Mount Rushmore

We are currently in South Dakota with my mom. She is going home in a couple of hours. We saw Mt. Rushmore. Oh my gosh, It was way more emotional than I expected. Of course the engineering of it all is mind blowing and they have an exhibition hall that explains how and why it was built with videos and real tools, newspaper articles and things they used on display. But my favorite was the illumination ceremony at night. There is a large amphitheater where everyone sits and A park ranger gave a talk about the 4 presidents: Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt(teddy) and Lincoln - and what they each sacrificed and contributed to the building of our nation. This was followed by a great movie.

And then, the park ranger called down all veterans or anyone who had lost someone in the military to be honored and help retreat the American flag for the night. As they walked down everyone else was clapping. After that each of them had an opportunity to say their name and where they served into the microphone. There were a couple of guys who were WWII vets! One mom got up with her husband and said they had lost a son in 2004.

Then they asked that everyone join in singing the National Anthem. It was a very emotionally charged experience with the monument lit up and a full moon. I was brought to tears several times with gratitude for those who serve and gratitude for our freedom.

I bumped into the mom and dad who lost a son on our way out, which was weird because I was hoping I would just to say thank you but there was probably a thousand people there. I gave her a hug and thanked her for her son's sacrifice. I told her it is my mission that my kids will never take their freedoms for granted. I asked her what her son's name was and she said Todd. We had this entire conversation while we were walking and I was holding Wyatt's hand. I ached for her and pictured her holding little Todd's hand. I couldn’t begin to imagine what she would give to hold her son’s hand one more day. I got that somehow my fortune was tied to her loss.

On a lighter note, we came back the next day because Wyatt completed his Jr. Ranger booklet and earned a Junior Ranger badge. The ranger checked over his booklet and had him take an oath to take care of the National Parks and stuff. He was the only one of the kids who finished the booklet. We were all proud of Wyatt, it was his moment to shine.

The following day we went to the Journey museum in Rapid City where we learned about the Black Hills from the times of dinosaurs, the Lakota people, the pioneers, the gold rush and up until the present. Wyatt was very busy at one display using real archeological tools to dig up dinosaur fossils. As he worked he said, “For some reason I’m really getting into dinosaurs” and he worked a little more and added, “It’s like we have a job to do instead of just listening to stuff.”