked and people all around taking pictures. So we hopped out and did the same. It seemed that no one was in a hurry to attempt the tunnel any time soon. We were happy to admire the rock formations in these Black Hills and look out into the Badlands in the distance. And now to add to this scene, man came along and built these roads and drilled through the hills in an effort to claim them for himself. I don't believe the Native Americans would ever think of changing the make-up of the Earth. They seemed to think the Earth is not for us to change but to leave just the way we found it for future generations. Well, the Park Service says exactly that in their credo that I remember reciting when I became a Junior Ranger. White man, however, has made his imprint, and we were now ready to venture through the first tunnel.

Moby Dick sounded a loud honk to warn other vehicles that we were on our way in. It was dark in there even with the headlights on as we crept slowly through. You hear stories about people dying and coming back to life to tell about it. One of the descriptions that many of them tell is the part when they are going through a dark tunnel being drawn by a bright light on the other side. Well, this seemed just like that. As we drove on the light got brighter and brighter until when we got to the end the white light was actually blinding! Then we cross the threshold and it seems everyone on the other side waiting to cross the other way, almost gave us a standing ovation with a wave as we drove on.

We were not out of this road yet as we noticed on our map that we still had lots of curves and two more tunnels to navigate. We drove slowly around more turns and came upon another tunnel. A lady was standing in front of the mouth of the tunnel navigating with her hands as slowly a motor home inched its way through the tunnel. Above the cab of the motor home on the upper bed loft window there were four little faces with eyes as big as saucers as the motorhome eased its way out. You could see the celebration going on in the cab. Dad moved the vehicle out of the way and parked allowing Mom to reenter the motor home and maybe serve some glasses of lemonade.

Now it was our turn to enter. We sounded our horn and slowly passed into the dark, long tunnel. We gave another honk from the inside just in case someone on the other side did not hear us coming. As we inched through the light kept getting brighter and brighter. Until, finally, we were out in the bright sunshine. Now we only had one more tunnel to go through. We drove around a few more turns to go before we saw our last tunnel. This last tunnel had no one waiting but you could hear people on the other side like they were having a party. We didn't want to waste any time if there was a party to go to. So in we plunged holding down our horn. I was camera ready as we approached the opening and I got the most miraculous picture of the four Presidents faces of Mt. Rushmore framed by the exit square of the tunnel. We joined the others who were at the observation area taking pictures of the monument.

We were eager to go to Mt. Rushmore which looked far away from the observation area. All the people around us had just come from there and were retracing our steps going the other way. We continued our winding way from an elevation of 4,000 feet going north. We knew we were getting closer as each turn we made the faces got larger and larger. Before we made out last turn into the parking lot we noticed a billboard with the rock carving of Crazy Horse with directions on how to get there. So we were curious enough to go and see what this was about. It was interesting that people thought the Native Americans should get some notoriety. The society that sponsored the welcome center for the Lakota Indians was charging $25 per person to enter the complex. We saw that we had enough cash for the Mt. Rushmore and not enough for Crazy Horse. So we did manage to take his picture and then went on the parking entrance of Mt. Rushmore.

Since this was a national park, I had our card ready to show that we were members and that would get us in for free. The parking attendant said that the park was free but the parking was not and we would have to pay $11 to park Moby Dick. Well that was alright with us and it looked like a pretty nice parking lot with plenty of room for cars and the motorhomes and busses were sent to another site. It was explained to us that the parking lot was run by Presidential Parking, Inc. This firm constructed the parking facility and continues to maintain it. Well, that was enterprising and it seemed to work In keeping the tourist happy. And that is all that matters.
We walked up the Washington Parking Ramp to the expansive pillared, and spotted the restrooms on the left and the Information Center on the right. It was a matter of urgency that we visit the restrooms after our perilous ride. Then we went into the Information Center. We were just in time to see a film on the construction of Mt. Rushmore. We found out that idea for a monument Duane Robertson, a South Dakota historian. He wanted to see western folk heroes carved out of the needles. He thought it would be great for tourism. He approached Guyton Borglum a well, known stone sculpture who had done sculptures at Gettysburg. Borglum came to the Black Hills and said that the Needles structures would not support the sculpture process. He noticed the large outcrop of rock that was most pronounced and said that Mt. Rushmore would be more feasible in that the rock faced south and would get the most sun through the day. It was Borglum's idea to have four important presidents to give it more national focus. He chose the four presidents because of their roll in preserving the union and expanding the territory: Washington, being the first president; Jefferson, Louisiana Purchase; T. Roosevelt, established the National Parks; Lincoln, Preservation of the Union.
After they got financial approval through the government, thanks to Calvin Coolidge, the film explained that the project began in 1927 and ended in 1941. It cost $989,992.32 and hired 400 workers to dynamite and jackhammer. Borglum had made small miniatures of the faces of the presidents to see how they would react to light and shadow. Then he made 30 foot tall models in his studio to use as a guide for his colossal sculptures. These models were 1/12 of the finished product. The workmen were lowered from the top of the rock which was the height of a 50 story building. They were lowered using iron winches in a special boson chair. Once the pointer verified the position, the workman would drill little holes with a pneumatic drill to insert bits of dynamite and remove extra rock to within 3 inches of the finished surface. Sometimes Borglum had to change his design because of the inconsistencies of the granite, but in spite of this he ended up with a magnificent finished product.
Borglum died at 73 not able to finish the project that would have continued the sculpture to the waistline of each president. He also wanted to carve out a large room behind the sculpture to be called "the Hall of Records" and would store important documents like the Declaration of Independence and U. S. Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. But since the Second World War had begun and the money dried up, his son was told to pack everything away and leave the project as it was. In 1998 to fulfill her father's wish, Mary Ellis Borglum Vhay, Borglum's daughter found a way to bury a teakwood box in a titanium vault at the entrance of the hall. The box contains 16 porcelain panels bearing the words of the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. It also includes the panels containing the biographies of the presidents and information about how and why Mount Rushmore was carved
After the film we went into the museum where we could see the tools that helped to sculpt the colossal sculpture of the four presidents. The actual studio sculpture was there showing the positions of the sculpture from which Borglum could figure the exact placement of each part of the face and make mathematical calculations for his pointer. We saw the winches and straps and harnesses that the workmen used. It must not have been an easy task to go down the mountain and drill. These men were daredevils who risked their lives. The project took fourteen years and went through the hard times of the depression when money was scarce. The project never stopped and it became a source of national pride when the country needed it most.

                                                                           

Now we were ready to see the real thing. Along with many people from all over the world and lots of families with children we walked through the hall of flags to the amphitheater where we could get a good view and take pictures. You simply have to be there to see the awesome size of the sculpture. Each head was 60 ft. high, each eye was 11ft wide, each nose was 20 ft. long, except that Washington's was 21 ft. long, and Washington's mouth was 18 ft. long. Talking to one of the rangers, he said that maintenance is a continuing job especially if there are cracks that form. They have to find a way to seal them so that water does not get in and turn to ice in the winter which would make the crack expand. Although we would not be there at night, we heard that the laser light show with patriotic music was a highlight presentation of the visit.

The park has some walking trails that people can take and one of them is to the Indian Village. There people can learn about the Lakota Indian heritage by exploring the history of American Indian tribes who had populated this land for thousands of years. It is interesting to note that Mt Rushmore to the Indians was called "Six Grandfathers" and was on the route that the Lakota leader Black Elk took in a spiritual journey that culminated at Harney Peak. The mountain had been given many names by settlers as they moved west, but it was not until 1885 when a prominent lawyer from New York came to the Black Hills to do some prospecting that the mountain was named after him. Charles E. Rushmore probably had some good friends in the newspaper business that publicized his christening of the mountain with his name and plastered it all over the news! The great turn of events is that now Mt. Rushmore has a lot more meaning than just a person's name.