In August, Tina leaves the roller coasters in her home town and takes a road trip with her family to Mount Rushmore, one of the modern wonders of the world! Click to read more about Tina’s vacation to see the 4 United States presidents carved into a South Dakotan mountain!

Tina and her family are taking a break from their usual trips to the amusement park to visit the Mount Rushmore National Memorial in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln are all commemorated on Mount Rushmore. Their heads are each over 60 feet high – that’s 80 times the size of the average human face! Each was chosen because they represented the spirit of America’s foundation, preservation, and expansion.

The idea started in 1923 to try to bring more visitors to South Dakota, and it worked! Carving began on President George Washington’s face in 1927 by Gutzon Borglum. Over 360 men carved the faces over 14 years, removing over 450,000 tons of rock! Washington’s carving, with each eye measuring over 11 feet, was dedicated in 1934. Jefferson, with this 18 foot mouth was dedicated in 1936, Lincoln in 1937 and Roosevelt, complete with his 20 foot mustache, in 1939, the same year electricity and running water were brought to Mount Rushmore! Work continued on the mountains for some years later. Mount Rushmore wasn’t officially dedicated until 1991 When President George Bush led the official dedication!

Tina became a Junior Ranger on her travels and earned a certificate after learning a lot of interesting information about Mount Rushmore, like the length of President Washington’s nose (20 feet)! Her family walked the Presidential Trail to get a better look at the carvings. The carvings are over 5,500 feet up in the air, so they couldn’t walk too close, but they were closer than where they started! Tina also went to the museum, but liked hiking better!

The highlight of Tina’s trip was seeing the faces lit up at night. Mount Rushmore is illuminated at night with big lights so the faces can be seen even when it is dark outside. Tina learned all about the four presidents and why they were chosen to be carved on the mountain. Then, a band played the National Anthem while visitors watched as they lit up the mountain.

To learn more about Mount Rushmore, visit their official website (http://www.nps.gov/moru/).