Rushmore Redux

We returned to the Rushmore monument this morning and did it right, that is we parked and walked up to the observation deck. And I stand corrected, when viewed from the proper angle it is much more impressive. It’s not just that some clever photographer made famous the most flattering angle. The basic angle (meaning standing at the base) is very impressive, as hopefully some of these pics will indicate.

I was also wrong about their dimensions. The faces are 60 feet tall. An eye is 9 feet across. The noses are 20 feet long except Washington's which is 21.

We arrived listening to NPR’s concert of patriotic music and the 1812 Overture was playing as the monument came into sight. I never knew the 1812 Overture has nothing to do with the war of 1812 but rather commemorates Russia’s defeat of the French.

Leaving rushmore we caught the NPR program Human Kind about Checks and Balances. It was a disturbing reminder of how little checking and balancing our current government does. Helen Thomas was featured. Thank God for her, the last of a breed.