maybe he did his proper research and found out that the road leading to anywhere that you can actually see Mount Rushmore is closed all winter. This leads to needing to take the dirt logging road that veers off the main road shortly before the road closed barricade. The loggers then give you puzzled looks as you drive past them. Finally you reach the main road again, but this time it is somewhere past the barricade. The last bit of the dirt road, where it meets up again with the main road, includes a steep drop which the Nissan Altima (or tesla model s) handles just fine going down but has no chance of getting back up. Now you drive around the road between barricades blocking the road off, and the dirt road is too steep to get back to. Your good friend (or kids) finally gets to see Mount Rushmore, but you're getting incredibly close to having to call the national park service to let you out from where you are guessing you shouldn't be because the sun is setting fast and early and it's the winter solstice... That's when you realize the barricade on one side is chained but the chain isn't locked (unlike the side you initially tried to come in).
I may or may not have ops tested this one for him...
I have done many winter road trips for fun and family and I see them as a perfectly safe opportunity if you plan ahead and know how to drive in winter conditions. Driving in the snow isn't that scary. Limited daylight just keeps you from over extending yourself, well, not for me, but I digress...
that being said, waiting makes more sense, if you have the option.... And he clearly does.
Winter is coming!