Sunday, May 15, 2011:  Mark and Paula visited the Mount Rushmore National Memorial near Keystone, South Dakota.  They were greeted by 56 flags from the 50 united states and protectorates. 

(l-r) Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln....carved in stone.   

President Washington as viewed from below through a break between rocks.

The sculptures are the work of Gutzon Borglum in the 1930's.  It took 17 years of labor.  Mr. Borglum died just before the work was completed in 1941.  He was a wonderful artist and a credit to his country.

This is a photo of a photo in the Mount Rushmore National Memorial Museum.

Here, Borglum was seen hanging from the face of President Washington while inspecting the work. 

This is a photo of a photo in the Mount Rushmore National Memorial Museum.

The memorial lit up after dark.  An awesome sight.

American military service veterans were asked to go to the stage to be honored by the audience that evening.  Mark, a Vietnam veteran, was one of them.  They handled the flag lowering ceremony without hesitation in this unrehearsed event.  The flag was smartly folded into a triangle and presented to a National Park Service representative.