We made our travel plans to home via the Black Hills of South Dakota and see Mount Rushmore. It has been about seventeen years since we came here with the family on the way out to Utah one summer and we were pleasantly surprised at the improvements that have been made. The front entrance frames the sculpted mountain in the distance.
The corridor of state flags leads the way to the observation decks.
We took time to see the movies, look at the displays and...
...gaze at the great work that was sculpted in the mountain.
One of the display rooms.
We stayed for the lighting ceremony and were moved by the patriotic message, singing of the national anthem and retiring the colors by about 100 veterans in the audience. The flag was lowered, folded with dignity and respect and passed to each veteran. During this time there was profound respect and complete silence during the proceedings.
As we departed we looked back at the carved mountain with a new respect for the sculptural work, but also for the work of our founding fathers. They succeeded despite their challenges and we can too.
We found our way back to our motel in the dark night of the Black Hills after a few wrong turns. It was a short night because we forgot to set the alarm clock back to local Mountain Time. It turned out that that was a good thing because we had about eleven hours of driving ahead of us. We got home about 6:30 p.m. with a heart full of memories that will make this summer a special one to remember.
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