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Mt Rushmore

Mt Rushmore might have some of the best orienteering terrain I've ever seen.  Huge boulders in open pine forest with hardly any undergrowth makes it a dream destination for any orienteer.  I'll have to talk to some of my friends in the states to find out if any competitions are scheduled...  Oh yeah, and there's also this rock where someone's carved these enormous faces.  Must have been a lot of work involved in that.



Seriously, Mt Rushmore is an iconic tourist attraction of massive significance to citizens of the US of A.  The four carved faces of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Roosevelt commemorate the significant role that these four presidents played in the formation of the USA and it's growth as a superpower.

Visiting the site of this monumental work was particularly interesting as it showcases a wonder which has both a nature and a manmade component.  It's not (just) a mountain nor an artwork but a mix of both in a hugely impressive natural setting.

The visitors centre and walking trail were quite well done.  As we walked around we learned about the history of the site - covering the idea to build a monument, discussion of the lobbying by local politicians to final agreement by President Coolidge to fund the massive structure then through the impressive facts and figures behind the construction phase.




Perhaps surprisingly the Monument manages to balance the impact of thousands of daily visitors without too much of the tacky infrastructure that you might expect to find.  The multideck carpark and visitors centre somehow manage to be huge without being overly intrusive and spoiling the visual experience.  Even the scenic approach road through Black Hills National Forest (an engineering marvel in its own right) was designed to showcase the monument by positioning various road tunnels so they frame the monument as you drive through.

A few miles down the valley and out of sight of the mountain is where all the crap tourist shops, the diners and the roadside hotels are clustered.  Now this is a monumental eyesore but thankfully a monumental eyesore well out of sight of the monument that everyone really comes to see.  Mt Rushmore gets the thumbs up as a tourist attraction and a great (potential) orienteering area too!

Comments

  1. Blair TrewinOctober 13, 2019 at 3:29 AM

    World Rogaining Championships were not too far away from there a few years back. Lots of fallen timber as I recall.

    Are you still planning to go to China at World Cup time? Drop me an e-mail if so (not sure what address you're using at the moment).

    ReplyDelete

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