Road Trip

 

RJ was really wanting to do some kind of road trip this summer.  One evening, He, Hunter and I sat down and picked a place and date.  We chose South Dakota to see Mt. Rushmore.  RJ poured hours into planning this trip right down to the pit stops and arrival times.  He did a fantastic job.  Now that it’s over and all I have are happy pictures, I can say it was an awesome vacation.

We left at 3 a.m. hoping the kids would all sleep a good four hours before breakfast.  It worked out for the most part.  We stopped at this rest area and had fruit, juice and scones or zucchini bread.

My hungry little hippo.

We stopped at the Corn Palace in Mitchell.  Aside from the brick on this building, everything is made from corn and husks.  Every year they have a new theme/design.

We drove through the badlands (Lakota named it for literally being bad land).  It is one of the best locations for fossil excavation because severe rainstorms beat down the sediment leaving fossils exposed.  It’s overall size decreases an inch per year.

To me, it looked like a massive giant came to earth and build sand castles.

RJ, Hunter and McKenna climbed to the top.

We arrived in Rapid City around 3 p.m. and took the kids swimming.  We ate dinner at a fun firehouse restaurant and by then, RJ and I were ready to crash.  Of course the kids were not on board with this since they had all slept in the car.  Sharing the hotel room was the hardest part of the trip.  Reagan woke up at 4:30 a.m. and refused to go back to sleep.  I finally took her out for a walk and an early breakfast at 5:30 a.m.

Thursday was full of adventure.  Our first stop was the Black Hills Caverns where we toured a crystal cave.

It is 50 degrees year round in the cave.  This cave was discovered by a man who had been panning for gold in the stream below.  He stopped to rest and heard the wind blowing hard beside him.  He moved the brush aside and found this cave.  When he failed to find gold inside he abandoned it.

We went 50 feet down and at the midpoint our tour guide turned out all the lights.  It was so black you couldn’t see your own hand an inch in front of your face.  She told us that one would eventually go blind after being in this kind of darkness because the body would no longer need to support the function of vision.  It reminded me of the darkness spoken of in the Book of Mormon and how terrifying that would have been.

The kids got to mine for crystals and were very meticulous about which ones they kept.

RJ was very excited about the Gold Mine.  He had a question each time the tour guide asked so that by the third question, everyone in the group turned and looked at him.  I think he became self conscious and slowed down with the inquiries even though he had a lot more.  To me it was crazy what these people gave up in their search for gold. 

One story struck me as very funny.  The last miner to use the bathroom had to clean it out.  You would think that it would be a mad race to sit on the pot first.  However, many miners would ingest the gold upon finding it and hoped they could recover it at home.  Often, it would end up in the work potty and the man “wiping up the rear” would strike it rich.

RJ, Hunter and McKenna got to pan for gold and collected a small vile of actual flakes.  Unfortunately, RJ gave the vile to Hunter who left it on the couch.  Reagan managed to open it and spill the contents on the cushion.  The worth of our couch has increased!

Reagan was exhausted.  I took her for a walk in he stroller so that RJ could have his moment.

Just around the corner from Big Thunder was an Alpine Slide.  We went to the top in a ski lift and took pictures of the people who have shaped my experience in America the most.  We all had ice cream and saw Mt. Rushmore from the summit.

We paid to descend on the 2,000 foot slide.  Hunter was just old enough to ride alone.  You could control the speed by pulling back or pushing the lever forward.  I went first so I could take pictures.  I waited and waited for Hunter.  I began to worry that something happened when finally he inched around the corner.

RJ let McKenna control the speed and quickly found out who the adrenaline junkie in our family is!  He would have pulled back a few times but he let her ride (that is until they caught up to Hunter 4 times).

We drove though a portion of Custer State Park and were disappointed with the lack of wildlife we saw.  We were however very pleased with the peacefulness of the drive!

At the end of the loop, we drove along Needles Highway.  The rock formations were incredible and the tunnels were narrow.

We planned on stopping for swimming and lunch at this beautiful lake but decided not to disrupt the passengers (besides we were running behind).

I was content when we spotted this animal.  I don’t have a clue what it is though.

We went to a Chuck Wagon dinner and show that evening.  The Sheriff noticed some biscuits missing from the kitchen and rounded up a posse to fetch the bandit.  McKenna opted to steer clear.  It was a fun and unique dining experience.

The original reason for our trip!  We found many other reasons to visit South Dakota but were very touched by the evening lighting ceremony.  There was a short video about the faces of Mt. Rushmore and a ranger spoke for a few minutes before we sang the national anthem.  All the veterans were invited to the stage and four of them helped take down the flag.  I couldn’t help but think of my dad and felt a rush of emotion.

We spent Friday in Rapid City.  We started the day at Storybook island.  It was a beautiful park loaded with familiar characters and fun things to do.  We were so excited to get there, we had to wait 45 minutes for it to open.

 

RJ requested this picture with his girls.

We paid $1 to see this cute play of “The Ugly Duckling.”

McKenna wanted to ride this train so we bought her a ticket.  She backed out when she found out she would be going alone.  Hunter worried about us wasting money so he said he would go.  McKenna then decided that she would go since Hunter was coming along.  I am endeared by Hunter’s awareness of finances but hope we haven’t ruined him for life.

We went to the Dinosaur Park for hotdogs and ice cream.  Reagan likes to share with daddy!

These are replicas of actual size dinosaurs.  Woah baby!

Unfortunately, our last stop at a rock/fossil museum on campus was a disaster leaving a dark shadow on our otherwise fun day.  After all of our eating out, I woke up with a stomach ache and lost Friday nights dinner in our hotel room.  Reagan was quick to wake me up at 5:30 a.m. to see what fight I had left in me. 

On our way home we stopped at Walldrug (overrated) for donuts and got the kids souvenirs.  RJ had heard about this hole in the wall ice cream shop where we stopped a few hours later.  We were happy to get home and have everyone sleep in their own rooms.  All in all, RJ did a phenomenal job heading up this vacation.  Thanks dear.