The Great Plains

In my recent traveling adventure, I went to the region known as the Great Plains. This region extends from Alberta in Canada all the way down to Texas along the Mexican Border. This region is known for its grasslands that cattle graze, mountains, some forests, and the wide openness of this region. On this trip, I got to check out some really interesting things that can be related to this region. My first stop was in South Dakota to check out Mount Rushmore. This attraction attracts people from all around the country.

In my first stop, I went to Mount Rushmore which is a rock carving of four of Americas greatest presidents. Each of these men helped America in some great way. These men on the carving are George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Rosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. It was constructed in the 1940's by Gutzon Borglum and his son Lincoln. The type of rock that they were carved out into was a rock called granite. It took over 15 years to complete as it was a long drawn out process to carve the rocks. It also was put on hold because of the Great Depression in the 1930's. The project ended up getting completed in 1941. Gutzon had died before it was able to be completed so his son Lincoln finished it. There had also been talks about creating a museum up in the carvings and putting the U.S. Constitution and other documents there but that never happened.

When we got there we saw a lot of people excited and taking pictures from the observatory. You could also rent binoculars from the park service. I saw a lot of American Flags hung everywhere and people American themed clothing. People were very happy to show pride in their country and celebrating history by checking out this historic site dedicated to the presidents. This site is very important to the region as it attracts people to it and helps keeps it on the map.

This is Mount Rushmore from the Observatory Deck.

This is the hole where the museum would have been built on top of the Mountain. 

In the second part of my trip in this region, I stopped by Yellowstone National Park to see a geyser known as Old Faithful. It is a cone geyser that was found during an expedition to the area in 1870. It was also the first geyser to receive a name that is located in the park. It is the most popular geyser in the park and you never know when it is going to go off. If you are there when it does go off it is pretty cool to see. The trick is you never know when it might go off, though.

When I went there I saw a lot of people excited to see if Old Faithful would go off. I spent about two hours at the location and I was luckily able to see it go off. People started cheering in excitement because the thing that they had come to see happened. I was excited too because I thought that it probably wouldn't have gone off while I was there. This geyser helps bring a lot of people to the region and is truly one of the things that help put this beautiful park on the map. I think that this park is truly my favorite.

                                                              Old Faithful

Yellowstone National Park


Overall I enjoyed this region. I didn't see to many people but I saw a lot of the landscape of America. Which is something that I really enjoyed seeing. I will return to this region soon I think.