Episode 5 – Quarter Miles Travel – South Dakota and Mount Rushmore

South Dakota State Quarter – Quarter Miles Travel

This week we highlight the South Dakota state quarter on Quarter Miles Travel. The quarter features a memorial we’re all familiar with – the Mount Rushmore National Memorial. It is one of the major tourist attractions in the US and is top of the list for most people to visit. Each year millions of tourists come to the area for a visit of Mount Rushmore.

The 60-foot structure pays tribute to four US Presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt. But did you know they weren’t part of the original design? Sculptor Gutzon Borglum worked with South Dakota historians to decide on figures that represented US history but also would appeal to tourists from all over the world, and ideas ranged from Susan B. Anthony to Lewis and Clark. But, our question was how did they make the final decision to feature the four presidents? What was the discussion around the selection? And, we love to dig deeper and ask the question, why was this area chosen? What was the attitude of people living in the area?

To learn more we talked with Blaine Kortemeyer, Assistant Chief of Interpretation and Education at the Mount Rushmore National Memorial and one of the founding members of the Sculpture Preservation Team. We wanted to learn more about the story of Mount Rushmore from the first design drafts to how it is maintained today.

Listen as we dive in for more answers and lots of stories.

And, for more information on how you can visit Mount Rushmore click the websites below. www.travelsouthdakota.com
www.travelsouthdakota.com/explore-with-us/great-8/mount-rushmore
https://www.nps.gov/moru/planyourvisit/index.htm
https://www.undercanvas.com/camps/mount-rushmore/