Friday, August 21, 2015
Nature is the real Black Hills gold
This is a tough post because I do get tired of the blogging pretty early on in the trip. I just have to remind myself how much enjoyment I get from looking back at the trip and having these daily memories. Plus the kids should enjoy reading these one day (maybe) and seeing the trip through my eyes.
A little bit later of a start today and once loaded up we headed to Mt. Rushmore. This was the least busy it's every been on a trip there. Max and Sophie both earned their Junior Ranger badges...though Sophie told me later that she only did it to support her brother. She makes a point of telling everyone that she already has five badges. It was a nice walk around Rushmore; made even better by the fact that we got there before the heat of the day set in. Also as an added bonus we started the Presidential Trail from the other direction this time so we had mostly down stairs instead of going up up up. We were at Mt. Rushmore longer that we had planned because Sophie was really taking her time in the gift shop. Yesterday I kept rushing her out of stores with the promise that she would be able to shop in Wall. However, after our brake mishap Wall Drug was no longer an option since we needed to get to our Chuckwagon Show so I told her she could have all the time she needed at Rushmore. She LOVES to shop in the Gift Shop and can spend many hours there if allowed. She finally settled on a soft moose that she is currently snuggling with in bed. She said she was OK spending all of her "Nana money" because she has some of her own money she can spend too. She is savvy with money yet very willing to spend it at the same time.
After Rushmore, we headed south to Custer for lunch. We stopped at a little bakery that featured a tagline about coming in to see their buns and had a drawing of a lady with a pair of hamburger buns sticking out from under her skirt. Max thought it was the funniest thing ever and wanted to keep looking at the menu so he could see the picture.
A little bit of shopping along the tourist shops in Custer and then it was up to Sylvan Lake for a little hike and swim. Max was so excited for this stop because he has been wanting to climb on rocks the whole trip. He did great too, finding a few different spots to clamber up and always did a good job of being brave and cautious at the same time. Ingrid made the walk along the side of the lake and we parted ways at the dam. After coming around the first round of rocks (which included an opportunity to climb up and over one of the sections) we could see Ingrid across the lake. To let her know where we were, we all yodeled to her. It worked :) and she saw us and waved. A little more walking through the boulders and we arrived at the swimming area. The kids were really looking forward to swimming but may have been surprised by how cold the water was. Maxton was a trooper and swam and went under water. Sophie was a stinker and tricked Max into going underwater by saying that she was going to go under too. Siblings...
After Sylvan, we headed south to the rest of Custer State Park and Wildlife Loop Road. We had really taken some extra time at the earlier stops for the day but it was OK because it meant we were getting to the Loop later and had a better chance to see animals up and active. However, at first it seemed that luck was not with us as we saw very few animals - a couple of deer and some prairie dogs. However, our luck turned on one of the many curves and we saw the herd of buffalo near the south of the park. We turned off the pavement and took the dirt road to be closer to the herd. There were a few buffalo who broke off to head to a watering hole near the road so we loaded back up to drive a little further up the road to see the magnificent beasts up close. It did not disappoint. We hung out and watched them come and go getting their drinks for a bit and then we continued on across the dirt road to catch back up with the Wildlife Loop Road. It was a steep road so we unfortunately had a little bit of a brake problem again (Tom and Craig are getting up early tomorrow to replace the caliper so hopefully we will have the issue resolved for the rest of the trip. After letting it cool (and looking at the rock face profile while we waited) we were back on the road to finish up the last leg of the trip to get us to Hot Springs.
We made it to the hotel a little late but the kids still had time to swim in the pool. This was good news because Maxton was doing AWESOME swimming! He can really go now on top of the water and he's super brave jumping in the from the side. Sophie was such a cute little cheerleader when I got down there. They were already out of the pool but he jumped back in to show off his skills. When he got out of the water again Sophie had a little towel there to wrap around him. Fun day ended with a fun night. Now to wrap up this post and get some sleep.
I plan on being able to post these from the cabin. I'm not thinking it will happen tomorrow since we'll have a long day of driving to the cabin and getting settled.
A little bit later of a start today and once loaded up we headed to Mt. Rushmore. This was the least busy it's every been on a trip there. Max and Sophie both earned their Junior Ranger badges...though Sophie told me later that she only did it to support her brother. She makes a point of telling everyone that she already has five badges. It was a nice walk around Rushmore; made even better by the fact that we got there before the heat of the day set in. Also as an added bonus we started the Presidential Trail from the other direction this time so we had mostly down stairs instead of going up up up. We were at Mt. Rushmore longer that we had planned because Sophie was really taking her time in the gift shop. Yesterday I kept rushing her out of stores with the promise that she would be able to shop in Wall. However, after our brake mishap Wall Drug was no longer an option since we needed to get to our Chuckwagon Show so I told her she could have all the time she needed at Rushmore. She LOVES to shop in the Gift Shop and can spend many hours there if allowed. She finally settled on a soft moose that she is currently snuggling with in bed. She said she was OK spending all of her "Nana money" because she has some of her own money she can spend too. She is savvy with money yet very willing to spend it at the same time.
After Rushmore, we headed south to Custer for lunch. We stopped at a little bakery that featured a tagline about coming in to see their buns and had a drawing of a lady with a pair of hamburger buns sticking out from under her skirt. Max thought it was the funniest thing ever and wanted to keep looking at the menu so he could see the picture.
A little bit of shopping along the tourist shops in Custer and then it was up to Sylvan Lake for a little hike and swim. Max was so excited for this stop because he has been wanting to climb on rocks the whole trip. He did great too, finding a few different spots to clamber up and always did a good job of being brave and cautious at the same time. Ingrid made the walk along the side of the lake and we parted ways at the dam. After coming around the first round of rocks (which included an opportunity to climb up and over one of the sections) we could see Ingrid across the lake. To let her know where we were, we all yodeled to her. It worked :) and she saw us and waved. A little more walking through the boulders and we arrived at the swimming area. The kids were really looking forward to swimming but may have been surprised by how cold the water was. Maxton was a trooper and swam and went under water. Sophie was a stinker and tricked Max into going underwater by saying that she was going to go under too. Siblings...
After Sylvan, we headed south to the rest of Custer State Park and Wildlife Loop Road. We had really taken some extra time at the earlier stops for the day but it was OK because it meant we were getting to the Loop later and had a better chance to see animals up and active. However, at first it seemed that luck was not with us as we saw very few animals - a couple of deer and some prairie dogs. However, our luck turned on one of the many curves and we saw the herd of buffalo near the south of the park. We turned off the pavement and took the dirt road to be closer to the herd. There were a few buffalo who broke off to head to a watering hole near the road so we loaded back up to drive a little further up the road to see the magnificent beasts up close. It did not disappoint. We hung out and watched them come and go getting their drinks for a bit and then we continued on across the dirt road to catch back up with the Wildlife Loop Road. It was a steep road so we unfortunately had a little bit of a brake problem again (Tom and Craig are getting up early tomorrow to replace the caliper so hopefully we will have the issue resolved for the rest of the trip. After letting it cool (and looking at the rock face profile while we waited) we were back on the road to finish up the last leg of the trip to get us to Hot Springs.
We made it to the hotel a little late but the kids still had time to swim in the pool. This was good news because Maxton was doing AWESOME swimming! He can really go now on top of the water and he's super brave jumping in the from the side. Sophie was such a cute little cheerleader when I got down there. They were already out of the pool but he jumped back in to show off his skills. When he got out of the water again Sophie had a little towel there to wrap around him. Fun day ended with a fun night. Now to wrap up this post and get some sleep.
I plan on being able to post these from the cabin. I'm not thinking it will happen tomorrow since we'll have a long day of driving to the cabin and getting settled.
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