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American Morning

Hundreds of Thousands Celebrate the Fourth at Mount Rushmore

Aired July 04, 2003 - 09:25   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


MILES O'BRIEN, ANCHOR: In the meantime, the Fourth of July celebrations got started early at Mount Rushmore in South Dakota. There were events all day before last night's fireworks display, and it was an impressive one.
More activities for today and Keith Oppenheim is pretending to be working out there when actually he's probably having a little bit of fun.

Right, Keith?

KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I'm having a little more than a little bit, Miles, to be honest with you.

I'm going to try to give a little historical context for our Fourth of July story here. Think back to 1927 before the work on Mount Rushmore began, when many Americans understandably were somewhat skeptical as whether an undertaking like this could really be accomplished. Well, it was and here it is. Take a look.

The Mount Rushmore national memorial, the 60-foot-long carved granite faces of presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. Faces that together came to symbolize the ideals of a nation.

We've got a number of camera perspectives here to give you a tour of the mountain. And keep in mind, thousands flocked to see a stunning Fourth of July celebration, most of which was actually held yesterday, on July 3. And to make that celebration a reality, you need to see what's going on on top of those massive heads on top of Mount Rushmore.

It's there that behind those heads that a crew choppered in 40,000 pounds of equipment so pyrotechnicians could set off 1,200 fireworks. At 9:20 local time last night, the 23-minute show got underway to the delight of the crowd crammed in and around the park, all there to see America's 227th birthday celebrated in about as fitting a place as one could imagine.

We take you back live now, transitioning from the excitement of last night to the relative serenity of this morning, and you can see some of the 50 flags that mark the entranceway to Mount Rushmore.

Keep in mind, it's only been since 1998, Miles, that they started doing fireworks shows here. Originally, they started them because of -- they were commemorating the visitors' facilities that were expanded. And they just kept doing them because the public response was so great.

Now Mount Rushmore has become such a destination, with nearly 200,000 people coming here this week.

And Miles, I'll add that security was quite tight yesterday. They have bomb-sniffing dogs checking out people's vehicles. You go through airport-style security as you go into the gate, but the crowd seemed to be pretty well adjusted to that. It slows things down but people seem to get in and get out, as long as they're not in a huge hurry.

Back to you.

O'BRIEN: Well, Keith, this is a little bit off the beaten track there in South Dakota. Two hundred thousand people making their way there is pretty impressive, isn't it?

OPPENHEIM: Yes, it is. I mean, that's over the course of a week. During the course of a day now, the numbers would go up from about 22,000 that they would normally have around this time of year, to more than 30,000 visitors.

And as you point out, it's a fairly narrow corridor. So if you want to come around this time of year, you've got to be dedicated and patient, but the payoff is worth it.

O'BRIEN: Have you been there before, or is this your first visit?

OPPENHEIM: It's actually my third time here. And you know, I think each time you come back, you still feel that sense of, wow, this is just such a great thing to look at.

O'BRIEN: All right. Keith Oppenheim, enjoy the day. It looks like you had great weather, and great event, great locale. We hope you find a little time for fun. We won't tell the bosses. Promise.

OPPENHEIM: Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com




Rushmore>


Aired July 4, 2003 - 09:25   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, ANCHOR: In the meantime, the Fourth of July celebrations got started early at Mount Rushmore in South Dakota. There were events all day before last night's fireworks display, and it was an impressive one.
More activities for today and Keith Oppenheim is pretending to be working out there when actually he's probably having a little bit of fun.

Right, Keith?

KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I'm having a little more than a little bit, Miles, to be honest with you.

I'm going to try to give a little historical context for our Fourth of July story here. Think back to 1927 before the work on Mount Rushmore began, when many Americans understandably were somewhat skeptical as whether an undertaking like this could really be accomplished. Well, it was and here it is. Take a look.

The Mount Rushmore national memorial, the 60-foot-long carved granite faces of presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. Faces that together came to symbolize the ideals of a nation.

We've got a number of camera perspectives here to give you a tour of the mountain. And keep in mind, thousands flocked to see a stunning Fourth of July celebration, most of which was actually held yesterday, on July 3. And to make that celebration a reality, you need to see what's going on on top of those massive heads on top of Mount Rushmore.

It's there that behind those heads that a crew choppered in 40,000 pounds of equipment so pyrotechnicians could set off 1,200 fireworks. At 9:20 local time last night, the 23-minute show got underway to the delight of the crowd crammed in and around the park, all there to see America's 227th birthday celebrated in about as fitting a place as one could imagine.

We take you back live now, transitioning from the excitement of last night to the relative serenity of this morning, and you can see some of the 50 flags that mark the entranceway to Mount Rushmore.

Keep in mind, it's only been since 1998, Miles, that they started doing fireworks shows here. Originally, they started them because of -- they were commemorating the visitors' facilities that were expanded. And they just kept doing them because the public response was so great.

Now Mount Rushmore has become such a destination, with nearly 200,000 people coming here this week.

And Miles, I'll add that security was quite tight yesterday. They have bomb-sniffing dogs checking out people's vehicles. You go through airport-style security as you go into the gate, but the crowd seemed to be pretty well adjusted to that. It slows things down but people seem to get in and get out, as long as they're not in a huge hurry.

Back to you.

O'BRIEN: Well, Keith, this is a little bit off the beaten track there in South Dakota. Two hundred thousand people making their way there is pretty impressive, isn't it?

OPPENHEIM: Yes, it is. I mean, that's over the course of a week. During the course of a day now, the numbers would go up from about 22,000 that they would normally have around this time of year, to more than 30,000 visitors.

And as you point out, it's a fairly narrow corridor. So if you want to come around this time of year, you've got to be dedicated and patient, but the payoff is worth it.

O'BRIEN: Have you been there before, or is this your first visit?

OPPENHEIM: It's actually my third time here. And you know, I think each time you come back, you still feel that sense of, wow, this is just such a great thing to look at.

O'BRIEN: All right. Keith Oppenheim, enjoy the day. It looks like you had great weather, and great event, great locale. We hope you find a little time for fun. We won't tell the bosses. Promise.

OPPENHEIM: Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com




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