Mount Rushmore Virtual
Welcome to Mount Rushmore! Mount Rushmore is open all year, seven days a week (with the exception of December 25th). They are open from 5:00am - 11:00pm. There is no entrance fee to enter the park, but there is a parking fee. The National Park Service currently charges $10 per private vehicle at the entrance of the parking lot. This fee is valid for the calendar year issued. Service dogs are permitted in all public areas. Pets on a leash (no longer than six feet) are permitted only in the parking garages, and the areas adjacent to them. Fees/hours subject to change.
Check Fees ~ Check Hours
This virtual geocache will focus on some history, and fun facts surrounding this memorial. If you want to learn more about the geology, check out the Earthcache that's also here. Logging requirements for this cache are listed below.
A Brief History
Why is it here? South Dakota State Historian Doane Robinson conceived the idea for Mount Rushmore in 1923 to promote tourism in South Dakota. In 1924, Robinson persuaded sculptor Gutzon Borglum to travel to the Black Hills region to ensure the carving could be accomplished. Borglum chose Mount Rushmore partly because it faced southeast, and enjoyed maximum exposure to the sun. Borglum said upon seeing Mount Rushmore, "America will march along that skyline."
Were presidential carvings the original idea? Doane Robinson conceived the idea of a group of colossal carvings of western heroes such as John Fremont, Lewis & Clark, Sacagawea, and Buffalo Bill Cody. Gutzon Borglum was opposed to the idea of carving western figures, saying that it should be "a national monument commemorating America's founders and builders."
Why were these presidents chosen? They were chosen to represent the birth, growth, development, and preservation of the United States.
Birth: George Washington was the first president of the United States, and was chosen to be the most prominent figure on Mount Rushmore. Washington led the colonists in the American Revolutionary War to win independence from Great Britain.
Growth: Thomas Jefferson was the primary author of the Declaration of Independence. He also purchased the Louisiana Territory from France in 1803 which doubled the size of our country, adding all or part of fifteen present-day states.
Development: Theodore Roosevelt was instrumental in negotiating the construction of the Panama Canal, linking the east and the west. He was known as the "trust buster" for his work to end large corporate monopolies and ensure the rights of the common working man.
Preservation: Abraham Lincoln held the nation together during its greatest trial, the Civil War. Lincoln believed his most sacred duty was the preservation of the union.
How did Mount Rushmore get its name? Mount Rushmore is named after a New York City attorney. Charles E. Rushmore was sent out to this area in 1884 to check legal titles on properties. On his way back to Pine Camp he asked Bill Challis (a local resident and guide) the name of this mountain. Bill replied, "Never had a name, but from now on we'll call it Rushmore."
Fun Facts & Statistics
- Over the fourteen year period of the carving, 1927 to 1941, almost 400 workers, men and women, labored at the Memorial.
- No one died while building Mount Rushmore.
- Thomas Jefferson was originally started on George Washington's right. However, after 18 months they realized that it was not working. Jefferson's face was dynamited off and carved on the other side.
- The sculpture cost $989,992.32 to build.
- There is a cave behind the carving called the "Hall of Records." It was intended to house the story of Mount Rushmore, but was never completed due to lack of funding.
- 90% of the mountain was carved with dynamite, and more than 450,000 tons of rock was removed. Afterwards, fine carving was done to create a surface about as smooth as a concrete sidewalk.
- You can visit the Avenue of Flags at Mount Rushmore representing the 50 states, District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, American Samoa Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands.
- Mount Rushmore is visited by nearly 3 million people annually.
- The mountain that Borglum chose to carve was known to the Lakota as the “Six Grandfathers.” It had also been known as Cougar Mountain, Sugarloaf Mountain, Slaughterhouse Mountain, and Keystone Cliffs, depending who you asked.
- Sculptor Gutzon Borglum died in March of 1941, leaving the completion of the monument to his son Lincoln.
- Each president’s face is 60 feet high.
- Susan B. Anthony was almost added to Mount Rushmore. Shortly after Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln’s faces were completed and dedicated in 1937, a bill was introduced in Congress to add her face to the mix, but times were tough, and an appropriations bill limited funding for adding another head. Teddy Roosevelt’s head would be added and dedicated as planned in 1939, but no Susan B. Anthony.
- The memorial was famously used as the location of the climactic chase scene in Alfred Hitchcock's 1959 movie North by Northwest.
Logging Requirements
This is a NEW virtual! Unfortunately, visits and/or vacation photos prior to its publication do not constitute a find. I hope you enjoy another adventure here. As always, do NOT post answers in your logs. Logs with answers will be deleted. Please e-mail/message me the answers to these questions, and the names of any cachers in your group. If I don't receive the answers within seven days, log will be deleted. I don't like doing it, but it is part of the game, so please comply.
The posted coordinates are your first stop, and where you'll answer the three questions. Enter Mount Rushmore via the Parking Entrance waypoint. Here are your five REQUIRED assignments (three questions, and two photo requirements).
To clarify some confusion that is happening, please e-mail/message me the answers to #1-3, and POST your photos for #4-5 in your log, thanks! You can only upload one photo in the app, but there are several options to get it to me. You can make them a collage before uploading, add the second photo via log edit on mobile browser or computer, message me the second photo with your questions, or post a note with it.
Rushmore Workers (Posted Coordinates):
Answer these questions,
1. What year did Don & Carolyn Clifford donate this plaque?
2. What were Alton and Clyde Leach's nicknames?
3. Who is the first female on this plaque?
Avenue of Flags (Virtual Stage 1):
4. Post a photo (samples shown below: yourself, or just your hand/GPSr if you prefer privacy) next to the state/district/territory/province that you are visiting from. If you reside outside of these, take a photo with your favorite one.
Photo Op (Virtual Stage 2):
5. Post a photo of yourself with your GPSr (or just your GPSr if you don't want to post one of yourself) with Mount Rushmore in the background from this area. This is a great spot to do it! If your GPSr is also your phone/camera (and you don't want to post a selfie), get creative like this photo including trackables:
George Washington's Side Profile (Reference Point):
This waypoint is OPTIONAL, but I wanted to point out this parking area where you can get a photo of George Washington's side profile.
Please feel free to post lots of pictures, would love to see them!
Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you had a great visit!
Virtual Reward - 2017/2018
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between August 24, 2017 and August 24, 2018. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards on the Geocaching Blog.