Mount Rushmore is quite impressive but expensive. It costs $11 to park. It's good for a year but how often are you going to return to the park in a year. Most people take a few pictures and leave just like I did. The sculptures were very interesting even as close as I got. The likenesses were really good. I dare the older members of my audience not to think of North by Northwest by Hitchcock when you see Mount Rushmore. I could see Cary Grant scurrying around the faces as I looked up at them. The physical layout was very well done and complimented the mountain. They had a lovely alley of columns with a state and its date of statehood etched on it and the flag flying, four per column. All of it was done in a reddish granite. Someone once told me that they had been disappointed by Mount Rushmore, they thought it was small. I thought it was the right size, I really did. How do you judge that kind of thing.
While I was in the area I went to see the Crazy Horse Memorial which is in the process of being carved. It is still in a very rudimentary stage except for Crazy Horse's face. It seems to be stalled for lack of money. You can tour the artist's studio and see a model of the planned finished project. It is incredibly impressive. Mount Rushmore is very static but the Crazy Horse monument is very active.
I drove across South Dakota to see a Corn Palace. It was amazing. It is entirely covered in plant material, primarily corn. They use 13 colors of corn, husks and some other materials that I can't remember. Every year they completely redo the theme. It was first done in 1892 to try to win the State Capitol title and to bring people to town. Birds eat the corn kernels over the year and so it needs to be replaced. I don't think the birds really eat that much but they have a huge harvest festival when the decorating is complete. It takes months because different parts mature at different times. It is Moorish in design and just adorable. They show a movie that explains the history of the town, Mitchell, and the Corn Palace. The inside is a sports arena which is used mostly for basketball games.
I've decided not to go to North Dakota as I can't find a thing that I want to see. It really is sad., a whole state with nothing to interest me. I really looked hard.
Mount Rushmore is quite impressive but expensive. It costs $11 to park. It's good for a year but how often are you going to return to the park in a year. Most people take a few pictures and leave just like I did. The sculptures were very interesting even as close as I got. The likenesses were really good. I dare the older members of my audience not to think of North by Northwest by Hitchcock when you see Mount Rushmore. I could see Cary Grant scurrying around the faces as I looked up at them. The physical layout was very well done and complimented the mountain. They had a lovely alley of columns with a state and its date of statehood etched on it and the flag flying, four per column. All of it was done in a reddish granite. Someone once told me that they had been disappointed by Mount Rushmore, they thought it was small. I thought it was the right size, I really did. How do you judge that kind of thing.
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