As it turns out, the west end of South Dakota held a lot of adventure for us. We will start with Mount Rushmore, as it has been on our “must see” list of for several years. Linda visited when she was young, but I have no memory of it and don’t think my family ever made it here. All of the photos I have seen of this place have been from a distance, but I still wanted to see it. We spent the late afternoon hiking to the base of the mountain and then returned for the evening ceremony. We were pleasantly surprised at both how close they allow you to get to the actual sculpture, but also with the emphasis the U.S. Parks Service has put on the significance of the four men honored here. In the slide show below you will see how close you can actually get to the mountain as well as some the night scenes.
The evening ceremony was quite poignant. The Park Ranger spoke for a few minutes then they showed a moving film about the many hurtles overcome by Presidents Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Roosevelt in order to insure our freedom. At the conclusion of the presentation, all current and former military servicemen and women were invited to take the stage for the lowering of the flag. You can see Cecil onstage just a little left of center, wearing his “Bounty Hunter” cowboy hat. Part of the evening ceremonies included lighting of the sculpture. It just appears to float in the air when it is illuminated. I hope the photos in the slide show will give you a sense of how magnificent this place is.
And now this: You may find this article interesting concerning the new sculptures on the opposite side of the Mount Rushmore: Click Here 😉
Next up: We visit Mammoth Site, Wind Cave and Custer Wildlife Park.
INGRESS
We found lots of portals in the general area of Mount Rushmore, so in addition to just getting uniques, we did the mosaic-mission. But then, in scanning the local area, I discovered a portal that demanded investigation. I discovered THIS LINK while scrubbing with IITC. It was not far off the road and only required a short hike and my handheld booster to reach. I managed to hack a few keys and got a proof-of-presence selfie. 
Someone at Niantic is either really gullible or has a sense of humor like the smurf who submitted this. I did a little research and discovered where I think this came from. Here is the same link to the article that I added at that is at the end of the last paragraph in the normal blog section above. Click Here 😉
Definitely on my bucket list!! Never knew that backside sculpture existed!!! LOL. The nighttime pics are most awesome w/ the flags, but the pic of all the vets stole the show! 😊😊😊