Ralphie Rough Road

While driving through South Dakota on our trek back to Indiana, we almost passed up Mount Rushmore.  After visiting this iconic sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore, I am glad we made the stop.  We spent a couple of hours touring the museum and grounds.  My Nikon was at the ready, of course.  The blog is called f-stopmama for a reason. 🙂  There is no entrance fee to visit, however, there is a parking fee of $11 per vehicle.  The National Park Pass cannot be used for the parking fee.

At the entrance, you can see a sculpture of the man responsible for creating this impressive 60 foot (18 m) tall sculpture.

After parking, it is only a short walk on pavement to get a nice view of the 4 presidents.

Keep in mind I used my zoom lens to capture the close up photographs.  There is no public access point to put you that close.

Four U.S. presidents from left to right, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.

George Washington, our first president.  To give you an idea of size, his nose alone is almost 21 feet long!

Thomas Jefferson, our third president.

Theodore Roosevelt, our twenty-sixth president.

Abraham Lincoln, our sixteenth president.

For those willing to walk further, there is a nice paved path to follow.  This allows for different views and angles of Mount Rushmore.

If you find yourself driving through South Dakota, I recommend stopping at Mount Rushmore.  It is quite impressive to see it in person.