Bob Geiger of Tulsa, Okla., remembers Mount Rushmore National Memorial much differently than what he saw Monday.

"There were a lot more trees when I was here with my folks many years ago," he said. "But that was when I had a full head of hair, too."

Geiger was visiting the memorial with his friend Mike Burton of Kansas City, Mo. The mountain monument was awe inspiring to Burton.

"This is something you gotta see once in your lifetime," he said.

Up the hill, a group of motorcyclists from Arkansas were resting in the shade near a sculpture of Gutzon Borglum, the creator of the memorial. This was the first time seeing the monument for all of them.

"It's awesome," said Lori Schwyhart of Rogers, Ark.

Schwyhart said the photo opportunities at Mount Rushmore were great and so was the hike along the Presidential Trail at the base of the mountain.

Parking lots at the memorial were brimming with motorcycles and other vehicles, but a check on visitation numbers from a year ago show this year's numbers were down significantly.

Mount Rushmore National Memorial Superintendent Gerard Baker said that Saturday visitation numbers were about the same as the Saturday prior to the start of the rally a year ago, but Sunday visits were down 25 percent and Monday numbers were looking to be down 7 percent.

"That does surprise me. I thought we had more than last year," Baker said.

While driving in the Hills over the weekend, Baker said he saw lots of bikes, but also saw signs at motels that said they had vacancies.

At Wall Drug on Sunday, president Teddy Hustead said business there was looking to be up 10 percent. Wall Drug has traditionally been one of the barometers of rally visitation.

Mount Rushmore National Memorial Superintendent Gerard Baker speaks with Mike Burton, left, of Kansas City, Mo., and Bob Geiger of Tulsa, Okla. This was Burton's first trip to the Black Hills and to Mount Rushmore. Geiger said he had come to see Mount Rushmore with his family as a youngster. (Photo by Deb Holland/Journal staff)