Thursday 7/03/08 - As we had planned, we got an early start to see Mt. Rushmore and the traditional fireworks this evening. We arrived at the park around 9:00am and we couldn’t believe what we saw. The parking lot and the park were almost full. It was wall to wall people. They had brought chairs, blankets, food and they had staked out spots throughout the park. The ones who had arrived early had the best spots to see the fireworks; the late one just grabbed a spot wherever there was room. It was like being in the middle of New York City with so many people around. There were also food stands and entertainment taking place throughout the park.
We walked around the park and we were very impressed by the rock sculptures on the mountain. Being there puts it all into perspective how massive is the work of Gutzon Burglum. The granite portraits of Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln are so perfect that you wonder how they were able to accomplish something of that magnitude.
Since yesterday we had done the 30 mile bike ride, we were still tired as we walked about the park. My legs felt weak as we had to go up and down steps to see the different things around the park. At about noon, we decided that we didn’t want to wait another 10 hours for the fireworks to start so we got back into the truck and headed to camp. As we were leaving, the people who were still coming had to walk up to two miles to the park because the parking lot was full. Many were carrying coolers and chairs up the hill. We just chuckled and drove on.
That afternoon we relaxed by an almost empty pool and hot tub. Everyone had gone to see the fireworks.
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