Breakfast:
At the Lodge.
Morning:
We will board the motorcoach with our expert Group Leader and set out on a field trip to explore the United States’ Shrine of Democracy: Mount Rushmore National Memorial. Danish-American sculptor Gutzon Borglum, the creator of Mount Rushmore, wrote: “The purpose of the memorial is to communicate the founding, expansion, preservation, and unification of the United States with colossal statues of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt.” Borglum intended his monumental sculpture to be not only a memorial to four of our greatest Presidents, but a Shrine to Democracy. Why these four? Washington led the nascent United States to win independence from Great Britain. Jefferson was the author of the Declaration of Independence. Roosevelt the “trust buster” ensured the rights of working people and was instrumental in building the Panama Canal. Lincoln led the country through the Civil War. Borglum began work in 1927 and continued until his death in 1941, when his son, Lincoln Borglum, took it on and ended work later that year. We will have an opportunity to expand our exploration of Mount Rushmore with an elective, independent short walk on a portion of the Presidential Trail to Borglum’s studio. Interpretive signage along the way will illuminate more about the monument, its construction, and the artist whose vision produced one of America’s most iconic symbols. Next, we’ll travel into Rapid City for independent exploration. Chosen as the “Most Patriotic City” by USA Today readers, we’ll be greeted by the “City of Presidents” — a 20-square-block section of historic downtown with life-size bronze statues of all of the past presidents along streets and sidewalks. It was begun in 2000 to honor the legacy of the American presidency. The Group Leader will hand out an interpretive walking brochure of the statues and will also offer other of galleries and cultural sites to visit during our self-directed field trip.
Lunch:
This meal has been excluded from the program cost and is on your own to enjoy what you like in downtown Rapid City. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions.
Afternoon:
We’ll gather at an announced time and place and set out for a field trip to the Journey Museum. With by our Group Leader and museum docents, we’ll learn more about the Black Hills and surrounding area through the museum’s four major collections that provide a metaphorical journey into the past. The Journey Museum brings into focus a cogent story of billions of years of eruption, exploration, evolution, conflict and change. A tectonic shift deep inside the earth 2.5 billion years ago violently thrust up the land now known as the Black Hills into being. One of the oldest mountain ranges in the world, they have been worn down by the ravages of time from a height that was greater than the Matterhorn, thereby exposing the fine granite suitable for carving images into rock. Once on the edge of a great inland sea, this part of what is now the Great Plains was home to ancient dinosaurs. The Journey helps bring them back to relevance as we understand their time in this place. Prehistoric people came here when ice still held sway over most of North America and it would be another 10,000 years before the arrival of current Native Americans. Our experience at the Journey Museum will help us understand their life before the arrival of the white man. As we continue our exploration, we’ll begin to comprehend their changing world with the arrival of gold seekers and settlers who were intent on building a future in Dakota Territory. We’ll travel back to the Lodge after our field trip.
Dinner:
At the Lodge.
Evening:
We'll ride the coach back the short distance to Mount Rushmore and join a park ranger in the park's outdoor amphitheater for an inspirational 45-minute program focusing on the presidents, patriotism, and the nation's history. Subject to weather.