KEYSTONE-MT RUSHMORE

THURSDAY, AUGUST 27, 2009
Good sleep...Ready to go. Took food from Reefer in room and placed it in the cooler we had in the Van. . Left cooler in van because I did not want to carry it in...Only carried food into the rooms reefer.Noticed that the cooler was very cold...HMMMMM...how can that be...must have been very cold last night....Plugged my cell into cig.lighter to charge it...Oh my! left the cooler plugged into the battery plug in.....van started....good...Went back to the room to get all of our luggage....etc.....including "THE NAVIGATOR" Put key in....Van would not start...must have drained
the battery during the night.

Called AAA....waited...and waited and...waited...finally after numerous calls our rescuer came...she came from a community 28 miles away.....NO AAA SERVICE IN GILLETTE SD.

Finally got started around 11 am and headed for Mt. Rushmore.

Went to Keystone first....wanted to ride their 1880 train....a 2 hour round trip.....poor poor poor choice of resources and time. I thought the train would take us to sites we could not see by car.....wrong....wrong again..

KEYSTONE RAILROAD TRIP

MT. RUSHMORE
Left Keystone and headed for Mr. Rushmore. Site was awesome......What a dramatic moving experience it was for me. Yes......the design of the additional buildings and the photos showing how the faces were carved blew my mind....BUT MOST OF ALL.....FOR THE FIRST TIME (yes my fault) I FOUND OUT THAT " "THE FOUR AMERICAN PRESIDENTS WERE CHOSEN BY THE SCULPTOR TO COMMEMORATE THE FOUNDING, GROWTH, PRESERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

They symbolize the principles, liberty and freedom on which the nation was founded. George Washington signifies the struggle for independence and the birth of the Republic. Thomas Jefferson, the territorial expansion of the country. Abraham Lincoln, the permanent union of the states and equality for all citizens. Theodore Roosevelt, the 20th. Century roll of The United States in world affairs and the rights of the common man."

When I entered the exhibition hall on one of the walls the following quotes, carved on marble, were hung:

WORDS WISDOM IN EXHIBIT HALL

WORDS THAT MOVE-THE HEARTS OF MEN
I was going to type out the carved quotes to make sure you could read them....BUT I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO ENLARGE THEM SO YOU CAN READ THEM. For what these men had to say,I believe speaks to our generation today. Are we the people we once were? Have we lost our individualism, our strength, our love for freedom? Have we become so materialistic that the accumulating of goods and services from the government at any price is more important than the freedom that these men envisioned and for which they fought. Have we forgotten that we are a republic, a representative form of government and not a democracy? That referendums, can be a dangerous form of securing or maintaining our rights? Rights that our are ours already? I wonder if a referendum was held prior to the revolution, as to whether or not that we as a people should dissociate ourselves from England, would be the country we are today?

Have we become a people expecting the government to establish the values this nation holds or should we as a people expect the government to reflect the values of the people? I say this because I feel that government policies are contributing to the secularization of our society, which in turn will demand more government intervention in every aspect of our lives, which in turn leads to less and less individual responsibility.

I left Mt.Rushmore with a lot of questions on my mind about where we are going as a nation. My responsibility as a citizen? My involvement in the election process? My willingness to let my representatives know where I stand on issues? Where and how does my faith in God and Jesus Christ impact on the decisions I make as a citizen? What is my world view? As a Christian, is the Bible the basis of my World View......or .....is Man....and his "intellect" the basis of how I look at the world?

I left Mt. Rushmore with a great feeling of being an AMERICAN. Not an Hispanic-American or a Democrat or Republican or an Independent, But a Christian who happens to be an American of Mexican Descent.

Good Night..