We set out one day to find Mount Rushmore. We drove on winding roads lined with dark forests on a gloomy overcast day. As we rounded a corner in the road, I caught my first glimpse of a rugged granite face. A ray of sun came out and danced on that noble face of the man who refused to become King.
After all the silliness, kitsch and generally amusing tourist traps, I did not expect much.
I did not expect to be charmed. But I was.
I did not expect to be awed. But I was.
I did not expect to be touched. But I was.
I did not expect to be humbled. But I was.
What an enchanting and beautiful memorial.
©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog.com, 2011
the purple dog painting blog 
Wonderful photographs and sentiments. Amazing sculptures! I saw a documentary on them and the statistics are amazing.
Thanks! What amazed me is how much wilderness they are surrounded by. Just to get the equipment and people there alone must have been a huge chore especially at that time.The eyes are incredible,they seem so lifelike.
Mount Rushmore looks so beautiful. Magnificent. Imagine all the work that went into carving and getting the proportions right. It’s just mind blowing. You must have been gob smacked when you first saw them.
I was, I really expected them to be smaller and to be surrounded by tacky stuff (I think I worked in Niagara Falls so long I just expect tacky)
Did you take those photos? They are the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. Thank you for sharing – I would now love to see it in person!
Thanks. Yup, I took these. The cloudy day ended up being a godsend since the light made the stone stand out so beautifully.
Hang on to them! I bet that copyright has to be worth something. Good luck and Congratulations!
Nice work of photographing something that millions of people do – in your own way and with your own vision. I really like the way you brought the colours in the rock out. And the close cropping. Very nice. My favourite is Washington.
Thank you, he’s my favorite as well.
Those are some amazing pictures. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks! So nice to see you!
This is amazing. You can see all the curvatures of the wood, very well done. The eyes seem to tell the character. In the third picture he looks really sad that guy, or about to make a big decision.
Thanks for sharing.
Thanks! It’s all carved out of a granite mountaintop actually. The third man is Teddy Roosevelt. He became president of the US after the assassination of President McKinley. No doubt he had some serious thoughts. He was the man that originally said “Speak softly but carry a big stick”. He was also the man the Teddy Bear was named after.
Someday I will go there. In the meantime I will have your exquisite photos to look at.