The Noses on Mount Rushmore

  When I was a child our family of seven went camping in New Hampshire. It rained for five days. The tent leaked. We woke up cold, damp and miserable. My leg contracted a rash which turned out to be ringworm.

I made a promise to myself to never go camping again.

 At seventeen I fell madly in love with someone who loved to camp. He put together a brilliant plan to go camping across the country. We would go with another couple and sleep in small “pup” tents. We would drive in a huge old Chevy and stop at campgrounds along the way. I was not looking forward to the trip. I focused on the fact that I would be spending time with my new boyfriend and our friends. I also had not been to any of the places he had planned for us to go. I forced myself to stop looking backward and focus on the future, expecting only the best.

 He packed the car with everything we would need for our adventure. I remember everything being little. Tiny pots and pans, tiny tents with tarps that would go over the top to keep us dry. Sleeping bags that rolled into tight little bundles, and other miniature items. Some I could not even identify.

 Early the next morning we were off! We quickly left the overcrowded state of New Jersey and headed towards our first major stop, Aspen, Colorado. We stopped at a KOA Campground and got ourselves settled in. Much to my surprise there were bathrooms and nice clean showers. Even a pool and a campfire. My decision to have a positive attitude was so far paying off. We had a few drinks, enjoyed our evening and slept well on blow up mattresses under our sleeping bags.

  The next day we started early again. Eventually we arrived in Aspen. It was beautiful. The trees had the pretty heart shaped leaves that Aspen was famous for. He bought me a pair of earrings which were tiny Aspen leaves dipped in gold. They were unusual and our friends told me how beautiful they were in the light of the fire.

 We woke up to quite a shock. Even though it was August, there was half an inch of ice on the picnic table! Given how hot it was when we left, I had to pile my clothes in layers on top of themselves in order to stay warm. Luckily by the afternoon it was warm and sunny again. Our next destination was a surprise. Cripple Creek Colorado. I loved the song about Cripple Creek. It was beautiful with fresh clear sparkling water bubbling down a stream.

  We began to head North. We drove for hours and hours seeing nothing but row after row after row of corn surrounding the occasional farm. I was amazed that we could make it from Gas Station to Gas Station with nothing but a long two lane road in between. I did not know that part of our Country could look so different than the area I lived.

  The next stops on our trip were Yellowstone Park and Mount Rushmore. I was having serious doubts that we would get to either one. I have ADHD. If I can’t see something, it doesn’t exist and all I could see was a long straight seemingly endless road.

  They seemed to rise out of nowhere. The Grand Tetons. My parents live in Vermont so I have seen mountains. I had never seen mountains like these. Solid, chiseled towers of rock topped with snow. Hearing about them and actually seeing them are two different things. We decided to treat ourselves and stay in the Lodge after eating a real meal in the restaurant. 

  The next few days were surprise after surprise. Yellowstone Park! We were back to camping. As we drove through the park we had to make a sudden stop. At first we just saw legs. Legs that were taller than the car. Craning our necks we saw that the legs were attached to a mammoth body which led up to a solid neck and head topped with wide antlers that made the ones on New Jersey deer look like sticks. I am glad it was during the day. Hitting that moose would have totaled the car, leaving the moose still standing in place.

 We beeped the horn. Nothing. Beeped again. No movement at all. I had to go to the bathroom. There was no driving around him, all we could do was sit and wait until he chose to move. So we sat. Waiting. I squirmed in my seat. There was no way I was going to get out of the car. He finally decided to meander away after an hour. My friend in the back seat was more relieved than I. She was several months pregnant and she really needed to use a bathroom!

  Old Faithful is not what you would imagine. It is smaller than I pictured, a bit like Plymouth Rock. Especially after the magnificent Grand Tetons. Despite the geyser not being much of a thrill, the rest of the park is a place I would have stayed for weeks. Fishing, hiking, watching bears and wolves, sheep and bison. A beautiful Lodge, streams. The beauty of Yellowstone Park simply takes your breath away.

  The trip out was uneventful. No moose. Such sadness at leaving that serene refuge. We put gas in the car and got on our way. Gas was about 60 cents a gallon back then. I wonder how much the trip cost then and how much it would cost today?

 We started our marathon driving again. By now I was an expert in sleeping as my boyfriend drove. When I awoke I saw what looked like four miniature dolls perched on the side of a mountain. I started taking pictures. They appeared to be a few inches tall. As we drove closer the little people continued to grow like the toys you put in water that expand to 20 times their original size.

  Mt. Rushmore is astounding. I have traveled the world and seen the Sistine Chapel. Staring up at Mt. Rushmore it is impossible to figure out how they made those faces appear out of the rock. For some reason, I remember that just their noses are 150 feet long. 

 We made our way home through the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. Stopped in Hershey Park and made ourselves sick with chocolate. (Well the pregnant one was already sick). Eventually we made our way home to New Jersey. Although we have great beaches and the Delaware Water Gap, if you really want to see this beautiful country it takes a road trip. Even if you have to camp.

  I will always remember that the noses on Mt. Rushmore are 150 feet long!