Evening Program at Mt Rushmore

We we were told the evening program at Mt Rushmore was good so we left our campground at about 6:30. We were there by 7:15 and the program started at 8:00 PM.

The visitors were thinned out compared to the crowd we saw there last week in the middle of the day. Still there were probably 300 people.

The Park Ranger began the program with a short presentatin on the importance of remembering the history of the United States and its key figures.

She also gave an explanation of why the four Presidents were chosen to have their 60 foot face sculptured on the granite mountain. After her very well done talk, we viewed a short movie with some information on the sculptor, actual footage of the construction, and a piece on each of the four presidents: George Washingon, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Rooselvelt and Abraham Lincoln.
I took some of the same shots as I did last time but this time it was during a another time of the day and the lighting was quite different.
After the video, the Park Ranger invited all veterans down on the stage. Four lowered the flag and folded it. The Ranger then proceeded to move along the three lines of veterans and asked each person to put their hand on the flage, state their name and branch of Service.

It was quite moving to hear 75 men and 1 woman (Pam) and to honor their service to our country.

Pam and I met and served together in the US Air Force. She served four years, then got out to have Adam and Kelly. I made it a career, retiring in 1995.After the flag ceremony and honoring the veterans, many stopped by and thanked the Ranger for conducting such a terrific program. I was among them.

As we left, I took one more picture. It was quite an evening.