Why the stony face?

Mount Rushmore was our destination today. I expected it to be hot and busy and touristy and so it was, however it was still impressive to see. What an amazing project it was, and the well organised "presidential trail" boardwalk has information boards that tell you all about the four presidents whose heads are immortalised in rock. I recognised Washington and Lincoln of course, but I have never been sure who the other two are. Well now I will remember; it's Jefferson and T. Roosevelt. I found it all very interesting, although I was nearly melting by the time we got to the café for much needed coffee and ice cream. Full marks to the U.S.A. for the clean and cool air-conditioned café and toilets. We met a family who had three tiny boys, much as ours once were, who were called Luke, Brooks and Jack; they were so sweet.

It was time for some peace and quiet so, consulting our Custer State Park Guide, we made our way along a very scenic (and twisty and windy!) road called the Iron Mountain Road, to picturesque Center Lake. This was perfect for the afternoon, we relaxed, read our books and went for a walk along the small river that runs into the lake. In true James style it was not long before he spotted a family of minks alternately swimming along the stream and running along the bank. It was a mummy and four little ones and they were all making loud squeaking noises to keep track of each other. We walked along the other bank of the stream from them. 

The evening saw us return to Mount Rushmore for the sunset ceremony, which was very patriotic. First of all one of the park rangers gave a talk about how everybody had come together from all over America this evening as part of their holiday to this special place. He spoke about how Americans have explored the wilderness and made it into the greatest nation on earth, and how the four presidents represented on Mount Rushmore embody these ideals. Then there was a film about American achievements culminating in the lighting up of the presidents' faces to the tune of "America the Beautiful" and we all stood up to sing the Star Spangled Banner. Admittedly it was very pro American but I hadn't expected anything else and as a visitor to the U.S.A. I felt quite honoured to be part of it. Davie did not feel the same way and argued very convincingly against nationalism all the way back to the hotel! James and I pointed out that in the UK we have events like Armed Forces Day and the Edinburgh Tattoo, but to be fair to David he was consistent and said that he doesn't like any country's nationalism including our own.