Two Mountain Carvings in the Black Hills
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There are two mountain carvings within 17 miles of each other in the Black Hills National Forest that are famous and amazing to see. We’ve visited both before and wanted to again.
The first is Mt Rushmore National Memorial.
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Mt Rushmore National Memorial
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The U.S. Presidents’ heads are approximately 60 feet tall.
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George Washington
Thomas Jefferson
Theodore Roosevelt
Abraham Lincoln
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Mt Rushmore was carved with government funding and completed on October 31, 1941. Overall, the project cost $989,992.32 and took 14 years to finish.
The second mountain carving was started in 1948 and is still under construction, the Crazy Horse Memorial. It is privately funded and the cost to date has not been disclosed.
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Crazy Horse Memorial
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Original sculpture being carved into the mountain
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Crazy Horse’s head is 87 feet tall
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If you’re interested in reading the history, visit the Crazy Horse Memorial website here.
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This beautiful gate is at the Crazy Horse Memorial, also created by the Korczak Ziolkowski family, depicting 219 animals (past and present) that are indigenous to South Dakota. It is beautiful, my photos don’t do it justice.
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