MINI MOTORERS PAY HOMAGE TO FOUR US PRESIDENTS

It was something that started out in 1923 as an idea to entice sightseers to a remote part of South Dakota, and 93 years later, it successfully attracted hundreds of MINI enthusiasts to view one of America’s most iconic tourist attractions.

On day 11 of MINI TAKES THE STATES 2016, a visit to the Mount Rushmore National Memorial, where the faces of four US Presidents are carved into the granite mountain, was included on the drive from Sturgis, SD, to Cheyenne, Wyoming.

The giant carvings of Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt, which were each dedicated in the 1930s, are acknowledged as one of the gateways to the west, where the Black Hills of Dakota rise from the Plains.

At Mount Rushmore, the visiting motorers were given prime parking spaces at the site and were able to take a short walk to view the giant granite carvings before they began their own 336-mile journey westward and into the Equality State.

Gary Keller, from the Mount Rushmore Society, a friends group that raises funds for the care and maintenance of the site, greeted many of the motorers as they arrived. “We have many motorcycle and automobile rallies visiting here at Mount Rushmore but seeing so many MINIs and their owners here is very special. We’ve never seen anything like this before and we’re so happy to host the visitors here.”