Chapel in the Hills - Mt. Rushmore Memorial - Custer State Park
MaryAnn Here
Did you ever start your day in hysterical laughter. Well that is the way the day has gone. We hopped into our cars and left for Rapid City, SD. First item on the agenda was to see Chapel in the Hill which was one of the most fantastic churches I've seen in a long while.
Chapel in the Hill
This particular church is a replica of a Norwegian Stave Church. The craftsmanship is truly impressive and everything fits together so perfectly. The only down side was that a squirrel kept chewing off the pine cones so they would drop on us.
Don't worry about us, we're getting along fine.
To read more about this church go click on this link
Next stop on our agenda was Mount Rushmore NP. Have to tell you of a funny incident that happened to Judy and myself. At the Visitor's Center they of course have elevators. We decided to hop in one to get to the upper level where Jim and Mike were waiting for us. Got in the elevator pushed the up button, waited and waited until we finally heard the door open. We hopped out and I said, "Judy we are at the same place." The thing never moved and honest we did push the button. Judy wanted to try it again and I said not me I'm walking up. By then tears were coming down our faces from laughing so much. It's a wonder they didn't send the white jackets for us.
Mount Rushmore Memorial
By the way they offer an excellent movie on the construction of Rushmore. Well worth viewing.
Trunkgate Lunch
We actually pulled off onto the edge of the road and ate lunchables.
Judy is not getting any manifold experience at all.
After lunch we were off to do the Iron Mountain Road (thank you very much Charlie) which about did us in. You know how kids scribble with crayons when they are about two. Sort of a up and down motion, well picture that as the hairpin curves we took. But on the up side it took us into Custer State Park. The following pictures were taken there. Great place to visit.
Oh Give Me A Home Where The Buffalo Roam
I'm lookin Good, Don't You Think.
How Many Burro's Can You Fit Around The Crain Car
Oh Sh
Hello, I'm Bison Buffalo
We finally ended our day stopping for the night at our 'rustic cabin.' Remember me telling you how wonderful John was at the Sunshine Motel last night. I think Judy's quote best describes it all. "Going from John to Dave is sort of like going from the Penthouse to the Out House."
Tomorrow it's Crazy Horse and the Needles Highway.
The following information is only if you are interested in the places we have gone today.
Information on the Chapel in the Hills
The Chapel is an exact replica of the Borgund Stavkirke built about 1150 and located near Laerdal, Norway. The Chapel was built with the permission of and architectural drawings supplied by the Norwegian government. The intricate carvings were done (by a master carver) in Norway to match those of the original Stavkirke and shipped here.
Originally built as the home for the "Lutheran Vespers" radio program the Chapel was completed and opened in July, 1969. The Chapel sits on 30 acres of mostly forest along with the original house and the traditional Norwegian stabbur.
Information on Mount Rushmore Memorial
South Dakota's Black Hills is the the location of Mount Rushmore, the world's greatest mountain carving. These 60-foot high faces, 500 feet up, look out over a setting of pine, spruce, birch, and aspen in the clear western air.
Sculptor Gutzon Borglum began drilling into the 5,725-foot mountain in 1927. Creation of the Shrine of Democracy took 14 years and cost a mere $1 million, though it's now deemed priceless.
"The Avenue of Flags leads from the Concession Building to the Grandview Terrace. The flags of the 56 states and territories fly below the memorial. Here, the avenue provides direct and easy access to the Grandview Terrace and Presidential Trail, a half-mile walking trail that offers spectacular views of the mountain sculpture.
The memorial offers interpretive programs, exhibits and a film at the Lincoln Borglum Museum. Rangers provide interpretive walks and talks, including the Evening Sculpture Lighting Ceremony. The lighting program takes place at approximately 9 p.m. nightly (May-September) in the park's amphitheater. The amphitheater is fully accessible via the Avenue of Flags to elevators at the museum.
Gutzon Borglum's vision for Mount Rushmore was no less than "the formal rendering of the philosophy of our government into a granite on a mountain peak." Having won fame for realistic portraiture, Borglum naturally chose to give human form to the abstract. His monument to America was a grouping of four leaders who brought the country from colonial times into the 20th century.
The most prominent position went to George Washington, commander of the Revolutionary army and first U.S. President.
Next was Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence, 3rd President and advocate of westward expansion.
To the far right was 16th President Abraham Lincoln, whose leadership restored the Union and ended slavery on U.S. soil.
Fourth was the 26th President Theo Roosevelt, which a real hero of his Borglum. It was President Theodore Roosevelt, who promoted construction of the Panama Canal and ignited progressive causes such as conservation and business reform.
Mount Rushmore started as an idea to draw sightseers to South Dakota's black hills. In 1923 state historian Doane Robinson suggested carving some giant statues in the black hills.
Now, in the 1920s, an unconventional sculptor named Gutzon Borglum was carving a Confederate memorial on Stone Mountain in Georgia. Robinson wanted his sculptures to stand at the gateway to the west, where the Black Hills rise from the plains as a geographical prelude to the Rockies. Here, granite outcroppings resist erosion to form the Needles, cluster of tall, thin peaks reminiscent of the spires on a Gothic cathedral.
Born in Idaho in 1867, this son of Danish Mormons studied art in Paris. Back home he worked in the shadow of his artist brother Solon even after several works brought Gutzon moderate fame. Among them were a
Borglum scouted out a location far better than the fragile Needles: 5,725-foot Mount Rushmore, named in 1885 for New York lawyer Charles E. Rushmore. Its broad wall of exposed granite faced southeast to receive direct sunlight for most of the day.
President Calvin Coolidge dedicated the memorial in 1927, commencing 14 years of work; only 6 1/2 years were spent on actual carving. Money was the main problem in the Great Depression years. It was here that Gutzon Borglum's self-appraisal as a "one-man war" was earned. He personally lobbied state officials, congressmen, cabinet members and presidents.
The Washington head was formally dedicated in 1930, followed by Jefferson in 1936, Lincoln in 1937 and Roosevelt in 1939. Borglum died in March 1941; the final dedication was not held until 50 years later. Son, Lincoln Borglum supervised the completion of the heads. Carving stopped in October 1941, on the eve of our entry into World War II. Gutzon Borglum himself might have commented that the time had come to defend the principles Mount Rushmore preserved in stone.
