While not the longest we've had, the drive from Yellowstone to Mount Rushmore was easily the most brutal. It ended up taking about twelve hours, but it seemed like far longer. The scenery was beautiful for a little while, with vast plains stretching into the distance to meet the huge sky dotted with puffs of white cloud. However, the road was so flat and straight, and the countryside so similar that it seemed as if we weren't moving at all throughout the time we were driving through eastern Montana and South Dakota. Eventually we the landscape was broken up by small rocky hills that steadily grew into grey spires stabbing the endless blue sky. As we wound our way through the Black Hills we came to the road leading to Mount Rushmore, and climbed a winding path through the mountains. A small town had sprouted up due to the monument and was filled with nothing but garish signs, hotels, and restaurants. Thankfully the town faded out of view before we were able to see Mount Rushmore.
When we finally crested the hill we were blinded by the sun sitting low in the sky, but could barely make out the outline of the massive sculpture we had come to see. We wound our way up the road a little more to the parking lot where we finally caught a good look at Mount Rushmore. It was still difficult to see with the sun just above the presidents' heads, but it was still an incredible sight. Once we parked we walked up to the viewing area and visitor's center. At the end of a walkway of smooth stone is the Grand View Terrace with its unobstructed view of the incredible monument. Hundreds of feet above the ground Washing, Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Lincoln look out from their stony home on the side of Mount Rushmore. There's a strange sense of life in the sculptures that is a testament to Borglum's work, and makes the monument that much more impressive.
We didn't look for long at first, since the sun still made it difficult to see, and we wanted to see the sculptor's studio before it closed, so we rushed down the stairs to the small wooden building where Borglum prepared his masterpiece. The studio was a relatively small space with a large model of what was originally supposed to be the finished monument complete with bodies supporting the presidents' heads. In another corner stood a mockup of the hall of records that was partially built into the mountain behind the sculptures. Once we were done poking around the studio, I headed to the visitor's center to see some of the exhibits and wait for the sun to fall behind the mountain.
Once we had a clear view of Mount Rushmore we took some pictures and sat around admiring the larger-than-life work of art until the lighting program started in the amphitheater underneath the terrace. A ranger presented some history before the stage was given over to a short film about the construction of the monument and the importance of the figures that it depicts. The film was cheesy patriotism at its finest, and in any other setting might have seemed like stomach-churning propaganda, but in the shadow of Mount Rushmore I couldn't help but buy into it and feel a swelling sense of pride.
After the presentation we made our way back to the car to get on the road again. We originally intended to stay the night in the area, but realizing that we had another long ride ahead of us we made the poor decision to drive through the night so we could get to Chicago before it got too late the following day. I didn't end up driving very much at night, so I did get some restless sleep before I took my shifts the next day. Despite the discomfort, we did make it to Chicago by around four. After braving the many tolls on I-90, uncharacteristic heat, and a vicious wind we finally made it to our host's place in Uptown.
Although it wasn't clear from the couchsurfing profile, we ended up staying in an old hotel that had been converted into what can only be described as a Christian commune. The people were very friendly, and we got our own room that is presumably reserved for couchsurfers. We didn't end up doing much exploring that night, although I did get a new innertube to replace my bicycle's flat tire and promptly broke it while trying to install the thing. By that time the shop was closed, so I had to wait until the next day to get it taken care of. Once we were finished wrestling with the broken innertube we just relaxed for the rest of the night and got to bed early to rest up for our day in the city.
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