As we approached Mount Rushmore, we kept seeing advertisements for places to eat. Seemed like a sign we should stop for lunch! Mexican sounded good to me, but we couldn't find it. We gave up the search and decided to eat at Red's Chicken House and BBQ (just 2.4 miles from Mount Rushmore).

It was rather crowded, but they had a table open outside. The food was pretty good and the service was excellent. The owner even came outside to make sure our table was clean. 

After a quick lunch, we headed to Mount Rushmore. When we passed through the ticket booth, it was 1:35. We parked in the garage and made our way up the steps toward the monument.

Roughly, three million people visit Mount Rushmore each year. We lucked out because 2,999,500 decided to do it on a different day. It was crowded, but not overwhelming.

In an effort to bring more people to South Dakota, Doane Robinson came up with the idea for the carvings. He is known as the "Father of Mount Rushmore". What a clever man! If you build it, they will come.

Robinson should be known as the "Idea Master!" The cost for parking at Mount Rushmore is $11.00. That's not bad if you have a car load. Of course, the "real" revenue for the state comes from the taxes tourist pay on hotels, food, gas and souvenirs.  

Matt took a picture of me.

I took a picture of Matt.

We took a picture together.

And...we took some pictures of just Mount Rushmore. This is my favorite.

Neither one of us were interested in going to the museum or to the gift shop. To learn more about Mount Rushmore, check out the NPS website. 

We talked about getting ice cream, but decided to wait awhile. Next stop: Devil's Tower!