Day 5 Vacation - Crazy Horse/Mount Rushmore, South Dakota

On Day 5, we finally reached our final destination - Mount Rushmore! Before visiting Mount Rushmore, we went to the Crazy Horse Memorial. Crazy Horse was a war leader of the Oglala Lakota who fought against the US Government to try and conserve their ways of life. Crazy Horse is probably known most for his part in the Battle of the Little Big Horn in 1876. The memorial is a mountain carving of Crazy Horse riding a horse and pointing his finger into the distance. It was started in 1948 by Ziolkowski and is far from being finished. However, it was very impressive because the mere head of Crazy Horse is as big as all four of the Mount Rushmore heads. After visiting Crazy Horse, we drove to the well-known Mount Rushmore. This memorial represents the first 150 years of United States history with 60 foot sculptures of four previous US presidents - George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. Washington was the first president of the United States, and was a commander in the American Revolutionary War. He is also considered the "father of his country". Thomas Jefferson was an important author of the Declaration of Independence and promoted republicanism in the United States. Teddy Roosevelt was well-known for his personality as well as a historian, naturalist, hunter, author, and soldier. "Teddy Bears" are also named after him. Lastly, Abraham Lincoln led the United States safely through the American Civil War and ended slavery. He was the first president to be assassinated. Mount Rushmore was absolutely magnificent and gives the United States a sense of pride. It was nice to learn about the history of these monuments and it was very interesting.