In this photo you can see the State Flags that line the walkway to the Memorial. California is the one on the left there :) I cropped a lot of the sky out of this photo, and made it a little more blue, for a better contrast on the stone. When we first arrived the sky was that color, but very quickly clouds started moving in. Mt. Rushmore itself was originally named after a New York lawyer, Charles E. Rushmore, investigating mining claims in the Black Hills in 1885. Gutzon Borglum, the sculptor, chose this mountain due to its height, 5700 ft. above sea level, the soft grainy consistancy of the granite, and the fact that it catches the sun for most of the day. The presidents were selected based on the fact of what each symbolized. George Washington represents the struggle for independence, Thomas Jefferson the idea of government by the people. Abraham Lincoln for his ideas on equality and the permanent union of the states, and Theodore Roosevelt for the 20th century role of the United States in world affairs. The carving of Mt. Rushmore began in 1927 and continued for 14 years. There were delays due to weather and lack of funding along the way. Carving stopped in 1941 because Borglum died. It is amazing how they carved the mountain. Borglum created a plaster model from which measurements were taken using "the pointing system". They used dynamite to remove rock from the mountain and were able to start shaping the faces. Then when the blasting was completed, pneumatic drills (designed by Borglum) were used to remove granite and roughly shape the faces. The workers would drill down to within six inces of the finished surfaces of the heads. They used the honeycombing method .. meaning they drilled grids of very shallow and closely spaced holes and breaking out the material between. To finish the carvings, "bumpers" , light, hand held pneumatic hammers driving short steel shafts tipped with four sharp stubby fingers that chattered against the granite and removed it by a fraction of an inch. This last method is what gave the faces their life like appearance. I hope you enjoyed my bit of history. It was amazing to see it in person. My previous upload, "Visiting Mt. Rushmore" Thanks for your comments! I am off to the store now. My daughter's birthday is tomorrow, and I need to go get some stuff to bake a cake. Have a great day/night. Hugs, ~Melinda~