I have been to the mountain! We had a magnificent dinner at the foot of Mount Rushmore -- special guest, President Calvin Coolidge -- who was more verbal, and quite probably more humorous than when he was alive. My highlight was sitting next to Nick Clifford, 
one of only two living carvers who worked on Mt. Rushmore. What a great gentleman. He patiently answered the same questions over and over -- the same questions he's been answering for the last how many years. "When did you work on the mountain? How long did you work on the mountain? How old were you when you worked on the mountain? How old are you now? Was it scary?" And the biggie, "Did you have porta-potties?"
After the dinner, we viewed a 22-minute video with inspiring words and pictures about the carving of the mountain and about the great men carved there -- ending with beautiful scenes of America and the sound of "America, the Beautiful" being sung.
By then it was dark and we all went outside to see the spotlighted images on the mountainside. I could have sat and just soaked it in -- but it was late and the bus was waiting.
one of only two living carvers who worked on Mt. Rushmore. What a great gentleman. He patiently answered the same questions over and over -- the same questions he's been answering for the last how many years. "When did you work on the mountain? How long did you work on the mountain? How old were you when you worked on the mountain? How old are you now? Was it scary?" And the biggie, "Did you have porta-potties?"After the dinner, we viewed a 22-minute video with inspiring words and pictures about the carving of the mountain and about the great men carved there -- ending with beautiful scenes of America and the sound of "America, the Beautiful" being sung.
By then it was dark and we all went outside to see the spotlighted images on the mountainside. I could have sat and just soaked it in -- but it was late and the bus was waiting.
1 comment:
And we wouldn't want to keep the bus waiting, now, would we? And leave it to you to ask about porta potties!
I'm so glad you enjoyed your time in South Dakota. It's so much fun to visit places that have the "Boring" stigma attached and realize how wonderful they really are. And, of course, I am always pleased when people enjoy the plains, being an Iowan, and all :-)
Miss yew!
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