Jack's Journal: June 24-28

CBS News producer Jack Halsbond is behind the wheel of one of two Early Show Winnebagos traveling the country in June and July as part of the "Great American Vacation" giveaway. Read his Web-exclusive road diary.

Mount Rushmore, South Dakota

Located in the majestic beauty of the Black Hills in South Dakota, Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a symbol of democracy and freedom. Over time, it has become an American icon.

Work on the sculpture began on Oct. 4, 1927, and was completed on Oct. 31, 1941. With weather delays and funding interruptions factored in, the actual time spent working on carving the Harney Peak granite mountain top totaled 6½ years.

The four presidents were chosen to represent 150 years of American history.
Designed and sculpted under the direction of Gutzon Borglum, George Washington represented the birth of the country. Thomas Jefferson symbolized expansion, as he was largely responsible for the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Abraham Lincoln was chosen to represent the preservation of the union and Theodore Roosevelt, who presided over the building of the Panama Canal, represented the development of our country.

View my photos

Well, it seems that in 1885, a New York lawyer was surveying and researching mining claims for area mining companies when he asked his guide the name of the particular mountain. Charles E. Rushmore reportedly got the answer that was to immortalize his name forever on the landscape. "Never had one. But, hereafter we call 'er Rushmore, by jingo!"

The U.S. Board of Geographic Names made it official on July 4, 1930.

Little Bighorn Battlefield, Montana

It was hot and uncomfortably humid on June 25, 1876, as approximately 7,000 Cheyenne, Lakota and Arapaho, including some 1,500 to 2,000 warriors, were encamped by the banks of the Little Bighorn River in Montana.

Under the command of Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer, the 7th Calvary advanced. Seeing evidence of the encampment, Custer reportedly became convinced that he had been discovered and ordered his command divided and to strike the village before the inhabitants could scatter.

Under the leadership of Sitting Bull, these tribes had refused to be restricted to their reservation, preferring their traditional nomadic life. The warriors struck back.

Visiting the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument on a warm and humid June day almost exactly 130 years to that fateful day, I was struck by just how difficult the westward expansion of this country must have been for those who made it happen.

The site of the headstones on Last Stand Hill marking where approximately 41 men of the more than 260 soldiers and attached personnel met their fate was sobering. Here 130 years earlier, on this spot, Custer, his brother Tom and Lt. William Cooke were among those who fell.

The Battle of Little Bighorn continues to fascinate. This National Monument in Montana lies within the Crow Indian Reservation in southeastern Montana. It is here one can ponder heroism and suffering, brashness and humiliation, victory and defeat, triumph and tragedy — all that has come to illustrate what Americans know as part of their western heritage.