We think we are at our last National park or monument, or in this case, Memorial. Its hard to believe this trip is nearing an end.
There is no entrance fee but they exact a $10 parking fee- good for a week. That, plus the efficient fund-raising group for this special place has made it super-nice and continuously upgraded. It has first-class touches, despite getting several million visitors a year.
The particular granite that was found here, and used for each face, weathers at the rate of 1/8 inch every 10,000 years! Teddy's face is recessed because there was a lesser stone seam 80' thick that had to be removed (by dynamite) to get to the good stuff. Behind Roosevelt's head is only twelve feet of rock before you are into the canyon behind!
Some find this smaller than they thought but that is just from their digitally-created comparisons; this is real and it is on a grand scale. We were glad to get to spend a long day here - starting with a fascinating tour of the sculptor's museum in the nearby town of Keystone.
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