Our travel has taken us all over the world but one thing we need to do more of is get to know our own country. We’ve been to a number of states, mostly out east, but heading west is certainly on the agenda. In lieu of that for now we felt it appropriate to take pause this President’s Day and take a look at those men etched in Mt. Rushmore’s rock-face.

Mt Rushmore is one of those iconic places and this photo here captures it exactly as the memory holds it. Ironically this is not as it was intended it look. Budget cuts caused construction to stop once the faces of each of the four presidents were complete bu the initial plans were to construct each president from head to waist. Regardless, there are plenty of USA Tours out west and it’s up to you to find the right one for your budget!

IF YOU GO: The closest airport to the monument is Rapid City, SD but chances are you’ll be flying in somewhere else and be driving a long way to get to Mt. Rushmore. No doubt there is plenty to do out west so be sure to pick the vacation that works right for you and pack plenty of music for that long car ride.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Flickr user dean.franklin via a creative commons license.